.........Countdown to starvation

Not that complicated. As a household I balance my budget. As a business I run a balanced budget or go under. You want to see complicated read the history of social security. Started out as VOLUNTARY and morphed into a monster that the government couldn't keep their hands off of.
I’m not going to turn this into a political discussion, but the assumption that government runs (or should run) like a business or household is false.

They make no products, make no sales and make no profits...balancing the budget is not a requirement. They only need to govern in all aspects, and that requires funds from where they can be obtained in order to do it to the level that is required to be effective.