The tax burden on Americans is at its highest level ever. Today, people in America s lowest tax bracket give a higher percentage of their income to taxes than wealthy families did in the first days of the income tax. Historically, Congress has been more likely to raise taxes than to cut spending. Between 1983 and 1993, Republican and Democratic White House and congressional leaders raised taxes six times. The idea of a budget surplus has only whet politicians appetites, as many intend to gobble up the revenue to pay for new programs instead of giving the money back to its rightful owners the taxpayers.
Revenues are at an all-time high.
Without the increased revenue, there would be no surplus. CAGW s Prime Cuts documents pork, bureaucratic excess, corporate welfare, and poorly managed, obsolete, or duplicative programs. These funds must be spent every year. These mandatory spending programs accounted for 55 percent of the entire federal budget in fiscal 1999, further proof that the current budget process fails to control spending. In addition, payments on interest on the debt accounted for another 13 percent of the budget.