grimmeissen
Administrator
Join Date: 1/14/2004
Posts: 1217
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Posted: 1/16/2008 11:12:44 AM
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Here is a comparison of the United States federal government's balance sheets from 2000/2001 and full-year 2007. Some interesting things to point out. Look at the jump in Department of Defense spending from 2000 to 2001, and look at the jumps in Education, Health, and Energy spending from the 2000/2001 period to 2007. If you take a look at the PDF files I have referenced, you will notice that MANY government institutions increased in cost over the past 7 years, and some of them drastically.
It is interesting to see in these numbers that while the Bush Administration supposedly "cut taxes," the actual reported amount of income was over $600 billion more in 2007 than it was in 2000. Much of this can be attributed to a huge rise in corporate taxes and rises in other types of taxes. Still, the American population paid over $300 billion more in personal income taxes after the Bush tax cuts went into effect.
The key in this data is not necessarily the income the government brought in, but the differences in spending that I mentioned above. Our country went from a $40 billion budget surplus in 2000 to a $300 billion loss in 2007. And this loss was on $600 billion more revenue!
If the country's expenses could only be reduced to the levels of the year 2000, half the income from personal income taxes would not be necessary.
Sources:
US Government 2000/2001 Financial Statements
US Government 2006/2007 Financial Statements
All numbers in BILLIONS.
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2000
Income
Individual Tax 1,635.2
Corporate Tax 204.3
Unemployment Tax 26.6
Excise Taxes 69.3
Estate/Gift Taxes 28.9
Customs Duties 19.4
Other Taxes/Receipts 56.3
Misc. Revenues 4.8
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2,044.8
Expenses
Dept. of Defense 382.2
Dept. Health/Human Svc 387.2
Dept. Education 29.6
Dept. Energy 24.2
All Other Depts. 1,177.2
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2,000.4
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2001
Income
Individual Tax 1,663.6
Corporate Tax 147.9
Unemployment Tax 26.7
Excise Taxes 67.3
Estate/Gift Taxes 28.3
Customs Duties 18.7
Other Taxes/Receipts 48.9
Misc. Revenues 12.3
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2,013.7
Expenses
Dept. of Defense 764.2
Dept. Health/Human Svc 434.5
Dept. Education 35.8
Dept. Energy 21.8
All Other Depts. 1,289.5
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2,545.8
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2007
Income
Individual Tax 1,999.8
Corporate Tax 367.2
Unemployment Tax 39.3
Excise Taxes 67.5
Estate/Gift Taxes 26.0
Customs Duties 18.2
Other Taxes/Receipts 79.6
Misc. Revenues 29.7
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2,627.3
Expenses
Dept. of Defense 664.5
Dept. Health/Human Svc 666.8
Dept. Education 61.8
Dept. Energy 63.2
Dept. Homeland Security 44.0
All Other Depts. 1,409.2
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2,909.5
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mccracken
VIP Member
Join Date: 1/16/2004
Posts: 262
Location: USA
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Posted: 1/17/2008 5:54:00 AM
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Yikes. The most amazing thing about this is the jump from 00 to 01 in Dept. of Defense spending. From $382B to $764B in one year. Especially impressive when you factor in that the panic over terrorism wouldn't have had an effect until 3/4 through the fiscal year.
Check it out.. check it out... and then pick it out....... Then show me my dinero!!!
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grimmeissen
Administrator
Join Date: 1/14/2004
Posts: 1217
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mccracken
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Join Date: 1/16/2004
Posts: 262
Location: USA
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Posted: 1/18/2008 11:38:40 AM
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Yep, it almost would have had to been.
The elipsis on the end of that last post makes it sound like conspiracy theories have set in.
Check it out.. check it out... and then pick it out....... Then show me my dinero!!!
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grimmeissen
Administrator
Join Date: 1/14/2004
Posts: 1217
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Posted: 1/18/2008 12:10:50 PM
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Actually, I try to distance myself from the conspiracy side of things and just stick to the absurdity of the real statistics. For example, the Money Masters is really good at pointing out the real flaws in the money system and how the Fed is always doing the wrong things, but it might focus a bit too much on the secretive circumstances by which the Fed was created.
I will say, however, that there were some people that came out of the Bush Administration who admitted that Saddam Hussein was a top goal long before 9/11 happened.
I think this site will be fun even if it's just you and me bickering back and forth about this stuff. Maybe I should tell the others to come back, but it might clutter the excellent discussion.
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mccracken
VIP Member
Join Date: 1/16/2004
Posts: 262
Location: USA
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Posted: 1/28/2008 5:41:09 AM
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More people would probably cause a detriment to the quality of discussion with stupid posts, but it would also give a platform for change.
I've already given up on change this election year. Everyone I try to tell about the crumbling dollar and how Ron Paul is the only candidate willing nto fix it says, "Who's Ron Paul?" I always reply, "The gentleman finishing ahead of Thompson and Guiliani that isn't being covered."
On another note. It's funny the change I've seen in myself since the foundation of the Spoon. I used to be a warhawk who was ok with military spending of astounding proportions. Now I'm all about the strength of the dollar, because I've realized that a strong dollar is the only thing that can keep America safe.
No one would mess with us if our currency made them economically afraid of us. Who wants our American dollars when they depreciate in value constantly?
Check it out.. check it out... and then pick it out....... Then show me my dinero!!!
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grimmeissen
Administrator
Join Date: 1/14/2004
Posts: 1217
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Posted: 1/28/2008 2:54:41 PM
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I'm with you there. I remember us all being somewhat hawkish on the war. I was very strong on the Afghanistan part while being somewhat reluctant on Iraq, but I went along with the bill of goods we were sold.
I'm like you. I look at economics much more now. I've been investing for a few years and the more knowledge you get in the macroeconomics field, the more you start to hate the current system.
And, unfortunately for the GOP, the more you realize how badly they've screwed everything up in the last 8 years.
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