Why do Americans vastly overestimate how much the U.S. spends on foreign aid?

Bill Gates wants to know

Gates
(Image credit: (Stefan Postles/Getty Images))

During a Reddit question and answer session on Monday, Bill Gates asked:

How can we help more people understand that foreign aid isn't 25 percent or even 10 percent of the U.S. federal budget, but less than 1 percent?

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.