I have spent the last two columns talking about the inadequacy of the “tax the rich” plan of the President. As I have stated numerous times, we do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. To that point, look at the graph below, showing total federal receipts since 1980.
While we did see a drop in revenues in 2008, due to the financial crisis, we are now back to pre-crisis receipt levels. In fact, federal receipts in fiscal 2011 were actually more than 2005 and just shy of 2006 levels. Not bad for an economy that is coming out of a severe recession and operating in an anti-business environment.
Now if we flip to the other side of the ledger, you will see, that despite declining revenues, there was no corresponding decline in Federal spending. In fact, spending in 2008 increased to $3.5 trillion and has stayed there and based on the President’s own budget it is only going to continue to climb from there. In fact, by end of the President’s next term, spending is expected to exceed $4.5 trillion, $1 trillion more than we are already overspending today.
As you can clearly see, from the table below, the President intends to continue spending more they we can afford, which will put the government in debt by an additional $4 trillion by the time Obama leaves office. This is clearly a President who is not serious about solving our problems.
The only way we can solve our fiscal problems is to stop spending money we don’t have. Unless and until our elected leaders acknowledge this, there is no hope for this country.
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