FOLLOW THE MONEY?
Our government spends a lot of our money, and our politicians are responsible for making decisions on where, what, and why it is spent and where, what, and how we are taxed to create the cash.
National politics is often consumed with a lot of he said she said that has nothing to do with money.
Just my opinion. The number one issue all politicians should be working on is how to tax and spend our money in the most efficient manner possible. Unfortunately, budget details are not newsworthy, so we get very little information through the main media about the where, what, and when’s of government money management. Being good stewards of our money should be their number one job. In 2023 Government spending represented 23% of GDP. In the year 2000 it was 18.22% of GDP. It has creeped higher over the last 24 years.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle never let a good crisis go without throwing money at it. The Pandemic might go down in history as the Super Bowl of spending our money. As of last year, the Covid tally was 4.6 trillion. Remember one trillion dollars is a football field covered 8 foot deep in $100 dollar bills plus some. By 2023 there was still 90 billion left and available in some of those programs. The FBI reports that fraud from those pandemic programs is almost 300 billion. My bet is it’s higher than that. 300 billion is just what they know about.
Andy Kessler wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal about how inefficient government can be. He had many examples of the failed and wasted spending of our money. The Department of Education was created in 1979 and spending there has continually gone up and up; yet 40 to 60 percent of first year college students are taking remedial classes. Our government in 2021 set aside 7.5 billion for electric car chargers to be built across the nation. As of May, this year only 8 have been built. The Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) since its inception premiums have increased 63% for family coverage. Inflation was up 36% over that same time period. It is not just the Federal government. California’s government has spent 24 billion on their homeless problem over the last several years. Meanwhile homelessness has increased 30%. Somehow, government needs to have some sort of accountability. The government is great at creating jobs and lousy at ending them. Government will always be less efficient than private enterprise, but that does not mean you have to quit trying for better results.
Yes, we need Government spending to function as a democracy and keep our country going. We also need some form of accountability and a way to end old and inefficient programs. Cost-benefit analysis, while boring to most, is a great way to make sure you get what you deserve for your hard earned money the Government absconded with.
Private enterprise has no choice, survival of the fittest is the way it is and if you are not efficient you are gone. From the fortune 500 to the local Mom and Pops cash flow rules and it is the one most important factor in survival and with luck profits.
Thanks, Andy McClung CFP®
Andy Kessler Wall Street Journal; GAO.gov; bipartisanpolicy.org ; UStreasurypolicy.gov ; Mercantus.org
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Source Wall Street Journal 9/9/2024