It seems only fitting to take a deeper look into entitlement spending in the United States and its ever-growing presence as part of the Gross Domestic Product. The upward trends of entitlement spending show continuous and seemingly unstoppable growth in the coming years, causing alarm from spending hawks and many economists that argue of its unsustainability.

The Congressional budget Office has reported that there is only one facet of the U.S. federal spending that continues to take up a larger share of the economy; and, that is healthcare. Currently, entitlement spending and Medicare and Medicaid account for approximately 40-45% of government spending.

Entitlement spending is 100 times higher than it was in 1960, as the umbrella for which people are qualifying for entitlements is expanding, as well as the programs themselves.

Economists predict that with the introduction of “America’s last entitlement” or Obamacare will add an additional $206 billion in spending on top of the already massive entitlement and Medicare/Medicaid spending already in place.

Obamacare is on track to add $1.8 trillion in federal spending by 2023, which has many economists predicting that entitlement spending will soon overwhelm government spending as a whole with its continued growing rates.

Add this to the fact that more Americans are living on entitlements from the government and the trends do not point to a comfortable situation for government spending and debt in the coming years.

If the current trends continue, mandatory spending on programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid will grow from being only one quarter of the budget in 1963 to over 60% by 2023.

With entitlement spending ramping up and Obamacare growing in size and scope, the spending trends in the U.S. government suggest a future where these facets of our economy take up a larger and larger focus, inhibiting our ability to spend in other much needed areas of the government.

One must also realize that soon these entitlements will become such a large part of American lives that they will not be able to be scaled back and that is a scary thought for economists concerned about the federal debt and government spending, as well as the entire American economy’s ability to function.

The post Up, Up, and Away: Entitlement Trends in the Obamacare Era appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Regardless if it does or not, here are 7 ways “We the People” could be affected by a government shutdown:

1. Taxes
   • Naturally, we would still have to pay our taxes.
2. Mail
   • Depending on how long the shutdown lasts, we may stop receiving our mail.
3. Loans
   • That house that some of us have been saving up for, if we were planning on applying for a government-backed mortgage to make it happen, we’ll have to put those plans on hold.
4. Guns
   • If any of us were thinking about getting a license and becoming a gun owner, we’d best get our twiddling thumbs ready because we’re going to be waiting a long time.
5. Jobs
   • Most of us that are federal government employees will be forced to take unpaid leave from our jobs. Others will be forced to work on federal IOU’s until a new funding bill can be drafted, approved, and signed by the President.
6. Tourism
   • Our national parks, museums, and monuments will shut their doors to the public, which will prevent our government from generating the money it needs to keep the lights on.
7. Social Security
   • New memberships for this and other entitlement programs, such as Medicare, will be put on hold.

Believe it or not, our government has been through a shutdown before; the United States federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996 happened during Bill Clinton’s first term as President of the United States.

We survived as a nation, but our economy suffered, as it cost the government $3.7 billion. This time around, if we don’t demand a speedy resolution from our government, it could end up costing our government much more than before.

On the other hand, some of our elected officials in Washington D.C. argue that a government shutdown could actually save our government money, preventing government dollars from being wasted on unnecessary government programs.

We at Follow My Vote don’t have an opinion on this issue or any other political issue for that matter, as we are and will forever remain a nonpartisan organization. However, we do think it’s high time that “We the People” decide on which government programs should be considered necessary or unnecessary.

One thing we do know for sure is that we will always have a need for some level of government in the United States and abroad in order to keep the peace, which is why we’re here.

If you want to be considered part of “We the People” please register for our site and join us in our quest to ensure our elected officials in Washington D.C. stop playing political games and start working for us!

The post What will happen if a government shutdown occurs? appeared first on Follow My Vote.