Jim Lane

Jim Lane's Journal

March 6, 2013

A Pop Quiz About Federal Spending That May Surprise You

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2013/03/05/a_pop_quiz_about_federal_spending_that_may_surprise_you_100179.html

The quiz consists of four true-false questions:

Question 1: The federal government is spending a larger share of national income than at any time since World War II - true or false?

Question 2: The federal government is collecting a larger share of national income in taxes than at any time since World War II - true or false?

Question 3: Social Security is currently running a deficit - true or false?

Question 4: Health care spending is outpacing the growth of income - true or false?

The author speculates that most Americans would get at least one question wrong, and would perhaps blow all four. He provides the correct answers, with supporting data, but I've reached my four-paragraph limit and I wouldn't want to include a spoiler anyway.

This piece is hosted on Real Clear Markets, which is affiliated with Real Clear Politics, which is a right-wing site -- so I'm a little surprised to find an article by a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. The comments, reflecting the site's normal orientation, are largely right-wing demands for lower taxes and attacks on government spending.

Profile Information

Name: Jim Lane
Gender: Male
Hometown: Jersey City
Member since: Fri Nov 12, 2004, 11:22 AM
Number of posts: 11,175

About Jim Lane

I spend most of my online time on Wikipedia, where we desperately need more people to help counter right-wing bias. Please PM me whenever you want help with a Wikipedia-related issue. (Remember that Wikipedia material must be neutral, but we can and should include facts that conservatives would prefer to suppress.)