Cost Of Government Spending

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THE COST OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING

In the article “Families Pay Price For Government Spending,” author Wendy McElroy

brings up important issues about the average middle class family that struggles just to

keep food on the table while the government increases taxes and spending in other

countries. The cost of living continues to go up, while minimum wage is at a standstill.

As the government continues spending, they are tightening the noose around the neck of

middle class families.


McElroy reports, “The modern two-income family is no better off than the one-income

family from decades ago.” Although McElroy gives no examples of the modern family

budget, she provides convincing evidence from The Bureau of Labor Statistics. They

found that families in 2000 spent 44 percent less on household appliances than families in

1973, 22 percent less on food, and 21 percent less on clothing. McElroy states, “It is

reasonable to conclude or, at least, strongly suspect that discretionary income has

decreased. Other evidence supports that conclusion: over 1.6 million bankruptcies were

filed last year, up 7.4 percent from the year before.”


The government continues to increase spending on social programs instituted in the name

of political correctness that only tighten the noose even more. Just a few to mention are

the child abuse industry and the sexual harassment industry.


A financial incentive of $4,000 to $6,000 per child adopted was offered so the states

could raise the number of children moved out of foster care and into permanent families.

These expensive bureaucracies “slurp at the public trough,” leaving middle class families

taking up the slack.


“The direct tax support rendered to social engineering is only the most visible price tag.

The hidden costs are as significant,” reports McElroy. The author has provided

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