The Price of Things

I posted the rate of growth for the Federal Government here, over the last 30 years.

Federal Government Budget (Current Dollars):

1978 446 Billion
2008 2.651 Trillion

593% increase.

Oil (Current Dollars):

1978 $48
2008 $135

281% increase.

Gas (retail current dollars):

1978 $2.10
2008 $4.05

192% increase.

Over the last 30 years, our Federal Government has increased at 3 times the rate of gas prices.

So where is the concern about the growth of the federal government?

Data Source: Inflationdata.com

The Federal Government Windfall

After 3 government inquiries into the growth of oil company revenue and profits, I have noticed that NO ONE has asked about the explosive growth in Federal Government revenue.

The data:

Federal Government Revenue (current dollars - in billions)

1978 $446.5

1988 $997.2

1998 $1844.2

2008 $2651.0

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

For the kids in the back, that's a 593% increase in federal revenue over a 30 year period. This is an obscene growth rate. Where is the outcry for a windfall tax revenue investigation?

Here is the conclusion from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)(125-Year Picture of the Federal Government's Share of the Economy, 1950 to 2075). This report sees government spending as a share of GDP growing from the long-term average of 19% to 39.7% by 2075. With no change in current tax policies, this rise in spending means exploding budget deficits, eventually reaching 20% of GDP by 2075.

The conclusion from our own government is that current policies are unsustainable and given the push for massive new government spending programs, we can expect a total federal collapse well before the 2075 end date of this analysis.