This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

Budget is fraudulent

Fri., Jan. 6, 2012

Income tax receipts are roughly $900 billion a year. Corporate taxes are roughly $200 billion annually. That’s $1.1 trillion in tax revenue.

Our current government expenditure is $3.5 trillion. Doesn’t this paper and the mainstream media report that our deficit is only around $1 trillion per year right now? Yes. But that’s because the government counts all $850 billion of payroll taxes (Medicare and Social Security) as current income. It’s not.

Those taxes are supposed to be funding the future liabilities of Medicare and Social Security, minus the taxes from those programs that they just approved for two months. But we’re spending all that money now. If a private corporation did the same thing, its executives would all go to jail.

Karen Osborne

Spokane

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