Big Government cuts away at Americans’ wealth, freedom, and quality of life. And not just a little.
Governments in the United States (federal, state, and local) spend $8 trillion every year. That’s money that politicians take from you in taxes and by other means.
About half of every dollar you earn ends up in government coffers. Take a look, if you dare, at the many taxes you pay.
Government spending in the U.S. is growing faster than both inflation and population growth combined, almost doubling every ten years. Government is assuming control of more and more of the U.S. economy.
Government regulations force individuals, businesses, charities, and other organizations to satisfy thousands upon thousands of government mandates, costing Americans another $4 trillion, every year. These costs are passed on to you in the form of higher prices.
Government regulations also harm the health of the economy, which means fewer job and business opportunities. Many small businesses cannot survive the costs and difficulties that regulations impose. A study by the Mercatus Center shows that the regulations added from 1980 to 2012 caused the GDP (gross domestic product) to be 20 percent, or about $4 trillion, smaller than it would have been at the end of that period. That’s a loss of about $13,000, on average, that workers would otherwise be earning every year.
Big Government drains your wealth in other ways.
Big Government diminishes the value of your property by imposing restrictions on its use.
When the federal government spends more than it can tax, it borrows, adding to its burgeoning debt. When that’s still not enough, it prints money out of thin air, diluting the money supply, and making your dollars worth less.
Big Government seizes the assets of Americans by eminent domain, asset forfeiture, and frivolous government lawsuits.
These “takings” cost Americans an additional hundreds of billions of dollars — every year.
But these are just the monetary costs of government. Freedom is another huge cost, and possibly the biggest price of all.
Big Government restricts or prohibits many things you might like — or need — to do. They take away your choices for innovative and better-quality products and services. They waste a lot of your precious time dealing with bureaucrats and red tape.
This diminishes your enjoyment of life and limits your prospects for a satisfying career. It thwarts your ability to support yourself and your family. It deprives you of the satisfaction and dignity of running your own life.
Other harmful effects of Big Government are yet another price you pay. Crime, drug addition and mass incarceration of people charged with drug offenses, who hurt no one except possibly themselves, are the result of the government’s failed war on drugs. Politicians refuse to end it.
Permanent disabilities, lost lives, and massive property destruction result from American’s meddling in foreign countries where we don’t belong. Our servicemen and women deserve much better.
Every American’s health is compromised or at risk because government meddling in the medical business has made a mess of the industry. It inflates costs by a factor of ten, making office visits, procedures, hospital stays, drugs, and insurance unaffordable. This cuts off access to services for millions, bankrupts thousands of families every year, and erodes the quality, safety, and convenience of the drugs and services that we can get.
The harmful effects of thousands of Big Government Programs touch all of our lives, sometimes with devastating consequences.
You pay a huge price for Big Government. So does everyone you know and love.
Have you had enough Big Government? Want to cut it down to size? Sign the Small Government Pledge℠ today!
