The Federal Deficit
 

Is anyone concerned about the federal deficit? I was just reading that the deficit is growing in large part because tax receipts are falling. In other words, the 2017 tax cuts continue to siphon revenue from the treasury. The tax cuts are not paying for themselves as promised. Tax revenue for the last two years has fallen more than $400 billion short of what the CBO projected months before the tax law was passed. The deficit is now nearly $1 Trillion. Some experts are saying this level of debt is unprecedented in peacetime during a growing economy. The economy is supposedly "booming" yet the deficit is the highest since 2012 when the country was emerging from the Great Recession.

I guess it depends on where you get your info from.. According to this article we have a spending problem.. Either way it's no good..
US deficit hits nearly $1 trillion. When will it matter?

For 2019, revenues grew 4%. But spending jumped at twice that rate, reflecting a deal that Trump reached with Congress in early 2018 to boost spending.

The article you quoted also said "Most analysts think any real solution will involve a combination of higher taxes and cost savings in the government’s huge benefit programs of Social Security and Medicare."

I think it is abundantly clear, that the promises that the tax cuts would pay for themselves, were just plain wrong. And frankly, it really irks me that companies are getting these huge tax breaks, with no guarantee that they will reinvest in this country or move their business back to this country. Instead, as predicted, companies focused on buying back stocks and increasing dividends, which benefits shareholders, not workers.

In my opinion, very few people are concerned about the federal deficit or the federal debt. It's simple math, if you spend more money than you receive in taxes, you will have a deficit. You can argue all you want about how much you should spend or how much you should tax, but until people become concerned about the deficit, it will never be eliminated.

I agree, it is not on a lot of people's radar. The last time I remember people making a big deal about it, was when Bill Clinton ran for president, promising to balance the budget. I tend to be a fiscal conservative, and I wish politicians, no matter which party they belong to, would start paying attention.

I found the tax cuts helped give my family a little extra savings for all their hard work. A good start would be for the government stop paying people, with our hard earned money, not to work. Lots of ways to save money w/smaller government, not making working people to give more.

I think that one thing that some people don't seem to understand is that almost all tax revenue comes from private businesses that make a profit. Our Government does not generate income. So, any taxing policy to raise revenue must take into account that it cannot prevent or impede private businesses from succeeding, or you will lose your income source.

As long as we vote for the people that want to give us something so we vote for them we will have a problem.

People sure we're concerned 2008-2016.


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You assume workers are NOT SHAREHOLDERS? Don’t most workers have 401K or Union Pension etc? Also we now have the lowest unemployment rate in history ...that means MORE WORKERS so workers are benefitting in many different ways, Lastly, inflation is nowhere in sight so interest rates are much lower making the financing of the deficit a lot cheaper.

But we have corporations that make billions in profits each year and pay zero tax. That isn't right either. Corporations should be made to pay their fair share.

I guess if the illustrious gang in Washington is not concerned about over drawing the check book......what is there to be concerned about?
:pray:

In answer to the reply about workers being shareholders, some workers yes, most, probably not.

Corporate Income Taxes are just a pass-thru to consumers. A corporate tax rate change will only have short-term benefits/pain. Over the long run, corporations will adjust and pass it thru.





A vast majority of corporate tax breaks come from accelerated depreciation and R&D write-offs. These tax breaks are just timing events. If corporations don't continue to invest in capital and R&D, the timing benefit will reverse. Not to mention the economic benefits of their investments.

People with pensions and 401k accounts among workers today is rare. The last time I saw the figures 52% of the population are receiving some type of federal aid with the balance paying tax. How long can the government (and how many states?) operate at a deficit? As long as people BELIEVE a dollar is worth a dollar.