Deficits and taxes
As yesterday came and went Americans hit the deadline to fill out their tax forms and see if they were getting a refund or owed taxes. "Tax Day" is not a day to which most people look forward. People complain taxes are too high and that their money is being wasted by the government. Taxes laws are complicated and many people hire professional tax advisers to help them. Our government has a branch of itself dedicated solely to the collection and enforcement of income taxes, at a cost of $11.6 Billion in fiscal year 2008.
Tax Day provides a good backdrop to look back on the spending of the last 8 years. President Bush inherited a national debt of $5.7 Trillion the day he was sworn in as President** . In his campaign, W promised to return the country to a smaller government and lower taxes. Then came the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Suddenly our government couldn't spend enough money, fast enough. There was the expansion of government of the PATRIOT Act and No Child Left Behind. The war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq came next. Over the 8 years he served in the Oval Office, President Bush's government saw our federal deficit nearly double (186%) to $10.6 Trillion dollars (the day Obama was sworn in). President Obama has submitted his budget for fiscal year 2010 that runs a $1.75 Trillion deficit. That's just the first year. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that policies and programs set forth by the Obama administration will generate deficits of nearly $1 Trillion every year that could bring $9.3 Trillion in deficits over the next decade. With the national debt today at $11.2 Trillion, that would take it to $21.1 Trillion in 2019. This includes additional taxes of $636 Billion over the next 10 years on people making more than $250,000 and $353 Billion in new taxes on corporations. So in 10 years there will be almost $1 Trillion more in taxes, but our national debt continues to skyrocket. Does this make sense to you?
To recap: Every President from Washington through Clinton amassed a total national debt of $5.7 Trillion. W ran it up another $4.9 Trillion. Obama could send it to nearly $20 Trillion by the end of his potential 8th year as President.
For those who care about numbers, this is what $1 Trillion looks like = $1,000,000,000,000.
In seconds, that would be 31,688.7 years.
Yesterday saw thousands of people turn out across the country in "Tea Party" protests regarding the irresponsible spending of our government. I've seen a lot of comments on blogs and news stories that "these idiots don't get it. Obama is lowering taxes." It doesn't take much digging into the numbers to see that they are not just protesting our new President's policies. We've spent way too much for way too long. The money has to come from somewhere and the government only gets its money from two places: taxpayers, and loans. The taxpayers later pay off the loans, plus interest, so it's really only one way, you and me.
Please educate yourself and the people around you so that we can bring and end to reckless Republican and Democrat spending.
** Please read this link for an excellent explanation of why Bush did NOT inherit a budget surplus from the Clinton Administration. The National Debt went up every year under Clinton. http://www.craigsteiner.us/articles/16
Tax Day provides a good backdrop to look back on the spending of the last 8 years. President Bush inherited a national debt of $5.7 Trillion the day he was sworn in as President** . In his campaign, W promised to return the country to a smaller government and lower taxes. Then came the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Suddenly our government couldn't spend enough money, fast enough. There was the expansion of government of the PATRIOT Act and No Child Left Behind. The war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq came next. Over the 8 years he served in the Oval Office, President Bush's government saw our federal deficit nearly double (186%) to $10.6 Trillion dollars (the day Obama was sworn in). President Obama has submitted his budget for fiscal year 2010 that runs a $1.75 Trillion deficit. That's just the first year. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that policies and programs set forth by the Obama administration will generate deficits of nearly $1 Trillion every year that could bring $9.3 Trillion in deficits over the next decade. With the national debt today at $11.2 Trillion, that would take it to $21.1 Trillion in 2019. This includes additional taxes of $636 Billion over the next 10 years on people making more than $250,000 and $353 Billion in new taxes on corporations. So in 10 years there will be almost $1 Trillion more in taxes, but our national debt continues to skyrocket. Does this make sense to you?
To recap: Every President from Washington through Clinton amassed a total national debt of $5.7 Trillion. W ran it up another $4.9 Trillion. Obama could send it to nearly $20 Trillion by the end of his potential 8th year as President.
For those who care about numbers, this is what $1 Trillion looks like = $1,000,000,000,000.
In seconds, that would be 31,688.7 years.
Yesterday saw thousands of people turn out across the country in "Tea Party" protests regarding the irresponsible spending of our government. I've seen a lot of comments on blogs and news stories that "these idiots don't get it. Obama is lowering taxes." It doesn't take much digging into the numbers to see that they are not just protesting our new President's policies. We've spent way too much for way too long. The money has to come from somewhere and the government only gets its money from two places: taxpayers, and loans. The taxpayers later pay off the loans, plus interest, so it's really only one way, you and me.
Please educate yourself and the people around you so that we can bring and end to reckless Republican and Democrat spending.
** Please read this link for an excellent explanation of why Bush did NOT inherit a budget surplus from the Clinton Administration. The National Debt went up every year under Clinton. http://www.craigsteiner.us/articles/16