Martin Wolf on taxes

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“The astonishing feature of the federal fiscal position is that revenues are forecast to be a mere 14.4 per cent of GDP in 2011, far below their postwar average of close to 18 per cent. Individual income tax is forecastm to be a mere 6.3 per cent of GDP in 2011. This non-American cannot understand what the fuss is about: in 1988, at the end of Ronald Reagan’s term, receipts were 18.2 per cent of GDP. Tax revenue has to rise substantially if the deficit is to close.”
— Martin Wolf is right, of course. But I’d note that at the end of Ronald Reagan’s term, America had a substantial deficit that required the 1990 budget deal, which was partly composed of — you guessed it — taxes.