World by chartsOne way to look at this is: how much money does the government take as a percentage of GDP? This is suggested by Martin L. Gross in his book, National Suicide, where he suggests that taxes now account for 41% of GDP. It looks otherwise, and it’s hard to say which numbers he used in his calculation. Here’s the chart below of federal receipts, which include tax receipts.
Note that Bill Clinton presided over the 1992-2000 period, and Gerald Ford from 1974-1979, followed by Jimmy Carter.
Taxes go up during world wars, but do not come down once the threat has subsided.
Links:
Books:
National Suicide: How Washington Is Destroying the American Dream from A to Z
Series of interest:
Federal receipts as a percentage of GDP
