The drama of the last-minute vote to increase the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion has focused on projected deficits of the federal government and how they will add to the national debt. Those numbers are large. The national debt was $10 trillion when President Obama was inaugurated and is expected to be $15.5 trillion at the end of the year.

Yet focusing on the deficit understates the true cost of government. In fact, this year's deficit of $1.5 trillion is "only" 40% of federal spending. And while...