The annual rate of increase in U.S. federal government receipts picked up to 9.5% in Q3 2005, compared to 5.6% in 2004 and a negative -0.8% over the first four years of the Bush administration. (See Federal Flow of Funds Table F106).

During the last four years of the Clinton administration, receipts of the federal government increased, on average, 7.7% per year, which was faster than the reported rate of inflation.

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Under the Bush administration, current receipts of the U.S. federal government as of Q3 2005 reached US$2.1 trillion on an annual basis.

This was a new record, 17% higher than average annual receipts of the federal government during the last four years of the Clinton administration.

(See: Flow of Funds Table F106).

As the graph shows, most of the burden for supporting the federal government falls upon individuals, in the form of personal taxes and contributions for government social insurance. Corporations contribute less, playing instead a role as tax collectors for the bureaucracy.

The graph shows that even during the recession of 2002-2003, federal government receipts exceeded most years of the Clinton administration. The American media often fails to portray the ‘Bush tax cuts’ is this context.

	Federal Government Receipts