You have to admit, the US is doing a pretty good job with that $80 billion/yr.<p>I mean, what's the alternative? Spend $0 on secret data intelligence gathering? Of course not! I for one am happy to know that there are people on my side, looking for people who are not.<p>Furthermore, I can't seem to understand why people are so up-in-arms over US data gathering. I for one, have nothing to hide. Every crime I've committed online is so small, the NSA simply doesn't care. Obama said in his latest press conference, "We collect the meta data, not the data. We can see who is calling who, and if we need to listen to that call, we need to go before a judge."<p>I, a person of the people, am fine with the government spending this kind of money on secret data intelligence, because it keeps me safer. Period.