In his recent My Turn, “The myth of runaway federal spending,” Mark Fernald notes in defense of federal spending levels that Uncle Sam’s outlays as a percentage of GDP changed little between 1981 and 2023. What he doesn’t mention is that GDP, which includes government spending, doesn’t pay taxes, people do. A deeper dive reveals that the real (adjusted for inflation) growth in federal spending per person in his date range is 42% per person, which ain’t hay.

He goes on to say that federal revenue as a percentage of GDP has declined about 3.5% in the same period, which he attributes to underpayment of taxes by “the rich.” He doesn’t note that the top 5% of earners paid about 16% of the total tax take in 1981. In 2023, it was 66%. Fernald’s purpose in his essay was to castigate the Republicans, and I can think of plenty of reasons why that might be justified, but Democrats have been along for the jolly spending ride all the way and, for my part, I don’t think my neighbors or I are getting 42% better government than we were in 1981. I also very much doubt that “the rich,” no matter how heavily taxed, are going to be able to change that. I carry no brief for the R’s or the D’s (or “the rich” for that matter), but I can add and I don’t like the sums I’m seeing going out the door.

Christopher Carley

Concord