Breitbart – Joel Griffith –
12/14/2012
MYTH 3: We have a “revenue”
problem
The revenue problem refers to the
notion that revenues are too low. Typically, special attention is drawn to the
tax rates paid by the “wealthy.” However, taxes are not too low. In actuality,
taxes are too high. Once again, take a look at the
last 20 years. In 1992, federal tax revenue totaled $1.642 trillion in 2012
dollars. In 2012, revenue skyrocketed to $2.435 trillion in 2012 dollars. While
federal spending has eclipsed revenue by more than $1 trillion each of the last
four years, too little revenue has not been the
culprit!
During the past 20 years, the
population has increased from
256 million to 314 million, a 22% increase. If federal spending increased only
at the inflation rate PLUS this 22% increase in population, the current
budgetary situation would be far different. How different? Total spending in
2012 would be $2.543 trillion with a resulted deficit of just $119 billion
dollars. Federal spending limited to just inflation plus population growth over
the last 20 years would result in 90% deficit
reduction.
Yet, the politicians who willfully
expanded federal spending far beyond inflation and far beyond population growth
now claim “low revenues” have brought us to the brink of fiscal disaster. Such a
claim is untrue—and avoids the reality that deep spending cuts – not tax
increases-- are now needed.
MYTH 4: Deep spending cuts will harm
economic growth
In actuality, behemoth government
spending is curtailing economic growth in the present. The sluggish pace of
economic growth, languid job growth, and the record low labor force
participation rate are all due in large part to high government spending and
borrowing. Every dollar spent by the federal government is one either siphoned
away from the private sector in the form of taxation, borrowed, or printed by
Federal Reserve through its federal bond buying program.
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