Episodes

  • Why Government Fee Structures Create Hidden Regressive Taxes

    Why Government Fee Structures Create Hidden Regressive Taxes
    Jun 16 2026
    Episode 55 of Government Spending with Fexingo uncovers a quiet fiscal paradox: government user fees—meant to be efficient—often act as regressive taxes. Lucas and Luna break down the economic mechanisms using real examples: the 2025 British Columbia vehicle registration fee that costs low-income drivers 0.8% of income versus 0.05% for high-income earners, and the US passport fee structure that makes a family of four pay $560. They explore the concept of fee-to-income ratios, the pitfalls of flat fees versus sliding scales, and why governments rarely measure distributional impact. The episode sticks to one clear argument: fees are taxes by another name, and poorly designed fees hit the poor hardest. No abstract theory, just concrete numbers and a clear policy lens. #UserFees #RegressiveTax #GovernmentFinance #PublicEconomics #FiscalPolicy #BritishColumbia #PassportFees #IncomeInequality #FeeStructure #GovernmentRevenue #HiddenTaxes #ProgressivePolicy #CostRecovery #EconomicInequality #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Economics #PublicFinance Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • Why So Many Government IT Projects Fail

    Why So Many Government IT Projects Fail
    Jun 15 2026
    Why do massive government IT projects so often go over budget and miss deadlines? Lucas and Luna dig into one of the biggest examples: the UK's NHS National Programme for IT, launched in 2002 and effectively abandoned by 2011 after spending over £12 billion. They trace the core problems: scope creep, fragmented procurement, misaligned incentives between vendors and agencies, and the lack of agile development practices. The episode also looks at more recent U.S. examples, including HealthCare.gov's disastrous 2013 launch and the lessons learned. Lucas explains how a shift toward modular contracts and iterative delivery is slowly changing procurement, but why political timelines and congressional budgeting still fight against it. A concrete, numbers-driven look at how governments waste billions on software. #GovernmentIT #PublicSectorTech #NHS #HealthCareGov #ITFailures #Procurement #AgileGovernment #ScopeCreep #BudgetOverruns #DigitalTransformation #Economics #PublicFinance #GovernmentSpending #TechDebt #ModularContracts #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #GovernmentEfficiency Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • Why Governments Issue Inflation-Indexed Bonds

    Why Governments Issue Inflation-Indexed Bonds
    Jun 15 2026
    In this episode of Government Spending with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore why many governments issue inflation-indexed bonds, like Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) in the US. They start with a concrete case: the UK's index-linked gilts, first issued in 1981 when inflation was running above 10 percent. Lucas explains the mechanics — how the principal adjusts with the Consumer Price Index, ensuring investors get a real return regardless of inflation. They compare the cost to the government: in a low-inflation environment, indexed bonds can be cheaper than nominal debt, but during inflation shocks, they become expensive. Luna brings data on the global market for indexed bonds, now over $3 trillion, with France, Japan, and Canada as major issuers. They discuss why some countries, like Germany and Australia, issue far fewer indexed bonds, debating the trade-offs between investor demand and fiscal risk. The episode concludes with a forward-looking angle: as inflation expectations remain elevated in 2026, indexed bonds are gaining renewed attention from both treasuries and pension funds. #InflationIndexedBonds #TIPS #GovernmentBonds #IndexLinkedGilts #UKGilts #Inflation #RealReturn #ConsumerPriceIndex #FiscalPolicy #PublicDebt #CentralBanks #InvestorDemand #PensionFunds #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #GovernmentSpending #FiscalRisk Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    11 mins
  • Why Government Pension Liabilities Keep Growing

    Why Government Pension Liabilities Keep Growing
    Jun 14 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack the mechanics behind government pension liabilities—the long-term promises to public employees that continue to balloon despite market rallies and tax hikes. They use the case of Illinois, where unfunded pension liabilities exceed $140 billion, to illustrate how discount rate assumptions, benefit formulas, and demographic trends create a fiscal time bomb. Lucas explains why a 7 percent assumed return can mask a 40 percent shortfall, and Luna questions whether politicians can ever reform these systems without breaking their promises. The episode also touches on how other states like California and New Jersey face similar challenges, and what it means for taxpayers and bondholders. #GovernmentPensions #PublicFinance #UnfundedLiabilities #Illinois #FiscalRisk #DiscountRate #PensionReform #StateBudgets #Demographics #Taxpayers #Economics #PensionCrisis #CaliforniaPensions #NewJersey #GASB #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #GovernmentSpending Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • Why Government Infrastructure Costs More in the US Than Europe

