Posted on 06/26/2009 11:49:10 PM PDT by newbie2008
The trends that I described before, with a falling market based income and rising net income from government (also known as the budget deficit) in America continued in May.
As a result of the latter trend, personal transfer receipts (such as social security and unemployment benefits) for the first time exceeded personal tax payments. Personal transfer receipts were $2,235.5 billion in May 2009, up 18.1% from 6 months earlier. Meanwhile, "personal current taxes” fell 20.6% to $1175.5 billion while the separate tax category "contributions for social insurance" fell 0.8% to $987.8 billion. While total tax payments exceeded transfer receipts by $578 billion 6 months ago, they are now $72.2 billion lower.
That personal transfer receipts now exceed personal tax payments is quite extraordinary since transfer payments do not include direct government purchases (spending on the military, law enforcement, schools, roads etc., which total more than 20% of GDP) or interest payments on the national debt.
We’re broke and Zero throws a Luau
Where are these numbers coming from? ... an important question!
OK, thanks. Checks out. Very interesting. I suppose the big increase in “Personal current transfer receipts” is due to unemployment benefits, and the fall in “Personal current taxes” is due to the concomitant unemployment. These are pretty dramatic changes, at any rate.
Interest payments on the national debt shouldn’t last much more than oh say three or four hundred years thank Obama and company. /sarc
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