Tax Cuts Lead to Great Tax Revenue

**solypsist** · 02-06-2006, 20:38

if the tax cuts were such a good thing and brought in all this extra money, then why are all those programs getting slashed from the budget? Shouldn't the gov't be able to afford them now?

**Watchman** · 02-06-2006, 20:53

It is my understanding that the wealth distribution pattern in the US overall follows Third World lines - massive concentration in the hands of the minority at the top, and very little amongst the large underclass. Two triangles, one standing on its tip. It is only natural that this sort of distribution leads to the top layers paying the majority of the taxes - even with a flat tax rate, they just plain have the most to tax while the multitudious destitute at the bottom of the heap simply don't have much anything that can be taxed.

That said, I'm not all that convinced this increase in revenues is due to the "wise fiscal policies of the current adminstration" so much as of general conjecturals of the economy - all governements and their supporters after all earnestly try to take the credit for good things and deflect the blame for bad ones, even when they didn't necessarily have anything to do with them.

**Hurin_Rules** · 02-06-2006, 21:31

With all these great new revenues, the Bush administration has just released its budget for the coming year:

Guess what? It's the largest budget deficit in history, at $423 Billion:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4686684.stm

**Watchman** · 02-06-2006, 21:36

Ah. Priorities.

**Hurin_Rules** · 02-06-2006, 22:01

Originally Posted by Watchman

Ah. Priorities.

I believe the US now spends slightly more than half (51%) of its budget on the military.

**Watchman** · 02-06-2006, 22:18

My point exactly. And God only knows how much of that trickles off into accounts it should have no business in along the way.

That understanding would be wrong. The USA has a huge middle class- one that would increase if useless regulations and social programs that kept people stuck in poverty were done away with.

Not according to the charts I've seen over the years. The typical First World income-distribution scheme is roughly shaped like () - large and prosperous middle class, hence most of the total wealth in the middle part. The American ones invariably looked much more like the /\ \/ two-pyramid scheme characteristic of the Third World - large, poor underclass, extremely rich top layer.

As for "useless regulations and social programs that kept people stuck in poverty", stuff it. We've had those in abundance for decades over here and what *that* led to is virtual 100% literacy rate, at one brief point the virtual elimination of true poverty, and more prosperous middle class than you can shake a stick at. Heck, all those "useless social programs" were a major helper when people climbed the hill from poorly educated working stiffs to reasonably-comfortable middle-classers...
That your social security system is crap (which by all accounts the American one is) does not mean they all are, or have to be.

**Xiahou** · 02-07-2006, 00:32

Originally Posted by Hurin_Rules

I believe the US now spends slightly more than half (51%) of its budget on the military.

Not even close.

Originally Posted by solypsist

if the tax cuts were such a good thing and brought in all this extra money, then why are all those programs getting slashed from the budget? Shouldn't the gov't be able to afford them now?

This year's budget is still bigger than last year's.

**Hurin_Rules** · 02-07-2006, 01:04

Originally Posted by Xiahou

Not even close.

Here are the sources:

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...a&ct=clnk&cd=7

What are your figures?

BTW, to put it in perspective, the US accounts for approximately half of all the military spending in the world:

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...a&ct=clnk&cd=5

Also, US military spending now accounts for more than half of all discretionary spending in the US budget(they were just discussing this on CNN, how discretionary defense spending has now hit a new high).

**Crazed Rabbit** · 02-06-2006, 21:47

if the tax cuts were such a good thing and brought in all this extra money, then why are all those programs getting slashed from the budget? Shouldn't the gov't be able to afford them now?

Just because the government has the money doesn't mean it should be paying for every program some bum wants. And the capital gains tax revenue increases can't suppor thte whole federal budget.

It is my understanding that the wealth distribution pattern in the US overall follows Third World lines - massive concentration in the hands of the minority at the top, and very little amongst the large underclass.

That understanding would be wrong. The USA has a huge middle class- one that would increase if useless regulations and social programs that kept people stuck in poverty were done away with.

With all these great new revenues, the Bush administration has just released its budget for the coming year:
Guess what? It's the largest budget deficit in history, at $423 Billion:

It would appear that Bush is not exactly a fiscal conservative. Color me surprised.

The important thing, as budgets don't really have a place in this discussion, is that tax revenues went up when taxes went down. What Bush is doing with the budget is irrelevant to that fact.

Crazed Rabbit