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    What’s Scary: Federal Spending Per Household

    October 31, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    2 Comments

    ScarySpending

    On this Halloween, ghastly, ghoulish garb and haunted houses aren’t the only sources of spookiness in Washington. Americans across the country have cause for alarm, because the federal government spent a spine-chilling $29,691 per household in 2012. As The Heritage Foundation’s “Federal Spending by the Numbers—2012” shows, federal spending per … More

    Carbon Tax: Won’t Reduce Deficit or Temperature

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    September 28, 2012 at 3:45 pm

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    carbon_dioxide_120712

    The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report that should be a cause for concern to all who believe in limited government. In it, CRS argues that a new tax on carbon could cut the deficit in half. There is nothing special about a carbon tax in terms of raising … More

    Chart of the Week: Tax Revenues Devoured by Entitlements

    August 25, 2012 at 10:08 am

    10 Comments

    entitlements-historical-tax-levels-560

    The looming unsustainability of the big three entitlement spending programs—Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—is not inevitable, but in order to avoid the catastrophic effects of consuming every bit of tax revenue in just one generation, reform is a necessity. Take a look at Medicare, the largest portion of the projected … More

    Chart of the Week: The Tax Burden on American Households

    April 15, 2012 at 9:16 am

    16 Comments

    Though the economic downturn has temporarily lowered overall tax revenues, the tax burden on Americans is still high.

    Americans who are scrambling to pay their taxes by Tuesday’s deadline are in store for more depressing news: The tax burden on American families has risen dramatically and will continue to climb into the future without action from Congress. This week’s chart outlines the growth of taxes over the past … More

    Chart of the Week: Runaway Spending, Not Low Tax Revenue, Fueling Deficits

    December 4, 2011 at 11:45 am

    21 Comments

    Runaway Spending, Not Inadequate Tax Revenue, Is Responsible for Future Deficits

    Following the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) criticized liberals for insisting that any deal include a massive tax hike. In a speech at Heritage last week, he said tax revenue isn’t the problem facing the United States in the future; it’s the … More

    Chart of the Week: How Social Security Is Contributing to the Spending Crisis

    September 11, 2011 at 11:55 am

    46 Comments

    entitlements-historical-tax-levels-600

    Last week’s presidential debate at the Reagan Library elevated Social Security as a national issue that could reshape the 2012 campaign. Candidates spent the week trading blows about the role of the 76-year-old social insurance program. Leaving aside the political rhetoric, one thing is certain: Social Security needs to be … More

    CBO Figures Once Again Prove Tax Hikes Unnecessary to Fix Budget

    June 25, 2011 at 9:00 am

    15 Comments

    Douglas Elmendorf On CBO Economic Outlook Report

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released its long-term outlook for the federal budget. As expected, we are going broke slightly faster than we were a few months ago. No doubt the usual bigger-government types will use this news to repeat the mantra that we need to both cut spending … More

    Semantics: “New Revenues” v. Tax Increases

    June 24, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    6 Comments

    U.S. Capitol at night

    If you’re following the evolving terms of the budget debate, the hip new phrase is “new revenues.” It sounds so much cooler than “tax increases.” Both parties are massaging their rhetoric in the debt ceiling fight, and the media are using the phrase “new revenues” to describe proposals to reduce … More

    Oil Tax Hike is About Raising Revenue, Not Clean Up

    May 17, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    15 Comments

    Instead of concentrating on the cause of the oil spill, lawmakers on Capitol Hill appear to be focused on liability limits and oil tax increases. The White House and some Members of Congress are pushing for a one-cent increase per-barrel of oil produced – from eight cents to nine. In … More

    Check Out the 2010 Budget Chart Book–New and Improved!

    April 8, 2010 at 9:37 am

    10 Comments

    The federal budget is on an unsustainable course with red ink as far as the eye can see, so it is especially important for Americans to understand spending, taxes, and debt.

    The Heritage Foundation’s Budget Chart Book is a user-friendly way to learn about the federal budget in pictures. More

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    The Morning Bell
    Morning Bell: Congress Is Trying to Fool You on Immigration

    Congress is trying to fool you. Here’s how they do business. A piece of legislation is going to cost trillions of dollars, but Members of Congress don’t want the public to see that. Instead, they have the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) look at the bill for just the first 10 … More

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