population growth and government spending

[bradfromearth]

I am looking for information on US population growth as it relates to government spending. A lot of my conservative friends seem to think that we should not increase taxes AND cut spending. They feel we should only cut spending. I am certain the nation has expanded, by way of birth and immigration, both legal and illegal (illegal is a seperate topic and not what I am looking to dig into here) but don't know how much. Does anyone have any good charts/tables on this?

My thought is that if the country has grown then the tax base is bigger and government spending should be greater as well.

I always feel like folks are off when they try to argue against a tax increase. They way I see it is simple. We have been spending on wars and it is time to pay the bill.

 

[g5000]

US Historical Population, by Year

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/ (see bottom of page)


You will find our population growth rate is actually slowing.

.

 

[Freemason9]

I am looking for information on US population growth as it relates to government spending. A lot of my conservative friends seem to think that we should not increase taxes AND cut spending. They feel we should only cut spending. I am certain the nation has expanded, by way of birth and immigration, both legal and illegal (illegal is a seperate topic and not what I am looking to dig into here) but don't know how much. Does anyone have any good charts/tables on this?

My thought is that if the country has grown then the tax base is bigger and government spending should be greater as well.

I always feel like folks are off when they try to argue against a tax increase. They way I see it is simple. We have been spending on wars and it is time to pay the bill.

I would refer you to the Bureau of the Census--also, look at the economic census numbers.

 

[waltky]

Granny says dey better not cut her Medicare...

‘We Darn Well Better Cut Spending’
December 10, 2012 – Erskine Bowles, who served as chief of staff to President Clinton and as the co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, said “we darn well better cut spending, because spending is the biggest part of this problem.”

Both Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) have offered tax hikes to avert the fiscal cliff. Obama wants to raise tax rates, while Boehner wants to limit deductions. If a deal is not reached, then tax increases and cuts in anticipated spending levels would automatically take effect in 2013. Bowles and former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, who served as the other co-chairman of Obama's fiscal responsibility commission, were guests on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Host Bob Schieffer asked, “So, Erskine Bowles, what should they do? What is the next thing that should happen to get this result?” Bowles said the two sides were playing “Kabuki theater” with offer and counter offer, but said both sides have at least “started to tango now.” “First of all, most important thing is if we’re going to raise revenue and if we’re going to raise it in any form, then we darn well better cut spending, because spending is the biggest part of this problem, and the biggest part of that problem is the fact that health care is growing at a faster rate than GDP,” Bowles said.

Obama’s plan calls for $1.6 trillion in tax hikes by increasing tax rates on those earning more than $250,000 per year, but his plan includes no spending cuts or entitlement reforms. Boehner’s counter offer raised taxes by $800 billion through limiting deductions and loopholes, but not through rates. The Boehner plan also offered spending cuts. “Even if you raise the top rates back to the Clinton rates, that only creates about $400 billion over 10 years,” Bowles later said. “That’s $40 billion a year. We have a trillion dollar a year deficit.”

Schieffer asked Simpson, “The New York Times crunched the numbers of the tax increases for the wealthy and determined even if the rates go back up to the Clinton-era rates, it would only give us about a quarter of the needed revenue. So what other things can be done? What other taxes have to be raised or where do you get the money to get us to where we need to be?” Simpson said deficit and debt reduction could not be solved through one avenue. “There is no possibility to do this, not a single economist who talked to us in our hearings, said we can’t grow our way out of this thing if we had double-digit growth for 20 years,” Simpson said. “You can’t spend your way out of this baby or you’re going to ruin a very fragile economy and an emerging and helpful nation, and you can’t tax your way out of this baby.”

Bowles:

See also:

Poll: 76% Want Across-the-Board Spending Cuts
December 10, 2012 : More than three-fourths of Americans want across-the-board spending cuts to the federal budget and more than two-thirds oppose raising taxes on small businesses that earn more than $250,000 per year, according to a Politico/George Washington University/Battleground poll released on Monday.

However, Politico, in its reporting of the poll, focused primarily on results favoring tax hikes on high-income earners and large corporations, even though the favorability for these were lower than the measures in favor of spending cuts. While 76 percent favored across-the-board spending cuts and 69 percent opposed raising taxes on small businesses earning more than $250,000 a year, smaller – yet significant -- majorities favored tax increases on high-income households and big corporations. The poll showed 60 percent favored hiking taxes on household incomes (not small businesses) of more than $250,000, and 64 percent that favored tax increases on large corporations.

Moreover, among the 76 percent in favor of cutting government, 59 percent said they “strongly” favored spending cuts across the board, compared to just 41 percent that strongly supported raising taxes on high earners and 19 percent that somewhat supported it. Also, 50 percent “strongly” opposed hiking taxes on small businesses, while 47 percent “strongly” supported raising taxes on big corporations. The poll comes at a time when President Barack Obama is facing off against House Republicans on talks to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, which refers to raising tax rates for all income brackets and allowing automatic spending cuts (sequestration) to kick in at the beginning of the new year, unless Congress acts.

The poll asked 1,000 respondents, “As you may already know, in December, Congress will consider a number of proposals to reduce the federal budget deficit. Please listen carefully as I read each proposal and tell me if you would favor or oppose that particular proposal.” Question 28 listed this proposal: “Raising taxes on households that earn more than $250,000.” Among the respondents, 41 percent strongly favored tax hikes on high earners, and 19 percent somewhat supported it. Just 25 percent were strongly opposed and 13 percent were somewhat opposed, while 2 percent were undecided.

Question 29 listed this proposal: “Raising taxes on small businesses that earn more than $250,000.” Only 13 percent strongly supported this plan, while 16 percent somewhat favored it, for a total 29 percent in favor. A full half of respondents, 50 percent, strongly opposed it, while another 19 percent somewhat opposed it, for a total of 69 percent against raising taxes on small businesses that earn more than $250,000 a year. On some other issues, the poll showed that the largest number, 23 percent, considered “government spending and the budget deficit” as the “most important” question Congress should focus on, followed by 22 percent on “the economy” and 14 percent on “jobs.” Only 2 percent said “illegal immigration” was the “most important” question for Congress.

More Poll: 76% Want Across-the-Board Spending Cuts | CNS News