By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster
Government Spending = Government Control
At the end of August, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released revised estimates of government spending for the current fiscal year. The numbers show that the federal government will spend $30,958 per household. Where will they get this kind of money? $17,576 per household will come in taxes (paid mostly by the top 10% of US households) $13,392 per household will be borrowed, adding over $1.6 trillion to our national debt.
Looking at these same numbers another way, the federal government will increase spending by 22 percent this year. Isn’t everyone else cutting spending because we’re in a recession? Even more significantly, federal government spending will reach a peacetime-record 26 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Our federal government is spending more than ¼ of all of the wealth in America on its programs. This spending is not just temporary surge due to the recession, a “stimulus” for a troubled economy. President Obama has plans to keep annual spending $5,000 and $8,000 per household higher than it had been under President George W. Bush.
These numbers capture only federal government spending. I live in Maryland, where citizens pay an additional 10.8% of their income, or $5,669 per person in taxes to the state and local governments. If I know how to do my math correctly, I can calculate that in Maryland, almost 40% of all the wealth generated by private citizens and corporations goes directly to government.
Why does this matter? Well, Christians should care for two reasons: First of all, government spending means government power and the Bible warns against allowing governments to gain too much power (see 1 Samuel 8, among others). Secondly, as people have to give more of their money to support expensive government programs, they lose the freedom to invest that money in ways that would genuinely improve society and life for all.
Christians are called to care about the welfare of their neighbor, but my neighbor’s welfare is not improved by another government program and more government spending. As we examined in our article on “crowding out,” too often more government spending drives out private capital from areas that need it the most. “Crowding out” describes the unintended consequences of too much government spending. On the tax side, though, too much government taxation takes money away from investments that would otherwise help grow the economy in legitimate ways, ways that help more people by providing more jobs and more opportunity.
The final reason why this should matter is simple: It is unsustainable. Look again at the numbers in the first paragraph. The government is borrowing over $13,000 per household per year, with no plans to slow down or cut back! If my family was going $13,000 further into debt year after year, do you know where we’d be? Bankrupt!
We cannot afford to live in a society where 40% of the economy is government-run. We cannot afford to live under a government that takes on trillions of dollars in debt like it’s nothing. This is not in the best interest of our neighbors, and Christians of good conscience have an obligation to help put an end to this troubling trend. It’s our moral duty before God and our neighbor to be informed and proactive in advocating, voting and working for solutions.