By Orion Blackwood, Open Letter to The New York Times
For most Americans, the cost of living feels like a slow, grinding weight—mortgage payments, rising food prices, medical bills, and never-ending debt. But beneath these visible burdens lies an even more pervasive cost uncovered by a landmark report from the Independent Department of Government Efficiency (iDOGE): the cost of financing itself.
Every aspect of modern life—housing, food, transportation, healthcare, even taxes—is burdened by an invisible premium: interest and loan servicing costs. From personal credit cards to massive government borrowing, financing silently consumes a staggering portion of every dollar Americans spend.
What if nearly half of every dollar spent by the average American is actually absorbed by these financing costs? What if every paycheck is pre-carved by invisible hands—not just through taxes, but through a complex web of institutionalized debt? According to iDOGE, this is not a flaw of modern capitalism, but a carefully designed feature.
Financing: The Hidden Tax on Consumers
To grasp the scale of this invisible burden, let’s examine the monthly expenses of an average American household, earning roughly $84,000 annually and spending approximately $77,280 per year:
| Category | Average Monthly Cost ($) | % Going to Financing | Monthly Financing Cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing (Rent/Mortgage) | $2,120 | 30%–50% | $636–$1,060 |
| Transportation (Car, Gas, Insurance) | $1,098 | 25%–50% | $275–$549 |
| Food (Groceries, Dining Out) | $832 | 10%–20% | $83–$166 |
| Utilities (Electricity, Water, Internet) | $500 | 10%–30% | $50–$150 |
| Healthcare (Insurance, Medical Bills) | $550 | 20%–40% | $110–$220 |
| Direct Interest Payments (Credit Cards, Loans) | $400 | 100% | $400 |
| Taxes (Federal, State, Property, Sales) | $1,708 | 10%–15% | $170–$257 |
Total Financing Costs per Month: $1,724–$2,802
Share of Total Monthly Spending: 27%–44%
iDOGE’s analysis makes clear a staggering truth: up to nearly half of every household’s spending never buys tangible goods or services—it simply pays interest or related financial fees.
This is not merely an individual burden. Companies, entire supply chains, and governments depend heavily on debt. Thus, financing expenses are subtly embedded in every product you buy, from bread to gasoline, silently inflating prices and reducing consumer purchasing power.
This hidden financing cost acts like a silent tax on the economy, funneling resources away from productivity and into financial institutions, deepening wealth inequality and restricting economic growth.
Taxes: A Second Layer of Financing Extraction
As if embedded financing costs weren’t burdensome enough, taxes at all levels compound this financial extraction further.
The average household pays over $20,500 annually in taxes, funding not only services but also servicing massive government debts:
- At the federal level, over 10% of tax revenue pays interest on a national debt exceeding $34 trillion.
- Locally, municipal bonds finance schools, roads, and infrastructure projects, embedding long-term debt repayments into property and sales taxes.
Thus, households not only pay interest on personal debt but also bear the hidden cost of interest on governmental debt, creating layers of compounded obligations that further drain incomes.
A Debt-Based System—By Design
If this system feels inescapable, iDOGE’s findings highlight that it was deliberately engineered to be. The modern economic structure, anchored in perpetual debt and controlled financial expansion, began with the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
Prior to the Fed’s creation, monetary stability was reinforced by constraints like the gold standard, limiting runaway credit. The Federal Reserve, by centralizing control of currency creation under private banking interests, enabled continuous inflation, boom-and-bust cycles, and entrenched debt dependency.
Since then, the dollar has lost over 95% of its value, wages have stagnated, and consumer reliance on credit has skyrocketed. Despite claims of economic stabilization, the Fed primarily facilitates wealth transfer upward—benefiting lenders and financial institutions at the expense of everyday Americans, who remain ensnared in debt.
Breaking Free from the Debt Trap
The greatest deception, according to iDOGE, is the narrative that debt is essential to economic growth. Yet alternatives have historically existed:
- The United States once maintained periods of prosperity and growth without significant national debt.
- Other nations utilize debt-free money issuance, avoiding dependency on private banking systems.
- Societies less reliant on credit enjoy greater financial stability and reduced economic volatility.
Thus, the critical question raised by iDOGE is:
If nearly half of American income disappears into financing and taxation, who truly benefits from such a system—and can it be dismantled?
The answer, iDOGE argues, is political, structural, and historical. Tracing the system back to its origin—the 1913 establishment of the Federal Reserve—reveals not a system designed for prosperity, but rather one ensuring ongoing economic servitude.
Ultimately, iDOGE challenges policymakers and the public alike:
Is this debt-dependent economy sustainable, or is it time for a fundamental restructuring to reclaim financial independence for future generations?
