The TRUE Cost Of Outrageous Government Spending

Conducting research for my post concerning ridiculous federal employee compensation, I began to wonder what the true cost of government spending is when factoring the large portion of federal outlays that are comprised of dollars that are either borrowed or printed (which, too, are ultimately "borrowed"). I came up with a formula and applied it to a number of government expenditures, making them appear even more ridiculous.

The Formula

Under Obama, the annual deficit has been consistently hovering around 40%. In other words, for every $1 the Government has spent during the dictator's regime, $.40 has either been borrowed or printed (henceforth to be called "borrowed"). The majority of borrowed federal funds are derived from 10-year Treasury notes, whose yield has been hovering around 2% over the past couple of years. A 10-year Treasury note with a face value of $.40, 2% yield, and interest compounded semiannually would have a return of $.09. In other words, 40% of every $1 ($.40) the Government currently spends actually costs $.49. Therefore, $1 in government spending actually costs $.49 + $.60, or $1.09.

The Results 

Adding 9% to the following annual federal expenditures, we get:

Defense: $768.2 billion reported, $837.3 billion actual

Entitlements: $2.41 trillion reported, $2.63 trillion actual

Average Federal Employee Compensation: $126,141 reported, $137,493 actual

Federal Employee Minimum Wage: $10.50 reported, $11.45 actual

And the grand total:

Total Outlays: $3.83 trillion reported, $4.17 trillion actual

$4.17 trillion. I said it before: government debt over 85% GDP is a drag on an economy. Uncle Sam currently owes over 100% GDP, plus interest. The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.