Republicans blame runaway spending for our devastating deficits, while Democrats blame Bush tax cuts that reduced revenue. New figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis definitively resolve that argument: Americans pay federal, state and local taxes at a rate of roughly $10,500 per person —almost exactly the same amount of taxes we paid in 1990, adjusted for inflation. Because of rising incomes, we pay slightly smaller percentages to government, but in actual dollars, tax payments are the same.

When it comes to spending, however, per person amounts have skyrocketed from $13,000 in 2001, to over $18,000 today. For a family of four, government spends NEARLY $20,000 more than ten years ago! We don’t get better services or programs for all the extra money, just crushing deficits—caused entirely by soaring spending, not reduced payments to the taxman.