Our Government In Action

The government is doing just fine, thank you. It's the rest of us who bear its costs in ways too numerous to contemplate.

Example:

The U.S. Department of Energy was created on August 4, 1977, during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, to lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.

At the time, the U.S. imported slightly less than 30% of its oil.

The U.S. now imports more than 65% of its oil. But worry not: the department has about 16,000 employees, about 100,000 more contract employees, and a 2008 budget of $24.2 billion.

Another Example:

The Federal Reserve Bank was instituted in 1913 to (i) prevent bank failures, and (ii) maintain price stability.

Prior to 1913 no more than 496 banks failed in any one year. Since then as many as 4,400 banks have failed in a single year.

In the century prior to enactment of the Federal Reserve Act wholesale prices fell by 6%. They have risen by 1,300% in the 95 years since then.