In honor of tax time: The Atlantic's breakdown of Government income and expenses

[catherine]

This article (http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/04/how-america-pays-taxes-in-10-not-entirely-depressing-charts/360647/) is fun to read. (Thanks, NRM, for posting it on Facebook)

So, if you also enjoy it and read it, complete the following sentence:

The key take-away of this article for me is that:_____________________________________________ _____

[RosieTR]

The key take-away is that most of the media/political chatter about taxes obfuscates the reality. Also that the tax code could be simplified to give both parties some of what they want and benefit the US in the long run.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Well it seems a bit of a misdirection to talk about April 15th and then segue way into Social Security and Medicare. Although it is not entirely the case and may be less so in the future* Social Security and Medicare could very nearly be financed with NO Federal income taxes at all (though the payroll taxes designated as such). True it's all Federal revenue, but the money BEYOND that already collected by Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes mostly funds the war machine.

* although if payroll taxes no longer cover Social Security and Medicare, I think the powers that be will gut the programs rather than let them be financed by income taxes (haven't they been trying to afterall?). The rich probably aren't ever going to agree to fund these programs (EVEN THOUGH revenue from these taxes WAS used to fund the general budget in the past, so it's really just paying back a debt to these programs). Programs to benefit working people will be funded in the present by working people or not at all probably