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Guns Guns Guns
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Washington's revenues are the lowest in more than 60 years.
So does the U.S. have "a spending problem," as Republicans keep repeating in the current debate over how to reduce the nation's record deficits?
Or is the problem that taxes are not high enough?
Some key facts worth considering:
http://factcheck.org/2011/07/fiscal-factcheck/
So does the U.S. have "a spending problem," as Republicans keep repeating in the current debate over how to reduce the nation's record deficits?
Or is the problem that taxes are not high enough?
Some key facts worth considering:
- Federal revenues are expected to drop to 14.8 percent of GDP this year, lower even than the 14.9 percent attained in both 2009 and 2010. There has been only one year since World War II when revenues have been as low as in any of these years: 1950, when the figure was 14.4 percent.
- These historically low rates of taxation have produced a chain of deficits that are the highest since WWII.
- The federal income tax accounted for 41.5 percent of federal receipts in 2010 (down from 49.6 percent prior to the Bush tax cuts of 2001 – 2003).
- Corporate taxes brought in only 8.9 percent, also down sharply.
- Payroll taxes and other "social insurance" payments accounted for 40 percent of total receipts in 2010.
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http://factcheck.org/2011/07/fiscal-factcheck/