Replies to post #145483 on Langlui's Big Board and Options Plays

[langlui]

CHART OF THE DAY: Washington, We Have A Revenue Problem
Joe Weisenthal | Jul. 25, 2011, 11:44 AM

The standard refrain on the right these days is that Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

So economist Menzie Chinn put that to the test, and guess what: It's pretty clear Washington does have a tax problem. While outlays as a percentage of GDP are near all-time highs, tax revenue + entitlement contributions is near an all-time low, and well below average.

If you believe that this gap needs to be shrunk, it's impossible to think it can be done on the cost-side at all.

Of course, any politician who says Washington has a spending problem, rather than a revenue problem, is speaking from a position of anti-tax ideology, rather than empirical data, so a rebuttal is probably pointless.