This week we learned that the federal government collected more in taxes this year than ever before. Tax revenues surged by 18 percent – the biggest year over year increase since 1977. Even so, President Biden and Democrats in Congress have spent so much, that even with this record spike in tax collections – the federal government still posted a record deficit. It’s pretty obvious: Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem.

Despite this, Speaker Pelosi wants to spend trillions more on an expensive “Green New Deal” style reengineering of the American economy and generous taxpayer handouts to households that, in some cases, earn as much as $800,000 a year. The Biden plan would also spend a whopping $80 billion to hire 87,000 IRS agents who would be empowered to monitor any American bank account showing more than $600 in “activity” (more on that later). Even worse, the White House is determined to push ahead with plans to target American families and employers with the steepest tax hikes in nearly a half century.

But while Washington, DC is booming, Main Street is struggling. The divide between those who live in America’s coastal political power-centers and the rest of the country is widening every day. And the Biden administration’s policies are making it worse.

Prices are skyrocketing thanks to reckless and unsustainable government spending. Inflation just hit a 13-year high – and we all feel it. Prices for staples we rely on continue to rise. Eggs cost more than they did last year. The cost of bacon, steak, ribs and chicken are up 20 percent over the last 12 months. Even your Friday Fish Fry isn’t safe – with fish costs up more than 10 percent.

At the same time, lucrative unemployment benefits – which paid millions of Americans not to work for much of this year – continue to take a toll on the economy. A record number of Americans quit their jobs in August.

That means businesses still clawing their way back from government lockdowns are struggling with staffing shortages and higher prices. It also means empty shelves, as the trucking industry struggles to find drivers while goods stack up at shipping terminals and warehouses. Making matters worse, heavy handed vaccine mandates are putting many workers in the impossible position of choosing between their jobs and their deeply held beliefs.

We’ve all heard the old adage: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. From the border chaos to the budget crisis, we’d all be a lot better off if President Biden and Speaker Pelosi would put down their shovels.