Government spending per person in the United States has soared nearly 10,000 percent over the last century, as reported by the Federalist. The number is staggering, but the true question isn’t how much has been spent but what was bought and why the US government needs to spend at such a level.
Woodrow Wilson secured his second term in 1916 with the slogan: “He Kept Us Out of War.” America entered World War I give months later. I have repeatedly warned that nothing is more inflationary than war. Woodrow’s Administration multiplied spending to fund the Great War and the pattern continued. The national debt rose by over 700% under Wilson from $2.9 billion to $23.97 billion. Now, the national debt rises by $70,000 per second.
A century ago, federal functions were minimal. There was no widespread welfare state, no Medicare/Medicaid, no Social Security, no massive national defense commitments, no Federal Reserve-backed interventions, and a much smaller economy. It is unfair to compare 1916 to today, even when adjusted for inflation, due to the rising population, technology, and role of government.
The end of World War II marked the dawn of the welfare state. Roosevelt’s New Deal offered endless promises and programs to help the public. This was the beginning of a new wave of public confidence—America secured global victory after World War II and became the financial capital of the world. The tab on those programs was allowed to accumulate for years, a century perhaps, but that bill is coming due soon.
Once a spending program is in place, it will remain in place. Taxes are never revised downward. Defense and retiree benefits are obligations that must be repaid. As we saw with the recent government shutdown, a staggering 40% of Americans rely on some form of government aid and are unable to provide for themselves.
Government spending has exploded in recent years. President Barack Obama spent $700 billion under TARP and later signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to the tune of $800 billion. Spending spiked during the pandemic. Over $800 billion was allotted to the Paycheck Protection Program, and an additional $800 billion was provided in Economic Impact Payments. A total of $670 billion was spend on unemployment due to lockdowns. States and local governments were provided $634 billion in pandemic aid. Then there was the stimulus package under Donald Trump that dolled out $835 billion.
No president spent as much as Joe Biden. The Inflation Reduction Act was the most expensive federal package in American history that surpassed $1 trillion. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen came out and admitted the truth – the act’s entire premise is to push the climate change agenda forward. “The Inflation Reduction Act is, at its core, about turning the climate crisis into an economic opportunity,” Yellen admitted. The US saw inflation levels surpass 9%, and the final bill will be distributed to generations of Americans.
The US spent $7.035 trillion in FY2025, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which amounts to $20,474.19 per citizen. The recent government shutdown was the result of the Democrats insisting on raising federal spending as if it were possible to spend in perpetuity without repayment. The phenomenon is not isolated to the US as global debt reached 326% of GDP in January 2025. Failed policies and government spending have resulted in the current sovereign debt crisis. Governments have been borrowing since World War II with absolutely no intention of paying anything off. This is now all coming to a head, which is why we see governments becoming increasingly authoritarian, raising taxes, creating wars, and considering capital controls. A cycle in motion cannot be halted or altered. The bill is due, and the world must readjust to a new norm. We will see the massive changes on a global scale and into 2032 when the sovereign debt crisis implodes.