1. There is no direction in Congress. The House of Representatives is controlled by one party and the Senate is controlled by the other. There are very few bills that will get through both houses. If the House passes a bill that is too Republican, the Democratic-controlled Senate will not even consider it. Congress has not passed a budget for 3 years.
2. The tax structure is too punitive on business, too lax on individuals. In the United States, the tax rate on business averages 35%. This is Federal tax, plus State tax plus local tax. Businesses are getting hit from all ends on the tax front. True, individuals are paying less in tax than ever...it has been that way for 10 years. It needs to be more balanced where individuals pay more but businesses pay less.
3. Jobs have moved overseas. This represents a loss in the opportunity to collect income taxes.
4. People are not making as much money as they used to. Some people have fallen out of tax brackets where they pay taxes to tax brackets where they receive back more than they pay.
5. Yes Congress (not the President) has been borrowing spending a lot of money...at unprecedented levels.
6. True some people are choosing to delay retirement and receive benefits, but more people are choosing to retire early because they have little confidence in working again.
The current deficit is as much a problem with lost revenue as it is with runaway spending. That is beyond the control and scope of Congress.
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