It seems in like and oxymoron: “The Economy Is So Bad That Government Will Be Giving Away More Money”. You and I tighten our belts in hard times, but as we seen before, the government responds differently.

In 2007 the government gave out over $1.8 trillion in grants, direct payments and other monies. In 2008 that figure grew to close to $2 trillion, and that figure is not accounting for an extra $1.6 Billion in bailout money, stimulus packages and other extra goodies that congress added so far in 2008. So, this year Washington will almost double what they intended to spend at the beginning of the year. Next year it will be even bigger yet.

So don’t believe the headlines when government officials start complaining about budget cuts. Sure, some programs may be trimmed, changed or reevaluated, and there will be states that will have to trim due to balance budget laws, but above all the cries of “Poor Me Budget Cuts,” there will be more opportunities with government programs because:

During hard times less people will apply to programs because they’ll believe in the cry wolf headlines. Any normal person would believe that the government can’t give out money if it is going deeper in debt... and the economy is in deep trouble.

Many of these government programs are classified as "entitlements," which means that those who show up and maintain eligibility, are legally entitled to receive help, regardless of the government's debt level. These programs include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, federal employee and military retirement plans, unemployment compensation, food stamps, agricultural price support and hundreds of others.

Government program agencies may first cut back on overhead expenses. During past budget cuts I’ve seen agencies cut out their 800 number just to save a few bucks when in fact they were giving away more money than ever before. These agencies will do everything they can to trim down extraneous spending without drastically interrupting services offered.

Like many things in Washington, the idea of "Budget Cutting" is not exactly as clear as it may seem to everyday taxpayers. In many cases, officials' budgets are not actually undergoing drastic reductions; rather, they will simply see smaller increases than previously forecasted -- instead of 6% growth, perhaps only 4% will be realized.

As times get harder, watch for more legislators try to increase their popularity amongst voters by trying to increase current benefit programs or starting new ones that they say will ease people’s pain during hard times. With Wall Street getting $700 Billion to cover their hard times it is going to be an easier case to make to give to others in the country. What the heck is a couple billion more.

Matthew Lesko is a best-selling author, government money expert and business mentor. His website, MyAmericanBenefitsPlan.com, is an interactive, online resource that serves as a hub linking entrepreneurs and free-money-enthusiasts alike. Lesko's 30 years of researching government money programs and his extensive video talents are all going into the web service. Lesko holds free, online seminars on Wednesdays, live at UncleSamLive.com.

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