Tax Dollars Funding Empty Promises

Are you sitting down at home - because this next statement may come as a shocker.

The government spends and wastes too much money! Not surprised? Well, try this on for size. According to Roll Call, at the end of last year more than a dozen House staffers traveled to Morocco, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. It would cost you and I $150,000. Oh, and did I mention that not one Congress member was on the trip? In fact they spent nearly $18,000 to fly one committee staffer who's salary is only $23,000 a year. Congress is not responsible for keeping track of overseas costs because the funds come from a bottomless treasury account. Wouldn't you like that kind of travel stipend?

And it's just getting worse. The cost of sending members of Congress and their staffers has skyrocketed since 2001, when the total cost was under$6.5 million. In 2008, it was closer to $19.5 million. And those are just the expenses we know about. Lawmakers only have to report per diem costs. That's not the only way this government is bleeding red ink. A new report from USA Today has numbers that will make your head hurt. As taxpayer after taxpayer calls on this administration to cut back on spending, they're actually doing the opposite - adding nearly $5.5 trillion in new obligations just last year. Most of those dollars went to new retirees, thanks to Medicare and Social Security. But who needs reform? All of these unfunded obligations - meaning what the government has promised to spend, but can't afford - totals nearly $62 trillion. That makes the deficit of $1.5 trillion dollars look like pocket change.

Just to make sure you understand what this means, this $62 trillion is money you and I are responsible for. Each American household owes more than a half million dollars to pay off these "empty promises." With your mortgage, car loans, feeding your kidsthat's exactly what you want to spend your money on right?

These numbers are a reality, but most of this administration seems to be living in a fantasy world - where entitlements are all paid for and stimulus funds create jobs.

That sounds like a nice world - it's just not the one we live in.

Be sure to catch the Willis Report on the FOX Business Network every weekday from 5-6pm ET.