Here are the sources of revenue for the US Federal budget for fiscal year 1999 [a balanced budget] and fiscal year 2010. It shows the percentage of the revenue based on the type of tax:

As is obvious, the burden has been shifted from the personal income tax, the corporate income tax, and the excise tax to the FICA payroll tax and the miscellaneous taxes.

When someone says the wealthy pay “40% of the taxes”, they may or may not mention that the only tax they are talking about is the personal income tax. In 1999 that was just under 20% of revenue, and in 2010 it has dropped to about 16%. In contrast between the income taxes and FICA taxes, the working people provided over 60% of the revenue in 1999 and about two-thirds of the cost in 2010. This despite the fact that wages haven’t even been able to keep up with inflation, and the large increase in productivity.

I would also note that the receipts for the FICA taxes are severely impacted by high unemployment, so they will fall unless something serious is done about creating jobs. Creating jobs will also increase the receipts for the income tax. If you are really concerned about the budget deficit, jobs should be your top issue.

So Standard & Poors issued its warning about the risk of US bonds and the interest rate on 10-year bonds goes down.

A news flash for Standard & Poors: no one believes you any more. Go away and take Moody’s with you. The melt-down pulled back the curtain and we know you are frauds, ventriloquist dummies for your clients.

Not that it matters, obviously, but Standard & Poors basic claim that the Republicans are going to screw up the debt limit process, like everything else they do, is accurate. The real players already knew it, and have made their adjustments.

The media will play up the sturm und drang, unless there is a white woman missing somewhere, but the Constitution requires that the debts be paid, and Congress has already appropriated the money until October 1^st, so the “debt limit” is a device so bad it should only appear in a opera.