How much does it cost to run a country? Each year federal, state and local governments confiscate more than $5.7 trillion from the economy, based on 2013 figures. Of that number, $1.1 trillion is eaten by local governments; state governments take in $1.6 trillion, and the federal government consumes more than $3 trillion. And still runs a deficit of hundreds of billions each year. Part of the problem is that We the People have developed quite a voracious appetite for OPM – other people’s money. Federal aid and entitlement programs consume the lion’s share of the budget; this is called...
