Actually the constant cry for more tax cuts has given us this mess. A tax official talking about the current tax code described it as "more holes than cheese".
It boggles my mind how people can look at something like that and still refuse to close up the tax holes. Really? You really think you can get out of this hole without taking EVERY option available to you?
Its either a "spending problem" or a "revenue problem" depending on whether you value what the money's being spent on.
As a fan of functional democracies, I'm going to say there's a revenue problem. And it was caused directly by the Bush tax cuts and his stupid wars. (Policies continued by Obama, of course.)
If you think the government is spending too much of your hard-earned money, go move to Somalia, and pull yourself up by your bootstraps by yourself.
Note that the GDP grew by a very similar amount in the same period: http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:USA&dl=en&hl=en&q=us+gdp
That doesn't mean that the debt should not be much lower, but it does mean that it is not actually the exploding problem. It is more of a constant problem.
Also, to "Mel V", this chart proves absolutely nothing about tax loop holes. It doesn't prove how much tax revenue is lost that way, and might even suggest that the government will overspend no matter how much money they get.
The feds should get a credit rating the same way individuals do. If you constantly spend yourself to the brink of your credit, then you will have a weaker credit rating even if you have so far paid all of your bills. They do that because you are wasting all of your debt without leaving any room for those emergencies when you will actually NEED to do some deficit spending... and holy gee, guess what happened?
I would love to see a similar graph that shows spending and revenue. I guess that it would clearly show a spending problem, not an income problem.
ReplyDelete-Chipper
Actually the constant cry for more tax cuts has given us this mess. A tax official talking about the current tax code described it as "more holes than cheese".
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you: ludicrous tax cuts plus stupid spending with the military. War stream and Wall Streat.
ReplyDeleteIt boggles my mind how people can look at something like that and still refuse to close up the tax holes. Really? You really think you can get out of this hole without taking EVERY option available to you?
ReplyDeleteThis country is bought and paid for.
Its either a "spending problem" or a "revenue problem" depending on whether you value what the money's being spent on.
ReplyDeleteAs a fan of functional democracies, I'm going to say there's a revenue problem. And it was caused directly by the Bush tax cuts and his stupid wars. (Policies continued by Obama, of course.)
If you think the government is spending too much of your hard-earned money, go move to Somalia, and pull yourself up by your bootstraps by yourself.
As requested, Spending and revenue graph:
ReplyDeletehttp://journals.democraticunderground.com/mikekohr/51
Those aren't chickens. They're vultures.
ReplyDeleteNote that the GDP grew by a very similar amount in the same period:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:USA&dl=en&hl=en&q=us+gdp
That doesn't mean that the debt should not be much lower, but it does mean that it is not actually the exploding problem. It is more of a constant problem.
Also, to "Mel V", this chart proves absolutely nothing about tax loop holes. It doesn't prove how much tax revenue is lost that way, and might even suggest that the government will overspend no matter how much money they get.
The feds should get a credit rating the same way individuals do. If you constantly spend yourself to the brink of your credit, then you will have a weaker credit rating even if you have so far paid all of your bills. They do that because you are wasting all of your debt without leaving any room for those emergencies when you will actually NEED to do some deficit spending... and holy gee, guess what happened?
-Carl.