rdquinn posted: " Is our national debt too high? If so how do we tackle it?We can reduce spending or increase taxes or some combination of both. The political left says raise taxes, but only on the wealthy. The political right says cut spending - mostly on social spending" QUINNSCOMMENTARY
Is our national debt too high? If so how do we tackle it? We can reduce spending or increase taxes or some combination of both.
The political left says raise taxes, but only on the wealthy. The political right says cut spending - mostly on social spending - on the assumption they are misused.
The left says work requirements are unfair, unnecessary and too onerous to comply with. That most people who can work do work. The right says work requirements need to be strengthened.
Somewhere in the middle are the facts and the truth.
The US debt to GDP ratio is 120%. Only a few countries in the world are higher.
The countries with the lowest ratio also generally have the highest income and sales taxes, but not necessarily the highest corporate taxes.
The countries with the most extensive social programs have the highest taxes on all their citizens, including national sales taxes (VAT).
The United States currently spends about 10% of the federal budget on social safety net programs (excluding Medicaid)
Tiny Denmark spends 43.8% of its federal budget on social programs. 30% of its workforce is employed by government. The US is about 6%. Denmark has a standard VAT of 25% (sales tax).
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