The Real Source Of Our Debt Problem!

Thanks to Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly!

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August 9, 2011 - Posted by ExtremeLiberal | Budget, Economy, Politics, Tax Cuts | Bush Tax Cuts, Source of debt

9 Comments »

Exellent! I’m cross-posting this chart at my blog.

Comment by Shaw Kenawe | August 9, 2011 | Reply
Can you just imagine if all that money, the orange part, was used for infrastructure, research, job training, student loans, help to states….what a different world we’d be in right about now.

Comment by ExtremeLiberal | August 9, 2011 | Reply
ExtremeLiberal, how was that money, “the orange part,” used?

Comment by Sherman | August 9, 2011 | Reply
- I suspect most of it was used to buy another yacht or a third or fourth home. The biggest redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the upper 1%. Oh, and I bet a lot of it was sent overseas, where they don’t have to pay taxes on it anymore, since Bush made it profitable to send our money and jobs overseas.
  
  Comment by ExtremeLiberal | August 9, 2011 | Reply
  - “I suspect most of it was used to buy another yacht or a third or fourth home.”
    
    You really have no idea how that money was spent, do you? What’s more, you have no way of finding out.
    
    If it was spent as you say above, then it created manufacturing and construction jobs.
    
    I think the tax cuts saved me and my wife about $1000/year. I can’t remember how we spent it — probably food or clothes — but I know for a fact I didn’t buy a yacht or another home or send it overseas.
    
    Comment by Sherman | August 9, 2011 | Reply
    - Sherman, yes it probably saved you $1,000.00 a year because you and your wife obviously make less than $250,000.00. It is the people who make the millions and billions who bought the yacht a 3rd or 4th home.
      
      If you think it is ok for the Warren Buffets of our world to pay less in taxes than their secretary, well you are in the minority.
      
      Comment by dreamweaver43 | August 10, 2011 | Reply
      - Call me selfish, but my family put that $1000 per year to good use. Bush and company would have blown it up in Iraq or given it to better off seniors to buy prescription drugs with.
        
        I think that individuals generally put their money to better use than Washington does so I’m all for letting them keep it.
        
        By the way, Warren Buffett pays way more taxes than his secretary. He just pays a lower percentage rate than she does, something like 17% as opposed to 35%. Her rate is higher because social security and medicare payroll taxes are regressive. Plus, he makes most of his income off of capital gains, which is taxed at a lower rate.
        
        In keeping with what I said above, I think Washington should reduce his secretary’s tax bite to 17%. If Buffett thinks he should be giving more of his billions to Washington, why doesn’t he just write them a check?
        
        (And another thing, why in blazes is my family subsidizing Buffett’s retirement pension and old age health care?)
        
        Comment by Sherman | August 11, 2011 | Reply
Been on the road (nearly 5000 miles now) through 22 states from Texas to Maine (including provinces of Ontario and Quebec). Sad to say that so many roads all over are in horrible shape. All I could think of was “shovel ready”. After traveling US 202 and US 206 from West Point to Trenton, NJ, a two-lane traffic jam for miles, realized that before President Eisenhower, the whole US highway system was like this. “Ike” proposed the Interstate System as a MILITARY objective and of course it passed Congress…one of the biggest SOCIALIST programs of the last half century. Sadly, now the Interstates are in disrepair in many places. I-69 has never been built from Indianapolis to Houston on to Laredo, Texas. But the Walton’s I-540 spur nicely has Bentonville connected now to Fort Smith and most of the route to Joplin. Noticed a NEW US 62 also being carved out of the Ozarks from Bentonville east to connect to Branson, Missouri.

Driving through Connecticut, heard on the local radio that some highway projects there were being defunded and over 2000 workers will be laid off. Got to get those UNEMPLOYMENT numbers UP before next election!!! Of the dozen plus hotel chains I have stayed in now, only able to find MSNBC THREE nights out of 13 nights as it seems most hotel/motel chains ONLY allow Fox News. Even some McDonald’s ONLY offer up Fox on their in-store sets. Joseph Goebbels would be proud of the REICH-wing media saturation in Amerika. I don’t even try to listen to most local radio since most spots on the dial seem to be monopolized by REICH Clear Channel.

Comment by Grant in Texas | August 13, 2011 | Reply
- I thought Houston had terrible traffic but the worst I’ve ever experienced (and I lived in L.A. for several years too) was yesterday between D.C. and Quantico just north of Fredericksburg, VA. Some highway engineer thought it would be a smart idea to merge 6 lanes of I-95 into THREE lanes at the Quantico gate, making the 30 or so miles take over 2 hours. Left the freeway to find old U.S. #1 no better, maybe even worse. Guess this is a NORMAL occurrence in this stretch of highway which has commuter trains running parallel, too.
  
  Comment by Grant in Texas | August 14, 2011 | Reply