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Tax Day!
Technically, it's tomorrow, but some quick numbers from Hilzoy over at Obsidian Wings
All numbers are in billions of dollars.
Total Receipts: 2,407
Total Outlays: 2654
Total Deficit: 248
Total Spent On Debt Service: 405.9
Just like an individual, there's plenty of good reasons for the government to run up debt some times. War, for example. (real wars, not this bullshit War On Some Terrorists) Or during recessions, to set the stage with infrastructure and jobs for the recovery. Tax cuts for the rich don't quite make the "good reason" cut, though. Especially since if you REALLY wanted to lower taxes, you could, say, take the surplus we had before Bush took office, and use it to pay down the debt, which would lower the interest payments. Or that money could be used for y'know, infrastructure, or teachers, or universal health care. Most of what we've spent it on hasn't been anything like that that would help the economy grow in the future, most of what we've spent it on is shit like the Iraq war.
But remember folks! The Republicans are the Party of Fiscal Restraint! (Which apparently means the party of "cut taxes and spend" which is what they've been...pretty much as long as I can remember, going back to Reagan etc, and definitely for as long as I could vote.)
And here's a short "oversimplified" video about the budget by Good Magazine
All numbers are in billions of dollars.
Total Receipts: 2,407
Total Outlays: 2654
Total Deficit: 248
Total Spent On Debt Service: 405.9
Just like an individual, there's plenty of good reasons for the government to run up debt some times. War, for example. (real wars, not this bullshit War On Some Terrorists) Or during recessions, to set the stage with infrastructure and jobs for the recovery. Tax cuts for the rich don't quite make the "good reason" cut, though. Especially since if you REALLY wanted to lower taxes, you could, say, take the surplus we had before Bush took office, and use it to pay down the debt, which would lower the interest payments. Or that money could be used for y'know, infrastructure, or teachers, or universal health care. Most of what we've spent it on hasn't been anything like that that would help the economy grow in the future, most of what we've spent it on is shit like the Iraq war.
But remember folks! The Republicans are the Party of Fiscal Restraint! (Which apparently means the party of "cut taxes and spend" which is what they've been...pretty much as long as I can remember, going back to Reagan etc, and definitely for as long as I could vote.)
And here's a short "oversimplified" video about the budget by Good Magazine