Then clearly expectations have changed, because the whole world is not in revolt (over taxes). The fact remains, and you can try to present data to the contrary, but overall (again, don't confound CA with everyone else), the US is a low-tax nation and a moderate spender.
Then you do not get what is going on in the world now or throughout history. High spending high tax countries blow up -- in europe now, and as they have blown up throughout the history of communism and socialism. The riots in greece... that is over tax policy, you may not realize it yet... but govts can't keep over spending and you can't grow an economy with high taxes. If you look at countries with improving economies you see lower taxes. You showed a plot the other day. Sweeden showed up as one of the few expanding economies .. its austerity measures included shrinking spending and lowering taxes.
From Ed Breen on another thread. "Oldtime, take hart, no need to be grumpy, this is just the material world. I got this note from a friend that might give you some encouragement... "The Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia provide good examples of successful fiscal adjustments. In the last few years, and contrary to the rest of Europe, the Baltic countries have focused on significantly cutting government spending without equivalent increases in taxes. As a result, the Cato Institute's Dan Mitchell reports, between 2008 and 2011, Estonia and Lithuania reduced nominal spending by 5 percent, and Latvia by 11 percent. France and the United Kingdom increased spending more than 8 percent over the same period, and Spain and Italy increased spending by 3 percent. In contrast to these others, the Baltic states have experienced some of the largest economic gains in the world: Between 2009 and 2010, Estonia's economy rose from an annual GDP growth of minus-13 percent to 3.1 percent. Sweden is another good example. The data show that after the recession, Sweden's finance minister, Anders Borg, not only successfully implemented reduction in welfare spending but also pursued economic stimulus through a permanent reduction in the country's taxes, including a 20-point reduction to the top marginal income tax rate. As a result, the country's economy is now the fastest-growing in Europe, with real GDP growth of 5.6 percent. Unsurprisingly, the Financial Times recently declared Borg the most effective finance minister in Europe. While the debate over austerity continues, the evidence seems to point to the conclusion that austerity can be successful, if it isn't modeled after the "balanced approach." It's a lesson for the French and other European countries, as well as for American lawmakers who often seem tempted by the lure of closing budget gaps with higher taxes." Source:Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University."
which reminds me... one more thing... when you spend so much that you borrow and create inflation... you are taxing the crap out of your people in a stealthy manner. As a result of the inflation caused by the govt overspending... the price of food, oil, housing and everything but tech has taken over a larger and larger chunk of most of the countries income. Inflation is a massively destructive tax. So all you overspending lefties are very mean people. You are sucking the life out of the people who earn a wage.
Sweden has a tax revenue to GDP rate of 47% (nearly twice the US rate), and a government spending to GDP rate of 52% (38% in the US), so we should find that the inflation rate in Sweden is far higher than in the US... ?
1. come on you know better than that. you are tossing me softballs. 2. inflation is one issue... it comes from debasing your currency by spending or "printing" more than you take in. 3. over taxing causes a stagnant economy. Looking at gdp over the last 20 years Sweeden had a very stagnant economy. averaging .7 percent growth. Which you might expect given the rate of taxation you just reported.
You posted: "Sweden is another good example. The data show that after the recession, Sweden's finance minister, Anders Borg, not only successfully implemented reduction in welfare spending but also pursued economic stimulus through a permanent reduction in the country's taxes, including a 20-point reduction to the top marginal income tax rate. As a result, the country's economy is now the fastest-growing in Europe, with real GDP growth of 5.6 percent. Unsurprisingly, the Financial Times recently declared Borg the most effective finance minister in Europe." So, was Sweden's economy great back then, or great now? Sweden GDP since 1970: http://www.ekonomifakta.se/en/Facts-and-figures/Economy/Economic-growth/GDP/ Sweden tax revenue per GDP since 1975: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tax-Revenues-As-GDP-Percentage-(75-05).JPG See the correlation? Me neither.