The course weblog for PA5113, State and Local Public Finance, at University of Minnesota
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Federal taxes lower under Obama than under Bush
This post from Slate today has a great quote from a former Bush administration advisor:
"America's tax system is clearly broken...It fails at its most basic task, which, lest we forget, is raising enough money to pay for the federal government."
This is a great example of how fiscal issues are subject to the political environment. It makes sense that budgets would be affected by political spin, since they are the most obvious display of policy priorities. However, it does make it difficult for the average citizen to figure out what's going on. I doubt that most people are aware of the facts cited in this article - the fact that taxes are lower than in past years with a Republican president may be accurate, but it's sure not getting a ton of media attention.
It's so frustrating to hear the "taxed enough already" argument when we are so clearly not being fiscally responsible and paying for our consumption of services as we go. It is an enormous disservice to upcoming generations, and clearly unsustainable.
This is a great example of how fiscal issues are subject to the political environment. It makes sense that budgets would be affected by political spin, since they are the most obvious display of policy priorities. However, it does make it difficult for the average citizen to figure out what's going on. I doubt that most people are aware of the facts cited in this article - the fact that taxes are lower than in past years with a Republican president may be accurate, but it's sure not getting a ton of media attention.
ReplyDeleteIt's so frustrating to hear the "taxed enough already" argument when we are so clearly not being fiscally responsible and paying for our consumption of services as we go. It is an enormous disservice to upcoming generations, and clearly unsustainable.
ReplyDelete