What’s a Trillion?
What’s a trillion? 1 thousand billion, 1 million million.
I remember 50 years ago watching Carl Sagan on his Cosmos TV series trying to help those of us who, at the time, had a hard time fathoming a billion. He would say things like billions and billions of miles and bodies across the universe. I remember him saying at least once there were more interstellar bodies in the universe than there were grains of sand on earth. The numbers he used were incredible to me at the time.
Though he could have, never used the word ‘trillion.’
Frankly, who would have thought then we’d become familiar with a “trillion?”
But now we talk about a trillion as just a small part of our federal budget. When one translates those numbers into dollars, it becomes mind blowing for most of us.
A trillion is a big number and the only place it exists in reality in 2023 in our country is with our federal government – and five other countries. For every trillion dollars – our government is spending over $40 thousand per household.
The federal budget for 2023 is $5.8T or 5,800 billion – 5.8 million millions That’s $46,400 per household in America. But with a deficit of $1.2T, it’s only collecting $37,093 per household.
I guess the first question you might ask every household is whether it feels like the federal government is spending $46,000 annually for it. Is it getting its money’s worth? Is it annually worth an additional $9,000 in debt owed by each household to do what the government is doing?
Not only does the US federal government have the largest budget in the world, the highest spending number per household, and it also holds the 4th position of spending per capita at $16,000.
Understand $5.8T is only the federal government. In total for the 50 states, there’s another $3.5T. Obviously that number varies significantly by state. The difference is most people can better see and understand their state and local tax bills and the expenditures made for things like highways/roads/streets, schools, local law enforcement, fire protection and emergency services.
Back to the federal government.
Our forefathers and writers of the Constitution would start a revolution today. They would never have accepted a federal government that not only spends more than any country on earth but is also the world’s largest employer – public or private. At 2.2 million employees, it surpasses Walmart’s worldwide employment at 2.1 million. But it pays a lot more than Walmart. Walmart’s total revenue for the year ending July 31, 2023, was $606B.
Our national debt passed the $1T mark in 1981. $5T in 1996, $10T in 2008, $20T in 2017, and $30T in 2021. With the debt now sitting at nearly $33T, it now exceeds our GDP by 25%. It passed the GDP mark in 2021. and it’s accelerating the debt accumulation.
GDP has grown 30% in the past 12 years, while the debt has ballooned by 400% in the same period.
Interest paid on our debt has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, from $411B to $726B – nearly three-quarters of a trillion all by itself. The number this year is 16% of the revenue of the federal government, 12% of the budget. And there’s no end in sight as interest rates rise and the debt grows faster. The OMB predicts the debt service will exceed $1T in 2031.
As our federal government has grown, so have the expectations that it will address every problem encountered by any part of the country or any issue. In addition, our politicos have become very adept at throwing money at just about any problem.
In paraphrasing Stanford economist Paul Romer in 2004, Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s Chief of Staff, stated: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” He was referring to the excuse to be used for increasing the reach, power, and spending of the federal government.
The growth and influence of the federal government has exponentially exceeded and superseded the Constitutional basics of individual responsibility, national security, and a free market economy.
President Obama’s main ‘crisis’ was health insurance. The latest ‘crisis’ adding to our government’s growth is called “climate change.”
The federal government is using climate change as its reason to impose more of its power over our lives. It now tells us what we must do to live here. We must spend trillions to develop and support electricity generated by solar and wind. We must use only ‘green’ appliances in our homes. We must pay more for gasoline and groceries. We must not be allowed to use fossil fuel for anything – including heating our homes. We must only buy electric vehicles as soon there will be no alternative.
Meanwhile, our government can tax us much more than what the British King was taxing our country’s founders.
We’ve created a monster! We desperately need a dragon killer. Perhaps a whole army of them, starting with each of one of us.
Here’s a “must.”
We must start electing people who share the idea that government’s role is limited to our safety and justice, national security and guaranteeing our rights.
Period.
We don’t want legions of bureaucrats ‘governing’ us.
A trillion is a huge number. Multiple trillions in our federal budget is irresponsible.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_government_budget_per_capita
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/717228-you-never-want-a-serious-crisis-to-go-to-waste
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to-gdp-and-major-events-3306287
SPIDER Bites
This week’s trivia question: “The Da Vinci Code” opens with a murder in what famous museum? The answer to last week’s – the only metal to be in liquid form at room temperature – Mercury. Mercury is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers (blood pressure meters), float valves, mercury switches, mercury relays, fluorescent lamps, and other devices.
Kudos to 19-year-old Coco Gauff on winning the US Open women’s singles title yesterday. She’s a sweetheart of the fans with her first major tennis championship.
The Biden administration last Friday quietly rescinded a regulation allowing companies to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) via rail. Let’s see, no pipelines, no rail – when will transport by any means, including your gas tank, be banned?
“Nobody can deny the impact of the climate crisis, at least nobody intelligent can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore,” quoting Biden last Saturday in Florida. “Just look around, around the nation, and the world for that matter: Historic floods, intense droughts, extreme heats, deadly wildfires that have caused serious damage that you’ve never seen before.” BTW, he also said recently he has done more to secure the border than anyone has ever done.
Meanwhile, last week the Biden administration also canceled seven more 10-year leases — spanning 365,775 acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
Oil futures closed the week at $87.23/barrel so expect gas prices to continue to rise.
Will mandatory mask wearing come back? Some ‘leaders’ are talking about it. If that happens, brace yourself for another shutdown – and general refusals. Science does not support flimsy masks as a deterrent against this virus.
NYC had 21,000 immigrant children show up last week when school started there. Adding to the problem, these immigrant students enrolled without submitting proof of vaccinations against diseases such as measles, mumps, chicken pox, polio, and tetanus like legal children are required to do – that’s in addition to the language problem encountered by teachers and the time that requires away from teaching legal students. This is also in the face of many city employees/teachers who declined to receive vaccinations for COVID-19 and were forced out of their jobs and still have not been reinstated. Other cities are dealing with similar problems resulting from our open border.
Only 26% of voters approve of transgender women athletes competing in women’s sports, according to a recent Gallup poll. That’s obviously totally contrary to the policy of the current administration.
The opening of the football season is time for the National Anthem on gridirons once again. But instead of the National Anthem playing Thursday night, the Arrowhead Stadium fans heard The Kansas City Boys Choir and The Kansas City Girls Choir sing the so-called Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Fans booed.
President Biden is apparently considering a ‘stay in Texas’ procedure for illegal immigrants. I don’t know if he’s aware a similar program was ruled unconstitutional a few years ago. Of course Texans are furious as are many big city mayors who have no place for them.
