18 JUL 2009, Saturday

1. Government revenues are getting hammered at all levels.


2. First graph shows change in sales tax revenues for states. The consumer has closed his wallet which means that the already struggling states will have to make deeper spending cuts and/or raise taxes and fees (another word for tax) to fill the holes in their budgets.


3. Second graph shows Federal income tax withholdings which automatically come out of people's paychecks. With a drop that steep, it indicates that a lot of paychecks have disappeared due to the high level of unemployment. So again, reduced spending (yeah right) or increased taxes.


4. Simple question...why are the Feds on the biggest government expansion binge in history? This demonstrates the sad "Overdrawn? How can I be overdrawn? I still have checks!" mentality.


5. The Usual Suspects...