As many Americans view their tax bill as a heavy burden, in reality, taxes in the United States are quite low today when compared with past years.
According to a New York Times article by David Leonhardt that was recently printed in the Columbus Dispatch, Federal taxes were under 15% of the nations economic output last year, the lowest level since 1950. Even when factoring state and local tax rates into the equation, they are still lower than almost any point in the past 40 years.
Leonhartdt writes that U.S. taxes are not sufficient to pay for programs such as Medicare, Social Security, road construction and other programs many people want. Ultimately, this combination will result in an enormous long-term budget deficit.
