For all the complaints about American tax rates, the U.S. ranks 32nd out of 38 nations in revenue as a percentage of GDP in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of market-based democracies devoted to “achiev[ing] the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living.” The U.S. is so much below the average ratio that if its ratio were simply average, it would bring in $26 trillion more over 10 years.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-22-2023

I never remember the numbers, but I know, generally, that Americans are under-taxed, compared to other wealthy democracies. But when the argument is that taxation is theft, rather than the price we pay for a civil society, this is what we get.

Indeed, this is one the takeaways I had and have held onto since my days as a public administration major.

I also deeply appreciate Jim Wallis’ view:

Any budget is a moral statement of priorities, whether it’s a budget created by an individual, a family, a school, a city, or a nation. It tells us, mathematically, what areas, issues, things, or people are most important to the creators of that budget, and which are least important.

https://sojo.net/articles/truth-bears-repeating-budget-moral-document

This is such a useful frame of reference for me, and I’d think about it as I pored over the excellent “Death and Taxes” infographics in the mid twentyteens. Sadly, those have not been kept up to date, but I’m guessing the overall percentages haven’t changed all that much. At the time, 50% of discretionary spending went toward defense.

Anywhoot. What’s everyone binge watching anymore?