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Mail
Magazine 24
What’s
Scary: Federal Spending Per
Household
by Emily Goff
On
this Halloween, ghastly,
ghoulish garb and haunted houses aren’t the only sources of spookiness
in
Washington. Americans across the country have cause for alarm, because
the
federal government spent a spine-chilling $29,691 per household in 2012.
As
The Heritage Foundation’s
“Federal Spending by the Numbers—2012” shows, federal spending per
household
has grown 29 percent since 2002, when it stood at $23,010. Put another
way,
$29,691 is about two-thirds of the median household income. On a larger
scale,
total federal spending in 2012 reached $3.6 trillion, or 22.9 percent
of the
entire U.S. economy.
Because
the stimulus money has
mostly been spent, it now may look like federal spending is falling or
will
even settle into a manageable level. But don’t be tricked. Base
spending—i.e.,
all spending other than the financial bailouts, economic stimulus, and
war
spending on overseas operations—still came in 13 percent higher in 2012
than it
was in 2008, before the stimulus and bailouts began. Worse yet,
projections
show this spending growing by another 33 percent, reaching an
eye-popping $4.47
trillion by 2022.
All
this spending must be paid
for—either through higher taxes or increased borrowing, both of which
endanger
a healthy economy, much less one foundering in recovery. The looming
Taxmageddon has already shown us the negative effects that even the
threat of
tax hikes has on the economy.
It
is spending far beyond our
means—not insufficient tax revenue—that has largely gotten us into this
mess
and has led to unsustainable budget deficits on the order of $1
trillion for
four years running. The future will be even gloomier if lawmakers and
the
President put off decisions now to reduce spending through structural
entitlement reform, as these programs are the main causes of runaway
spending
and mounting debt.
If
Washington dithers now, the
choices lawmakers will be forced to make down the road will be all the
more
painful. Today’s fiscal picture will pale in comparison to the morbid
state of
affairs the country will face.
While
the country’s $16 trillion
national debt is a scary number, $29,691 in spending per household is
an
equally worrisome figure, and it’s one that Americans can relate to.
It’s a
sure sign of a growing federal government and spending that should be
brought
under control.
Source:
blog.heritage.org
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this and other articles at Mail Magazine
24
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