A comparative view of tax policy changes since 1944
by Daryl AcumenThere are a lot of liberals out there making claims about the tax treatment of the 'rich' and the 'middle class' by Republicans throughout history. Just for fun, I've decided to play a little game with historical tax rates and a few adjusted gross income (AGI) scenarios. My question is this - "What would the ...
Continue ReadingWere the Bush tax cuts for the rich only?
by Daryl AcumenThis was my response to some a liberal I bumped into recently online who insisted ad nauseam that George W. Bush (and therefore Mitt Romney) only cut taxes on the rich at the expense of the middle class. Posting virtually unedited. Later I think I'll take some time and go into more detail. Bush tax cuts ...
Continue ReadingAbsolute Dollar category spending increases since 1962
by Daryl AcumenIn absolute 2005 dollars, here are the percentage changes in federal category spending since 1962: Commerce and Housing Credit -39.4% (yes, that's a decrease) International Affairs +2.7% (from here down the numbers are increases) Defense +56% Science and research +210.8% Energy +89.6% Environment +127.4% Agriculture +125.9% Air transportation +261.1% Community Development +535.5% Veterans Benefits +552.9% Training and employment social services +919.0% Administration of Justice +1,416.1% Education +1,919.6% Housing assistance ...
Continue ReadingUnconstitutional Spending Growth 1962 – 2010
by Daryl AcumenInteresting: I've been playing around with budget trends by agency since 1962 today and I observed some interesting trends. Focusing on Unconstitutional government agencies: Total unconstitutional spending has jumped from 37.3% of the budget in 1962 to 62.3% in 2010. That's an increase of over 25 percentage points! Health and Human Services spending has jumped from 3.3% to ...
Continue ReadingBottom 50% income tax percentage
by Daryl AcumenI've been playing around with IRS data between meetings conference calls today and bumping into some cool stats from the latest 2009 data. The bottom 50% of taxpayers in 2009 paid 2.25% of all taxes (on 13.48% of "adjusted" gross income which obviously includes a generous standard deduction). That's down from 6.46% in 1986. The average ...
Continue ReadingWhat is “Value-Economics” and Why Does It Matter?
by Daryl AcumenValue Economics is a term I coined to describe a new way of thinking about taxation as it relates to a national economy. Originally it was going to be the subject of a doctoral dissertation I hoped to write in graduate school (around the year 2004), but I never finished school so I wasn't able ...
Continue ReadingIt’s Beginning!!!
by Daryl AcumenFor years I've been looking at US data to validate my 'value-economic' theories of taxation and economic performance, but it seems I've been missing the real story. The U.S. tax system and the political debate here are relics of the past which are now rusting in the sunrise of a new value-economic tax explosion across the ...
Continue ReadingObjections to the 2/3 Requirement for Raising Taxes
by Daryl AcumenI've seen a couple of folks on the wires raise concerns about a 2/3 requirement to raise taxes, which was part of the budget plan that passed the House this week. I wanted to take a moment to explain why the 2/3 majority requirement makes sense and is so important. The historical average percentage of GDP ...
Continue ReadingGang of Six Debt Plan (revenue analysis)
by Daryl AcumenI've spent the last day or so doing an independent analysis of the Gang of Six debt plan and I wanted to share a few preliminary observations. The plan is pretty vague so I won't spend a lot of time going over every detail of it, but I wanted to bring your attention to the ...
Continue ReadingGang of Six Debt Proposal Released
by Daryl AcumenI just got a copy of the Gang of Six debt proposal that's now all the rage among 50% of the United States Senate. I haven't reviewed this yet, but here it is for those of you who care to review it. The "Gang of Six" is a group of Three Republicans and three Democrats ...
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