About Me

Jim Killebrew has 40 years of clinical psychological work for people with intellectual disabilities, and experience teaching, administration, consulting, writing with multiple publications. Dr. Killebrew has attended four Universities and received advanced degrees. Southern Illinois University; Ph.D., Educational Psychology; University of Illinois at Springfield, Counseling Education; M.A., Human Development Counseling; Northeastern Oklahoma State University, B.A., Psychology and Sociology. Dr. Killebrew attended Lincoln Christian Seminary (Now Lincoln Christian University). Writing contributions have been accepted and published in several journals: Hospital & Community Psychiatry, The Lookout, and Christian Standard (multiple articles). He may be reached at Killebrewjb@aol.com.

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Deficit sleight of hand

 


How does a politician increase revenue by decreasing taxes the way President Bush did, and how does one raise taxes and decrease revenue the way President Obama is doing? The current Administration's White House published data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in tandem with the Administration's Department of the Treasury, that revenues for the federal government were the highest in history at approximately $2.57 trillion dollars. This was not in the current Administration's tenure, but back in fiscal year 2007 under the former President, George W. Bush. There has been no year since that year when federal revenues exceeded the $2.5 trillion mark.

 

For the current Administration the total federal receipts reported by the U.S. Treasury for fiscal year 2012 were $2.449093 trillion as measured in constant 2005 dollars. This was significantly less than the record revenue in constant 2005 dollars in the amount of $2.4131 trillion in fiscal 2007.

 

The OMB's estimate of federal was 24.3 percent of the GDP in fiscal year 2012; this was the fourth straight year in which federal spending exceeded 24 percent. In order to balance the federal budget with spending at or near 24 percent of the GDP the Administration would have to request taxes in a much higher percentage of the GDP than any time over the past 82 years. The current Administration in the White House has calculated that level of taxation is needed to begin paying down the debt.

 

What is the rationale for continuing to spend at the highest levels, increase taxes to a higher percentage of the GDP and still think we will be able to reduce the national deficit? If past Presidents like President Kennedy, President Reagan and President Bush were able to reduce taxes to grow the economy and produce greater amounts of revenue, why would the current Administration refute their own reports from OMB and Treasury and try to continually raise taxes to induce more spending of revenue that will simply raise, not lower, the national debt?

Jim Killebrew

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