    Why Government Infrastructure Costs More in the US Than Europe
    Jun 14 2026
    Why does building a mile of subway track in the US cost five to ten times more than in comparable European countries? In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the specific structural factors behind America's infrastructure cost premium. They examine the 2019 Eno Center for Transportation study showing US transit projects cost $600 million per mile versus $100 million in Spain or France, then trace the causes: fragmented environmental review, local-content procurement rules, worker classification laws, and risk allocation in public contracts. The hosts use the California High-Speed Rail project — initially budgeted at $33 billion, now over $128 billion — as their central case. They discuss the trade-off between legal process fairness and cost efficiency, and ask whether the US could adopt European-style 'design-build' concessions without sacrificing accountability. No hot takes — just a concrete look at why America pays a premium for public works. #InfrastructureCost #PublicFinance #Economics #GovernmentSpending #CostOverrun #CaliforniaHighSpeedRail #EnoCenter #TransitProjects #Procurement #DesignBuild #EnvironmentalReview #DavisBacon #BuyAmerica #RiskAllocation #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #GovernmentSpendingWithFexingo #LucasAndLuna Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    11 mins
  • How Government Borrowing Creates a Crowding Out Effect

    How Government Borrowing Creates a Crowding Out Effect
    Jun 13 2026
    In episode 50 of Government Spending with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the crowding out effect—how government borrowing can push private investment aside. Using the 2026 US fiscal environment as a backdrop, they examine a Congressional Budget Office projection showing federal borrowing will absorb roughly 80% of net private savings this year. They walk through the mechanism: when the Treasury issues more debt, it competes for capital, raising interest rates and making it costlier for businesses to finance new projects. Lucas cites a recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research estimating that each percentage point increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio reduces private investment by 0.2% over five years. Luna challenges the conventional framing by bringing up Japan, where government debt exceeds 250% of GDP yet private investment hasn't collapsed—prompting a discussion of when the crowding out effect does and doesn't hold. They also touch on the Federal Reserve's role in offsetting or amplifying the effect through monetary policy. The episode aims to demystify one of the most cited but least understood arguments in fiscal policy debates. #CrowdingOutEffect #GovernmentBorrowing #PrivateInvestment #InterestRates #FiscalPolicy #FederalBudget #Treasury #NationalDebt #CongressionalBudgetOffice #NBERR #Japan #MonetaryPolicy #FederalReserve #CapitalMarkets #Economics #PublicFinance #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • How Government Insurance Programs Create Hidden Fiscal Risks

    How Government Insurance Programs Create Hidden Fiscal Risks
    Jun 13 2026
    Lucas and Luna explore how government insurance programs — from flood insurance to deposit insurance — create large contingent liabilities that don't show up on the official budget. They examine the National Flood Insurance Program's debt of over $20 billion, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's $50+ billion deficit, and how the FDIC's insurance fund works. The hosts discuss why these programs often charge premiums that don't reflect true risk, how moral hazard drives more claims, and why standard budget metrics miss these trillion-dollar exposures. A concrete look at fiscal risk hiding in plain sight. #GovernmentInsurance #ContingentLiabilities #NFIP #FloodInsurance #PBGC #PensionInsurance #FDIC #DepositInsurance #MoralHazard #FiscalRisk #HiddenDebt #BudgetGimmick #InsurancePremium #TaxpayerRisk #Economics #PublicFinance #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • How Government Block Grants Shift Risk to States

    How Government Block Grants Shift Risk to States
    Jun 12 2026
    In this episode of Government Spending with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how block grants have become a quiet but powerful tool for federal cost-shifting. Using the social services block grant as a case study—its funding has been cut by 40% in real terms since 2000 while states absorb rising demand—they unpack the fiscal logic behind this shift. Lucas explains the original 1980s rationale, the tension between flexibility and accountability, and the hidden burden state budgets carry when federal funding grows slower than inflation. Luna questions whether the data on outcomes is even measurable. The episode ends with a look at how Washington's grant strategy forces hard tradeoffs in state legislatures, with no perfect answer. #BlockGrants #SocialServicesBlockGrant #Federalism #StateBudgets #FiscalPolicy #GovernmentSpending #Economics #PolicyTransfer #CostShifting #WelfareReform #ReaganEra #FederalFunding #StateFiscalStress #BudgetTradeoffs #OutcomeMeasurement #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #PublicFinance Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins