Feds Tax $472 Billion in a Single Month… But What Are They Spending it On?
The CBO released data last week confirming that federal taxes and spending continue to grow.
The federal government set a record tax haul in April, taking in nearly a half-trillion dollars in one month alone, according to Congressional Budget Office statistics released Thursday.
April is always a busy month with the tax deadline on April 15, but this year’s haul was historic, totaling $472 billion, far outstripping the previous monthly record, set last April, of $414 billion.
Is this money going to pay down the debt and deficit? Spoiler alert: NOPE.
Both taxes and spending are growing rapidly, at 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
The CBO said the biggest spending increases are in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — the big entitlement programs that are essentially on autopilot, with costs increasing as more poor, disabled and elderly people become eligible. Combined, they are up some $81 billion compared to the same time period from fiscal year 2014. Defense spending is down, dropping by nearly 4 percent.
The number one threat to America’s fiscal health right now is our bloated system of entitlement spending. Entitlement program inefficiency and abuse is bad for the economy, bad for the U.S. workforce, and ultimately, a threat to our national security.
