Who Pays And How/ R Reich on shift burden for government

August 18, 2004
Thanks to last week's CBO report, everyone's suspicions that the Bush tax cuts mostly benefited the wealthy are confirmed. This isn’t a complete picture of how the financial burden plays out across society, says Reich. Who finances the massive federal debt and who pays the resulting interest is also revealing.


The first is about who’s paying taxes. There used to be a graduated system in which the rich paid a much larger proportion than the poor. But that’s changed. None other than the Congressional Budget Office—which, incidentally, works for a Republican Congress and is headed by a former Bush economist—reports that two-thirds of the Bush tax cuts have gone to the wealthiest 20 percent of American families. And the lion’s share, to the top 1 percent.

Now the second fact, equally important: The Treasury Department tells us that the nation’s total debt has soared from 5.7 trillion dollars four years ago, to 7.3 trillion dollars today.

more.... http://www.tompaine.com/print/who_pays_and_how.php

Any wonder why the "conservatives spend like there is no tomorrow? Simple public debt is a wealth transfer for the working to the wealthy!