Government Waste 101: An in-depth look at how the U.S. government bankrupted a generation

Listen, I understand running a country isn’t exactly a “budget” endeavor — but falling $28 trillion deeper into debt in 24 years isn’t exactly normal either.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan warned that “our national debt amounts to nearly $8,000 for every man, woman, and child in America, and it's increasing by about $1,000 per person each and every year. Just to cover the interest on that debt, the Federal Government will spend $155 billion this year alone.”

At the time, the debt stood at $1.7 trillion, an incomprehensible number to Reagan.

In 2000, that number had grown to $6 trillion, a 252 percent increase over 15 years. As of this week, 24 years later, our national debt has surpassed $34 trillion, a staggering 1,900 percent increase from the number Reagan bemoaned.

“There is no magic money machine,” the 40th president pointed out. “Every dollar the government spends comes out of your pockets. Every dollar the government gives to someone has to first be taken away from someone else. So, it's our moral duty to make sure that we can justify every one of your tax dollars, that we spend them wisely and carefully and, just as important, fairly.”

Well, it would seem somewhere along the way, Washington forgot that all-important piece of advice. In fact, we could probably rewrite that sentence using its antonyms: “We spend [tax dollars] foolishly and loosely and, just as important, immorally,” would resonate more today with the American people than the original.

To be fair, the U.S. government has almost always carried debt. President Andrew Jackson enjoys the unique title of being the only president to pay off the nation’s loans, through a series of aggressive measures, including canceling spending bills. And while some debt may be excused, isn’t $34 trillion a tad bit excessive? The American people certainly seem to think so. Polling shows that a majority of voters say slashing deficit spending should be a top priority for Congress.

So, how is it that a constitutionally limited government that pulled in upward of $5 trillion in 2022 still manages to run routinely over budget? Let’s crunch the numbers. This is not an exhaustive list of all government spending; however, it does help contextualize our mind-numbing, prodigious debt. 

First, we must note, as Reagan did in 1985, that the interest rate alone on our debt is quite high. But, whereas Reagan faced a $155 million annual interest, ours has recently soared to over $1 trillion. In other words, roughly one-fifth of all annual taxpayer funds (based on the numbers from 2022) would be tied up just to cover interest.

Next, let’s consider government agencies. Ronald Reagan once joked that “a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth,” and it’s easy to see why. The Federal Register currently lists 436 known government agencies, only a few of which are prominently known (the Treasury Department, Census Bureau, etc.). The rest, including the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council, Women's Business Enterprise Interagency Committee, and Indian Arts and Crafts Board, to name a few, are unrecognizable to the American people at large.

To test Reagan’s theory, let’s examine the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB), “an agency … created by Congress to promote the economic development of American Indians and Alaska Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and crafts market.” According to the Register, “A top priority of the IACB is the implementation and enforcement of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 [emphasis added], a truth-in-advertising law that provides criminal and civil penalties for marketing products as ‘Indian-made’ when such products are not made by Indians, as defined by the Act.”

Lest you think such an agency, designed to implement a 1990 law about Indian art, has since run its course, rest assured, as recently as November 2023, the IACB published a press release about the free-to-the-public, government-sponsored “Sioux Indian Museum” in Rapid City, South Dakota.

And although the Board is only allowed a “small” budget, ranging from $20,000 to $1.2 million annually, these costs quickly begin to add up. (And before you dismiss $20,000 as a negligible amount, remember, as Reagan said, “Every dollar the government spends comes out of your pockets.” In other words, the government decided to take at least that much from some random taxpayer and give it to an arts and crafts fund instead. How generous!)

Altogether, USA Spending reports $9.3 trillion in fiscal year 2023 obligated agency spending. The biggest spenders of the bunch included the Department of Health and Human Services ($2.5 trillion), the Department of the Treasury ($1.6 trillion), and the Social Security Administration ($1.5 trillion).

Many of these expenses are set to increase in 2024, with, for example, the Internal Revenue Services, which falls under the Treasury Department, requesting “about 15 percent” more funding in its fiscal year 2024 budget request. This would bring their annual budget up to $14.1 billion. Similarly, interest on the public debt, which also falls under the Treasury Department, is bound to rise this year as well.

If I haven’t bored you to death by now, I hope I have convinced you of at least one thing: the federal government is, indeed, a leviathan, both in terms of its size and budget, and turning the ship around won’t be an easy feat. But, of course, saving the country from a future of insolvency is worth it.

With an Article V convention, the American people, through their state legislatures, can finally begin to chip away at the nation’s monstrous debt, imposing fiscal restraints on members of Congress and other federal officials. As Ronald Reagan put it, “the Convention is a safety valve giving the people a chance to act if Congress refuses to.”

“Fortunately, our Nation’s Founders gave us the means to amend the Constitution through action of state legislatures,” he said. “Unless we act quickly, the people in the White House and those running Congress will bankrupt America.”

Sadly, we have disregarded Reagan’s other warnings about government spending — let’s not make the same mistake again.

To curb the U.S. government from further bankrupting the country, sign the petition below in support of the solution Ronald Reagan recommended: an Article V convention.

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