I’m a big fan of mastering fundamentals, whether they pertain to markets, your career, or elsewhere. Michael Hodges certainly has a good grasp of them and skillfully uses the government’s own data to rightly condemn our economic policies. His site, the Grandfather Economic Report is a startling look at just where we are, economically and socially, compared to earlier generations. Ever wondered how much of our economy is controlled by federal, state & local government?

This is a number we all need to know and understand to meaningfully debate topics such as health care reform, foreign policy and entitlement spending. We’d all be echoing Dr. No if there was a good grasp of just how much economic control our government already has.

This is just one small topic that is addressed in this constantly-updated and well-researched site. You’ll also find interesting nuggets on education, debt, inflation, taxes and savings (amongst others). It is a sobering read, but one that has some hope if we can start an informed discussion of these issues.

So, if you haven’t already run over to the site to find the answer, it is that the US Federal and State Governments account for 43% of our economy through direct spending and 58% percent if you include the regulatory costs of unfunded mandates. Wow.

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