This year, the federal government collected $2.8 trillion in taxes, but spent $3.5 trillion.?? It spent $700 billion more than it took in.??? During the last budget crisis two years ago, the total debt was $14.2 trillion.? Today, it is $17 trillion.
Those huge numbers for the whole country are too big to understand.?? So I divided them by 100 million to find out the share for each American family.
The federal government directly or indirectly collected $28,000 in taxes for each family in America this year, but spent $35,000.???? It spent $7,000 per family more than it took in.
This does not include state sales, income, or gasoline taxes or tolls, or local property taxes.
Two years ago, the federal government was spending $14,000 per family more each year than it collected in taxes.? At that time, its credit card was maxed out at $142,000 per family.
We had a budget ?crisis? in 2011 because Obama Democrats wanted to raise that limit, while newly elected ?Tea Party? Republicans in Congress wanted to cut spending.
But establishment Republican leader John Boehner was so afraid that Obama would shut down the government, that he compromised.?? That?s how we got the big tax hikes and some small ?sequester? spending cuts.??? That cut the yearly deficit to ??only? $7,000 per family.
Now our federal credit card is maxed out again at $170,000 per family.
President Obama, most Senators, all 200 ?Democrats in the House, and New Jersey House Republicans like Frank LoBiondo, Jon Runyan, and Leonard Lance tell us that raising the debt limit is the only ?responsible? thing to do.
I am a ?lawyer who represented families in bankruptcy for 36 years.?? I know from experience that families with yearly income of $28,000 can?t afford $170,000 credit card balances.?? The money left over after paying for rent, food, clothing, heat, etc. doesn?t ?even cover the interest.
Government is no different.?? The $28,000 per family we collect each year in taxes would barely cover the cost of just our military, highways, courts, police, ?prisons, pensions, etc. ?It would barely cover the interest.
Spending cuts to end our addiction to government borrowing is the first step to save our country.? That?s why next Wednesday?s election is so important for the whole country?not just New Jersey.
Fourteen years ago, Steve Lonegan became the first political figure in America to recognize the danger, and to consistently fight the billion dollar borrowing schemes of both Republican Governors Christie Todd Whitman, and Democrat Governor Jon Corzine.
Could anything fix debt ceiling crisis quicker than a Steve Lonegan upset over Cory Booker next Wednesday?