Almost any time the subject of making the super-rich share in the sacrifices needed to reduce the defect, a Republican feigns indignation and says? We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a sending problem. Is that true? There’s an easy way to tell. If the Republican’s mouth is open when he or she says it, the Republican is lying.
Of course a deficit is that the difference between revenue and spending is less than zero, so the problem is that the difference. Raising revenue and cutting spending reduce the difference. But some Republicans are totally loony on the subject.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Jansing and Co. this morning, Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) ran into some problems defending a GOP talking point [Faux Noise delinked] when he claimed that the federal government has “too much” tax revenue coming in…
…Watch it:
The Republican message about a revenue vs. a spending problem is silly, as they are each flip sides of the same coin, but Rokita’s statement is just wrong. If the government spent only what it takes in in tax revenue, it would have to slash nearly half its funding to every program, from defense to Medicare, yet Rokita apparently thinks even that is too much. As a share of GDP, government revenue in 2009 (the most recent year available) was at its “lowest since 1950.” As this chart from the Congressional Budget Office demonstrates, the recession decimated the federal tax base:
But even before the recession, there simply wasn’t enough money coming into the federal government to cover costs, forcing the government to borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends, as Republicans like to remind Americans so frequently.
It’s worth noting that the last time Republicans claimed there was too much revenue coming into the federal government, they ended up solving that problem by helping to create the deficits of today… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Think Progress>
If nothing else, Rokita proves, beyond a shadow a doubt that the folks Republicans are putting up as candidates, these days, are not fit to be Dog Catcher.
6 Responses to “Revenue Problem or Spending Problem?”
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That’s Ok, once the Fourth Reich is back in power they’ll be echoing Cheney’s “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter” BS.
Too true Dave.
It is obvious to anyone with half a brain that we have a REVENUE problem caused by unnecessary tax cuts for billionaires, foolish subsidies, and corporate tax dodging occurring outside of our borders. These bastards must be made to PAY, and when they do, our deficit will disappear. As far as spending goes, the only problem there is that we don’t spend ENOUGH on the elderly, the needy, infrastructure, or job creation!
Jack, I maintain that the problem is the gap between revenue and spending, so it’s not a revenue problem, per se. Because we have a revenue shortage, brought on by Republican tax cuts and deregulation, a revenue solution would be most appropriate.
We do have a revenue problem look at the 2000’s – when the Bush tax cuts for the rich went in effect, the bottom fell out of revenues. That’s the problem.
Lisa, please see my reply to Jack.