Am I the only one who’s tired of politicians from the left and the right coming back every year with the same brilliant plan:
“Give us more tax money.”
Maybe fix the giant hole in the bucket first.
Earlier this year, Scott Bessent spoke in Minnesota and cited estimates from the U.S. Government Accountability Office suggesting the federal government loses something like half a trillion dollars a year to fraud and improper payments.
In one recent year alone, around $160 billion in bad payments showed up across dozens of agencies and programs.
Half a trillion.
That’s not a typo. That’s a system.
But sure… the problem must be that taxpayers aren’t paying enough.
Meanwhile the “solutions” rolling out around the country look suspiciously like more taxes.
New York: floated a payroll tax that could hit workers making around $25K to fund childcare programs.
Washington: keeps discussing a shiny new “millionaire tax.”
California: debates wealth taxes on billionaires.
Oregon: already raised fuel taxes, registration fees, and payroll taxes for transit.
Colorado: limited deductions to bring in more revenue.
Different states. Same playbook.
And here’s the part that makes people laugh… or scream.
Government:
“We lost roughly half a trillion dollars this year.”
Also government:
“Anyway, we’re going to need more of your money.”
No.
Fix the leaks.
Audit the programs.
Stop losing mountains of cash.
Then—maybe—come back and ask taxpayers for another dollar.
Until then, it sounds less like budgeting… and more like someone who can’t manage a credit card asking the bank for a higher limit.