I mapped the growth of the Federal bureaucracy from its inception in 1788 with just 3 entities, all the way to 2026 where there are now 328 departments, agencies, and offices.
We went from having the smallest government in history to the largest in the span of 250 years.
The government has about 800 military bases in over 80 countries. It employs over 23 million people, almost 15% of the population of working adults. And the taxpayers paying for it all are being squeezed to the last penny. Even then, with 40,000,000,000,000 in debt and rising, we still can’t afford this monstrosity, never mind fuel and rent.
The Bureaucracy Map’s historical trend is clear: the government grows no matter what you do. No matter how you vote. No matter what the constitution says or what laws are passed.
It’s as immutable as any law of physics: Politicians will grab more money and power for themselves, and leave less to the people.
With every year congress passes hundreds more laws, and almost none are ever repealed. We now have so many pages of laws and regulations that it takes over 11,500,000,000 hours to comply with them, every year.
The conclusion is also clear: there is no reversing this. You can’t “save” it. It will grow until it collapses.
Stop wasting your time on politics and start working on real solutions in your personal life. Focus on what you control. Go plant a garden. Get some chickens. Have kids. Meet your neighbors. Build a resilient homestead and prepare for what happens when this whole thing falls apart.
You can explore the free site here and go to any year. The more recent decades show additional information like funding amounts for different agencies (where this is even available).
The tracker page shows the growth of laws and regulations and the cost of compliance.
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As the total volume of laws and regulations grows exponentially, several things happen.
First, it becomes impossible to comply with all of them. Ayn Rand already recognized this:
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."
But it's no longer possible to enforce all laws and regulations either. Enforcement necessarily becomes selective, and thus an additional revenue stream for those unscrupulous enough, and additional burden on everyone else (well, at least those without connections).
Corruption isn't accidental, it's built into the system. And when it becomes ubiquitous, no one even wants to stop this slow-motion trainwreck anymore.