"It's free money!" many exclaimed. But nothing in life is free. This includes "free" things handed out by the government.

So today, you're paying for those stimmy checks and the government pandemic spending spree.

I've written that American consumers are paying more and getting less. Analysis bears this out.

According to estimates by Bloomberg Economics, US households will spend $5,200 more this year than they did last year on the same consumption basket.

That breaks down to $433 extra in expenditures every single month.

But you're not getting any more for your money.

Every dollar the government spends ultimately comes out of taxpayers' pockets. Governments can pay for their expenditures in three ways.

The most honest way is through direct taxation. The government collects the amount it spends each year in taxes each year. But that's not particularly popular with voters, and politicians are reluctant to push tax increases.