The Debt Cieling, The Tea Party and Fuzzy Math
http://www.brickfinancial.com/thethirdpig/archive/2011/08/the_debt_cieling_the_tea_party.html
Posted by Ben Taylor on August 9, 2011 10:00 AM
The Debt Cieling, The Tea Party and Fuzzy Math
"Where the tea party is wrong" by Jeanne Sahadi; Cnn Money
"Reactions to the Debt Deal" by Justin Lahart, Wall Street Journal
I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than three percent of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection. - Warren Buffett
"'46% in U.S. don't pay taxes' only half the story" by Joe Garofoli; San Francisco Chronicle
"Spending AND Taxes Got Us Into This Mess, And Only BOTH Can Get Us Out" by Chad Brand; Peridot Capitalist
To counter one of the most common rebuttals to this conclusion (that taxes are too high) consider that federal taxes today are at their lowest point since 1950 (again, as a percentage of GDP). In order to balance the budget, we need to close an annual deficit of $1.4 trillion, the product of $3.6 trillion in spending versus just $2.2 trillion in tax collections. If we do not raise taxes at all, government spending would have to be cut by that $1.4 trillion figure, which would be a cut of 40% (and is impossible).
Portfolio:
"Has Starbucks had enough of laptop loungers?" by Chris Matyszczyk; CNET News
Life:
"The Six Levels of Trust" by Carol Kinsey Goman; Forbes
"Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne': Track-by-Track Review" by Erika Ramirez; Billboard