The numbers for fiscal year 2015 for the US Government are staggering. It has collected an all-time record of 3.25 trillion dollars. This is far and away the largest amount any government in history has ever collected from its people. Let’s look at that number again:

3,250,000,000,000

The American people and American corporations are paying more money to the government than ever before, and what do they get for it?  More debt.

That’s right. Even record revenues isn’t enough to stave off the ever-growing lust for spending coming out of Washington. Party politics matter not. Everyone gets in on the spending.

The Democrats tout the Obama administration for reducing the deficits in Washington by record levels. But I’m sorry, it’s hard to get excited about the deficit reduction when you look at it logically.

George W. Bush’s last full year in office was 2008. The budget deficit for that year reached an all-time high, a monstrous figure slightly beyond the $450 billion range. Ballooning the debt a half a trillion dollars a year seemed unfathomable. How naive we were!

The following years, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 all had budget deficits of three times that amount – each year in excess of $1.2 trillion. What? What just happened? To be fair, the bulk of the 2009 budget should be put on Bush’s lap because he signed the fiscal budget for Obama’s first year.

And now, in 2015, as the Democrats are lauding the reduction of deficits, where are we? We’re back down to that 2008 figure! So in eight years, we’ve set unbelievable deficit records and have ended by patting ourselves on the back for bringing the figure down to the highest in history prior to 2009 – and that when our treasury is collecting money at record levels! Sorry, I don’t see a whole to get excited about.

The Republicans are no better. They have controlled Congress for most of Obama’s presidency. All spending bills originate in the House of Representatives. The Republicans are the ones who always go on about reducing the size of government and reigning in spending, but they too can’t help themselves. They pass untold programs and bills which feed their narrow constituencies or back-scratch their cronies.

Should a country with a revenue of 3.25 trillion be able to live within its means?

Absolutely!

And now in this ultra-politicized presidential campaign season, the politicians are promising the world – free this – free that.

The reality is, as the deficits of the past nine years pile up on each other, we find ourselves worrying about crossing the $20 trillion debt threshold with no ending in sight.

Think of it. A country in debt $20,000,000,000,000.

Get your freebies while you can because pay-back day is coming.