Between the targeted IRS audits, the Justice Department’s wiretapping conspiracy, and now the Snowden saga, 2013’s been a banner year for governmental incompetence and overreach.
The sad part is our government, whether we want to accept it or not, has been sliding down a very familiar slope over the last century or so…
It’s a slope that this nation was designed never to even approach. But as populations have swelled and core attitudes changed, the United States Federal Government began to resemble the same cruel, cumbersome, distrustful beast it was designed to replace.
Defined by bureaucratic waste and self-interested, off-the-books scheming, our tax dollars are funding the world’s biggest and best-armed non-profit organization. And as citizens, we have only the most superficial illusion of a voice in how day-to-day business is carried out.
Still, even amidst this general fog of deceit, fraud, and thievery, there are always some especially salient facts that help jar even the most jaded back into consciousness…
In no particular order, here are my favorites:
The Recovery Mirage
Since 2009, the U.S. Federal Government spent $11 for every $7 it’s brought in. Between October 2012 and October 2011 alone, Washington took in $2.45 trillion in revenues, while singing away $3.54 trillion in outgoing funds. Exactly $1 trillion of that can be attributed to 83 social welfare programs, including purely marketing-related projects such as a 16 million beneficiary strong government-subsidized cellular phone program.
This extraordinary gap between debt and wealth has been sold to us as a historic economic recovery.
But as Dow hovers at 15,000, average income is down and prices of goods are on the way up.
Global War Funded By You
Many Americans hung their heads in shame during the height of Bush-era warmongering, but how would those same Americans react if they knew that drone strikes— perhaps the most evil-sounding of tech-based American military tactics — have increased fourfold since Bush left office?
Not only that, but the documented kill rate of militant leaders has decreased from 33% to 13%, meaning we’re no longer reserving this treatment for high-value targets.
Of course, for Americans living on U.S. soil, drone strikes are only a distant concern. Over here, drones are only used to spy, as the FBI director openly admitted to Congress this June.
Freedom for Security
On the topic of spying, let’s talk about a popular topic of the day: the National Security Agency and their ever-vigilant efforts to keep us safe from, well, us.
Think Edward Snowden is a traitor? Well, just think about this: Without his efforts, we wouldn’t know that the NSA logged 2.3 billion phone conversations and email messages from Americans in the United States in January 2013 alone.
2.3 billion. That’s really only eight emails per month per American — so it’s no big deal, right? You’ve got nothing to worry about if you’re not doing anything wrong, right?
I guess we’ll find out…
Government Grows While Private Sector Income Shrinks
And in case you’re worried that the government doesn’t employ enough people to maintain this level of security-inducing vigilance, don’t you lose sleep: The Federal workforce is now at a record 2.15 million strong.
Not only that, but they’re better compensated than ever. Back in 2006, only 12% of federal civilian employees made six figures. Today that number stands at 22%. (Mind you, that’s 22% of a 20% larger workforce.)
Between 2007 and 2010, median income for American households fell from $49,600 to $45,800, taking them back to early 90s-level earnings.
If the Federal Government were a company, you’d assume that they were doing some pretty spectacular work.
Are they?
Real Debt Makes $16 Trillion Seem Petty
Thanks to the drama-hungry mainstream media, $16 trillion has become a buzzword to Americans as the figure representing our national debt. What we almost never hear is the much more dramatic sum of $86.8 trillion — which is our actual debt when factoring in long-term obligations such as Medicare and Social Security.
You know why those debts are rarely discussed? Well, as there isn’t that much money in circulation across the entire planet, it is unlikely that those obligations will ever be satisfied.
If you’re 40 or younger, that future financial security you’re paying into by subtracting from every paycheck you receive will be long gone by the time you’re old enough to collect…
But what’s the point in panicking now when there are so many other things to think about in the decades between now and then?
I bring this list to you with a hint of sarcasm.
Frankly, that’s the only way I know how to cope with these daily outrages without getting physically angry…
I know people who’ve already had their fill, and decided to do what so many of our grandparents and great-grandparents did generations ago. That is pack up their belongings and their families and seek greener pastures.
For most of us, however, that is not an option — nor should it be. This is still our country, and we should not be forced to look elsewhere just because our system of leadership is broken.
To Your Wealth,
Brian Hicks
Check us out on YouTube!Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing. He writes about general investment strategies for Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.
