Inuyasha wrote:
Funny cause it looks like you're the ignorant one...
A lot of what Fox News is reporting about the national debt for instance and the fact there is no way in hell that taxing the rich could pay for the insane entitlement programs can be proven using basic math, which leads me to ask if you know how to balance your own checkbook?
Last time I checked, federal government spending in the United States represented approximately 20% of GDP, of which about 2/3 was mandatory spending--roughly 13%, say.
Meanwhile federal tax revenues are currently running at about 15% of GDP. So by my math, the existing tax structure is sufficient to pay for all the entitlement programs. The issue, then, is to figure out what discretionary programs to provide, and what the sources of funds for those will be.
Eliminating tax expenditures alone is a start. Cutting the loopholes will not cover the costs of entitlement programs, but they will go a long way towards providing a secure funding base for discretionary spending. Then taxing individuals on a higher aggregate level will allow for reductions in corporate taxation so that the two sides can get restored to something approaching balance.
_________________
--James