It’s YOUR Money – Not The Government’s

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

“Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” – Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was a Democrat with conservative values, unlike many in his party. So he switched parties and became a Republican, serving two terms as California governor (1967–1975). He went on to national office, serving two terms as president (1981–1989). Reagan is often credited with our nation’s swing toward conservatism and is generally remembered favorably. He had a great sense of humor, which he used to move his agenda forward with Democrats, Republicans, and most Americans.

During the Reagan administration, however, our national debt grew threefold—from $971 billion to $2.97 trillion. But fortunately, there was a significant reduction in inflation and unemployment, a booming job market, large tax cuts, and the longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history—all of which helped offset Federal spending and the resulting debt. Businesses and people with jobs pay taxes that fund the government and its operations.

Unfortunately, our nation is now FAR different from Reagan’s America.

Today, in 2025, our national debt is estimated at $36.2 Trillion—and growing by a staggering $1 Trillion every two to three months.

There is significant inflation, a higher unemployment rate, a difficult job market, some tax cuts at the Federal level but increased taxes in most states, and a very unstable U.S. economy—all of which work against offsetting our Federal spending. Fewer businesses and jobs mean less tax revenue to fund government operations.

Americans seem unaware that uncontrolled spending causes unsustainable debt. Here’s why that’s bad: Federal debt and spending work similarly to your household finances. If you spend more money than you earn for long enough, buying things you can’t afford with high-interest credit cards you can’t repay, you will eventually hit the wall of bankruptcy.

When that happens, banks will not loan you money, and most credit card companies will not take a risk on you by giving you more credit—unless you pay excessively high interest rates. And that is where the United States finds itself today. Our nation is technically insolvent. The more money we print, the less it’s worth.

Here’s a practical example illustrating why YOU should care a lot and pay close attention to how local, State, and Federal governments are spending YOUR MONEY.

An apple, a loaf of bread, and an ounce of gold or silver are the same today as they were 10, 20, or 50 years ago. But it takes many more U.S. dollars to buy each of these items today. This reflects the reduced buying power of our currency, rather than a change in the real value of apples, bread, silver, or gold. As of yesterday, gold was valued at over $4,100 per ounce and silver at $51 per ounce. Gold was valued at $270 per ounce and silver at $5 per ounce just 25 years ago. The apple, bread, gold, and silver are all exactly the same today.

Suppose you’ve worked most of your adult life, saving and investing a nice nest egg—maybe $500,000. Twenty years ago, a person could retire comfortably living on the interest alone. That amount enabled you to pay cash for a nice home. But due to the double whammy of inflation and the devaluation of your dollars, that $500,000 will buy less and less with each passing year.

Unless, of course, the government cuts back—bigly—RIGHT NOW.

“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” – Sen. Everett Dirksen

It’s difficult for the average, math-challenged person like me to visualize or understand all of this massive spending and debt. So here’s how much just one trillion dollars is: 1,000 × 1,000 = one million; 1,000 × 1,000,000 = one billion; 1,000 × 1,000,000,000 = one trillion. Our nation has a current Federal debt of nearly $37 Trillion.

That money has been taken from YOU and spent by our government. You, your children, and your grandchildren will have to pay all of that back—or a national default will occur. At that point, there is no money and no safety net. That happened once before during the Great Depression, which was not so great for those who had to live through it.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the total market value of goods and services produced by workers and capital within U.S. borders during a given period (usually one year). As of September 25, 2025, the U.S. GDP sits at $30 Trillion. So, if the government were to confiscate 100% of all goods, services, and capital from every person in the U.S. this year, that amount still wouldn’t be enough to pay off the current national debt. And the government will keep spending next year and the year after that, ad infinitum. Debt will continue to grow.

The real median household income in the U.S. today is $83,730. At that rate, a household needs 12 years to make one million dollars. Many Americans today live paycheck to paycheck. Their monthly expenses include food, transportation, housing, utilities, clothing, and many other necessities. As a result, most Americans are not saving or investing significant amounts of money. Instead, they are accumulating more debt.

This will not end well—unless government at all levels goes on a crash diet, cuts taxes and spending, and lets YOU keep more of YOUR money to use for whatever YOU need or want. It’s YOUR money.

Note: All or most numbers herein were sourced from the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

Russ Minary is a retired sales executive, marketing consultant, small business owner and veteran. Before retiring in 2018, he helped businesses with hiring, talent consulting and organizational effectiveness. He is not an investment advisor or financial expert and does not work directly or indirectly for any government entity or person.  In other words, he’s just like you.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.