One of the groups I belong to on Facebook found a gem of an article. It’s from the Seattle Times and written by Danny Westneat. Here’s the link if you’d like to read the full article:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2011635002_danny18.html
Westneat contends that the Tea Party, while well intentioned, is living “in an alternate universe.” He systematically picks apart each of the group’s arguments and complaints about the current administration. Each is logical and very well presented. One contention Westneat makes is that the biggest three expenditures we have, Social Security, Medicare, and Defense, add up to more than the money the government takes in from taxes. I thought that was a pretty bold claim so I decided to verify his work.
In the graph below, the United States took in $2.105 trillion in revenue in 2009.
In that same year (referring to the U.S. Spending graph) the government spent $3.518 trillion.
What’s interesting (and Westneat is correct) is that if you add the three biggest expenses (Security, Medicare, and Defense) the total is $2.136 trillion, a deficit of $31 billion. Therefore, even if the government cuts every other expense (NASA, National Parks, Energy, etc) it will still run a deficit.
I’ve spent a great deal of time reading the Tea Party’s positions and I have never read anyone from that group advocating cutting spending in the big three. Bottom-line, until we as a nation are ready and willing to make those cuts, taxes will have to go up or the debt will continue to grow.
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