Total federal spending for FY99 was $1.7 trillion; that’s about $3.1 trillion in 2023 dollars. I bring that up because, recently, the guy who shakes hands with thin air released his latest budget proposal for the next fiscal year.It calls for nearly SEVEN TRILLION DOLLARS in federal spending.So, even after adjusting for inflation, the Big Guy’s budget is more than TWICE as big as the federal budget was in 1999.What exactly are taxpayers receiving in exchange for all that extra spending?You’d think that if the government is spending twice as much, that taxpayers would be receiving AT LEAST twice as much benefit… or would see twice as much government service.Are there twice as many federal highways? Is the military twice as strong? Is Social Security twice as solvent?Quite the contrary, actually. The highways are crumbling, the military has grown weaker, and Social Security is set to run out of money in a few years.
