Balancing the Budget Without Cutting Spending Would Cause Taxes to Skyrocket

Everyone wants to know more about the budget and here is some key information with a chart from the Heritage Foundation and a video from the Cato Institute.

America is running massive deficits, and a balanced budget requirement is often considered a way to rein in red ink. Without serious entitlement and other spending reforms, the level of taxes required to balance the federal budget would reach economically stagnating levels.

PERCENTAGE OF GDP

Source: Heritage Foundation calculations based on Congressional Budget Office data (Alternative Fiscal Scenario).

In Depth

• Policy Papers for Researchers

  • BACKGROUNDER ON OCTOBER 28, 2010How to Cut $343 Billion from the Federal Budget
  • WEBMEMO ON MARCH 31, 2011Balanced Budget Amendment: Cut Spending Later, Cut Spending Now

• Technical Notes

  The charts in this book are based primarily on data available as of March 2011 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The charts using OMB data display the historical growth of the federal government to 2010 while the charts using CBO data display both historical and projected growth from as early as 1940 to 2084. Projections based on OMB data are taken from the White House Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The charts provide data on an annual basis except… Read More

• Authors

  Emily GoffResearch Assistant
  Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy StudiesKathryn NixPolicy Analyst
  Center for Health Policy StudiesJohn FlemingSenior Data Graphics Editor