Theoretically the federal budget is controlled by the House or Representatives. They are supposed to send a budget to the Senate and the Senate is supposed to vote on it and pass it on to the President to sign. Unfortunately the last time Congress completed all bills on time was 20 years ago, in 1996. We have operated under Continuing Resolutions for a long time and federal spending has ballooned because of it. Why do we keep electing people who are not interested in cutting spending? The following information might be a clue,
On Wednesday, Townhall reported the following:
The state of Florida had a population of 22,610,726 as of July 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That ranked third among all states — exceeded only by Texas, which had a population of 30,503,301; and California, which had a population of 38,965,193.
As of this September, federal, state and local governments in this country employed a record total of 23,421,000 individuals, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In other words, government payrolls were populated by more people than lived in the state of Florida or in any of 47 other states. Only California and Texas had populations that exceeded the number of people who work for government in this country.
The article notes the incredible coincidence that government employees vote Democrat–they want to preserve their jobs.
The article concludes with a few examples:
In Maryland’s District 4, 12.29% of workers work for the federal government. It is represented by Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey. In Virginia’s District 11, 12.06% of workers work for the federal government. It is represented by Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly. In Maryland’s District 3, 10.72% of the workers work for the federal government. It is represented by Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes.
Imagine what our Congress would be like if 10% or more of the workers in every congressional district worked for the government.
That’s how the system works.