Quote:
Originally Posted by Baltar  Actually it didn't get by without an income tax during that time. Income tax was established for a brief period during the Civil War (Revenue Act of 1861). The tax was repealed in 1872. |
This is quite true. Damn my aging brain cells. The fact that it got repealed so quickly shows just how unpopular it was at the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baltar Got any appropriation data to back that up? |
It's been a while since I came across the data, and I don't have it to hand. I'll hunt around and see if I can find it again.
The huge industrial complex that is the defense industry in the States sucks down a vast quantity of tax dollars. It's probably also worth pointing out that the debt that is being created by this expenditure (for things like the Iraq War) is unlikely to be repaid fully in our lifetimes. It's a debt that Congress seems quite willing to pass onto future generations, burdening them before they've ever been born.
The Pentagon can also seemingly misplace billions of dollars each year without knowing what happened to it.