---
title: Why Exorbitant Government Spending Never Stops
date: 2025-11-16T04:51:16.885435
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
hidden: true
---
I was standing at the kitchen counter this morning, waiting for the kettle to boil, and I found myself staring at a stack of bills. You know, the usual suspects: electricity, water, some random medical bill I’d forgotten about. It got me thinking, in this jittery way that caffeine on an empty stomach encourages, about spending. My own spending is... well, I guess you'd call it a "work in progress" or maybe just "out of control." But mostly it spiraled into a mess of thoughts about government spending.
Why does it seem like the government is always spending so much? And more perplexing, why doesn't it ever seem to stop? The numbers are astronomical – like, wasn’t there a $33 trillion figure plastered somewhere recently? Or was it $31 trillion? I should really check that. I mean, these amounts are just huge, and I can't even fully wrap my head around what a trillion looks like.
I guess there's this uncomfortable truth about fiscal policy and monetary systems – they just don’t seem to operate like my personal budget. Or anyone's personal budget, really. There’s this idea that governments can keep spending because they can print money. I think it was last year, or was it 2020, when I read an article about quantitative easing – central banks buying up assets to inject money into the economy. Honestly, it felt like something out of a science fiction novel where money grows on trees. But it’s real and, I think, necessary? Maybe?
The thing is, whenever I try to make sense of it all – government spending, debt ceilings, deficits – my brain starts to fog up. And, okay, I’m not an economist, just some guy trying to make sense of why I pay so much for groceries. But when I hear politicians talking about fiscal responsibility, I can't help but wonder if anyone really knows what that means. It feels like everyone is pulling in different directions and the idea of “cutting spending” is just political noise.
I remember this conversation I had with a friend, who is somehow both a financial consultant and perpetually broke. We were talking about how, in theory, government spending is supposed to be like a balancing act. A kind of dance, if you will, between funding important stuff like schools and infrastructure, and not sinking the country into unmanageable debt. But it seems like that balance is more of a tightrope walk over the Grand Canyon. Or maybe more like juggling chainsaws while riding a unicycle. I don’t know. It just always feels precarious.
Maybe the problem is deeper – like, structural? I came across this term once, "entitlement spending," which covers things like Social Security and Medicare. It seems these are parts of the budget that are kind of... I don’t know, locked in? They keep growing, and the government can’t just cut them without facing serious backlash. It kind of reminds me of how my subscription services sneak up on me. You sign up for one, forget about it, and then suddenly you’re paying for six streaming platforms you barely use.
There's also this notion that the system itself sort of thrives on debt. Economists talk about debt like it's a tool, right? Good for investments, good for fueling growth. But isn't there a tipping point? Like, at what point does debt become a shackle instead of a springboard? I’ve heard people say deficits don’t matter as long as the economy grows faster than the debt. But isn’t that just another infinite loop of “spend now, pay later"?
I guess that’s what I really get stuck on. How does this all play out in the end? Or does it ever really end? Maybe the system is built to perpetuate itself in this strange, almost absurdist way. It's both fascinating and terrifying – kind of like watching a rollercoaster from the ground, seeing all the loops and wondering if the ride ever actually stops.
And here I am, still staring at my own pile of bills, musing over whether to cut back on take-out or finally cancel that one gym membership I never use. Government spending isn't like personal finance, and I don’t know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it’s just... a thing.
Anyway, the kettle’s boiled, and I need to deal with my own stack of financial chaos. Maybe I’ll get a better grip on this tomorrow. Or maybe not. Who knows?