In the recent political campaign speech (improperly labeled as a “state of the Union” address, a strangely invigorated and generally-well-spoken Uncle Joe didn’t actually specifically tell us what the state, the condition, was.
But his speech clearly implied that (1) the condition was great and improving daily, and (2) the only reason it wasn’t perfect was his predecessor. And all the bad things that guy did.
But is that true? The mere fact that the words were put into Uncle’s mouth means we have to question their veracity.
But when we look at the actual facts – the publicly available information – the Union (what is left of it) should be on life-support. And double-checking the will and last testament.
Why?
First, the regime claims that the States’ gross domestic product (GDP) is booming. That is indeed probably true. But as libertarian economists (and honest people) have pointed out for years, the GDP is a highly suspect number. Why is the GDP doing so well? Much of that comes from government spending: local, State, and federal spending. Much of it counted twice: the fedgov borrows the money (created by the Federal Reserve) and gives it to State or local (and tribal) governments, which spends it again. Indeed, government’s share of the GDP is reported as 42%. That incredible number is higher than what the government spent on national defense in WW2 eighty years ago! And close to what government spending was in the late, unlamented USSR just before its collapse more than 40 years ago.
We are told that national employment has never been better! Waving aside the point of how those numbers are calculated (twisted and padded), the numbers do not support Uncle Joe’s claim. But it is worse than just that. More and more people are employed by government agencies at all levels. And even more by private and public organizations that are in essence working full-time for governments: contractors. In fact, it is reported that the FedGov has 2.87 million civilian employees and 2.86 million military personnel (uniformed), and that as many as 25 million contractors (“fulltime equivalents”) work for the FedGov.
(South Dakota has a “pitiful” 8,458 fedgov employees. There are more than 160,000 in DC, and 142,000 in California. The Northern Mariana Islands has just 87!)
And of course, we are adding a trillion ($1,000,000,000,000!) FRNs to the “national debt” every one hundred days. (That is just $10 billion a day.) The US GDP is supposed to be 27.36 trillion bucks a year, but we add $3.65 trillion to the debt each year? And the national debt (www.usdebtclock.org) was 34.502 trillion at 1217 hours MDT on 11 MAR 2024. Is this not crazy?
And this does not include the indirect costs of government: the money that individuals, families, businesses, churches, and every other activity and entity have to spend. Why? To meet the demands of all the tens of thousands of government agencies. To comply with the laws and regulations. Not the laws and regulations that make sense (like stop signs and traffic lights) but the growing number of laws that exist only to control us more. The constant barrage of new laws and regulations that micro-rule our every waking and sleeping hour and cost trillions (all part of the GDP, of course).
The truly amazing thing is that we have not yet collapsed! We being the entire American economy.
In reality, despite the dog-and-pony show last week, the State of the Union (what is left of it) is insanely bad. And getting worse, literally, by the minute.
And of course, this does not include all the other problems: The multiple wars being waged around the globe. The crushing burden of inflation. The collapse of society in urban areas and elsewhere as morals are rejected and the “blackboard jungle” of past times expand into an “asphalt jungle.” But those are points to discuss in the future.
Uncle Joe lied. And not just people did and will die. Entire nations die. Just as they have when past presidents have betrayed both oaths and moral responsibilities and more.
But how foolish are we? Do we really believe that The Donald will be any different? Again, talking about the deep state and who really rules is a subject for another commentary. But sadly, we fear that 2025 will be no different from 2024 when it comes to the American economy and society. And the evil burden of government on us all.
About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.
The Price of Liberty 
State of the Union 2024? 2025?
In the recent political campaign speech (improperly labeled as a “state of the Union” address, a strangely invigorated and generally-well-spoken Uncle Joe didn’t actually specifically tell us what the state, the condition, was.
But his speech clearly implied that (1) the condition was great and improving daily, and (2) the only reason it wasn’t perfect was his predecessor. And all the bad things that guy did.
But is that true? The mere fact that the words were put into Uncle’s mouth means we have to question their veracity.
But when we look at the actual facts – the publicly available information – the Union (what is left of it) should be on life-support. And double-checking the will and last testament.
Why?
First, the regime claims that the States’ gross domestic product (GDP) is booming. That is indeed probably true. But as libertarian economists (and honest people) have pointed out for years, the GDP is a highly suspect number. Why is the GDP doing so well? Much of that comes from government spending: local, State, and federal spending. Much of it counted twice: the fedgov borrows the money (created by the Federal Reserve) and gives it to State or local (and tribal) governments, which spends it again. Indeed, government’s share of the GDP is reported as 42%. That incredible number is higher than what the government spent on national defense in WW2 eighty years ago! And close to what government spending was in the late, unlamented USSR just before its collapse more than 40 years ago.
We are told that national employment has never been better! Waving aside the point of how those numbers are calculated (twisted and padded), the numbers do not support Uncle Joe’s claim. But it is worse than just that. More and more people are employed by government agencies at all levels. And even more by private and public organizations that are in essence working full-time for governments: contractors. In fact, it is reported that the FedGov has 2.87 million civilian employees and 2.86 million military personnel (uniformed), and that as many as 25 million contractors (“fulltime equivalents”) work for the FedGov.
(South Dakota has a “pitiful” 8,458 fedgov employees. There are more than 160,000 in DC, and 142,000 in California. The Northern Mariana Islands has just 87!)
And of course, we are adding a trillion ($1,000,000,000,000!) FRNs to the “national debt” every one hundred days. (That is just $10 billion a day.) The US GDP is supposed to be 27.36 trillion bucks a year, but we add $3.65 trillion to the debt each year? And the national debt (www.usdebtclock.org) was 34.502 trillion at 1217 hours MDT on 11 MAR 2024. Is this not crazy?
And this does not include the indirect costs of government: the money that individuals, families, businesses, churches, and every other activity and entity have to spend. Why? To meet the demands of all the tens of thousands of government agencies. To comply with the laws and regulations. Not the laws and regulations that make sense (like stop signs and traffic lights) but the growing number of laws that exist only to control us more. The constant barrage of new laws and regulations that micro-rule our every waking and sleeping hour and cost trillions (all part of the GDP, of course).
The truly amazing thing is that we have not yet collapsed! We being the entire American economy.
In reality, despite the dog-and-pony show last week, the State of the Union (what is left of it) is insanely bad. And getting worse, literally, by the minute.
And of course, this does not include all the other problems: The multiple wars being waged around the globe. The crushing burden of inflation. The collapse of society in urban areas and elsewhere as morals are rejected and the “blackboard jungle” of past times expand into an “asphalt jungle.” But those are points to discuss in the future.
Uncle Joe lied. And not just people did and will die. Entire nations die. Just as they have when past presidents have betrayed both oaths and moral responsibilities and more.
But how foolish are we? Do we really believe that The Donald will be any different? Again, talking about the deep state and who really rules is a subject for another commentary. But sadly, we fear that 2025 will be no different from 2024 when it comes to the American economy and society. And the evil burden of government on us all.
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About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.