ECO 100 Final Paper Effects of taxes on the economy

F. Gross national income in purchasing power parity per capita (GNI PPP/capita) converts income into "international dollars" and indicates the amount of goods and services one could buy in the United States with a given amount of money.

The current tax policy in the United States is very confusing and it is very costly for our government to administer it. It is in the best interest of our country and its citizens to revise or replace our current tax policy.

Throughout the entire existence of any form of government, there has always been taxes. Most of the time (if not all), people hate taxes. With this being said, the United States has adopted a progressive tax since its very existence. We believe that if our nation is placed under a flat tax system, our economy will operate more effectively. If we incorporate a flat tax system we will be able to ensure fairness among all citizens, eliminate tax loopholes, and allow opportunities for business expansion. With this being said, we will be examining the strengths and weaknesses about the flat tax system and how it has been used into practice.

Heated debates over tax cut have always been one of the central economic themes on the American political table. Since taxes relate directly to the quality of lives, it is by no means surprising to find people showing significant concern about policies regarding cutting or raising the amount they have to pay. The idea that lowering tax rate makes room for growth has remained generally popular among the majority, taking a possible decrease in individuals’ tax burden and increase in productivity into account. There is, however, extensive research conducted on the topic that produced controversial results. Despite its appeal to instant benefits for one’s saving account and investment, reducing tax rate has yet to show a definite positive effect

Tax decreases can stimulate economic growth because if people are paying less in taxes, they have more money to spend. It has been proven over the years that tax decreases generate economic growth and federal revenue will always rise. From a personal standpoint I always spend more during tax season because I usually get a good return; since I am a single parent and full-time student, therefore, I qualify for various tax breaks. These obviously affect my household because I am more disposable income. Tax decreases can help a business if their taxes are decreased the organization will payout less and have more income.

Government activities have a powerful effect on the US economy in stabilization and growth which is the most important are. The federal government guides the pace of economic activity, attempting to maintain steady growth, high levels of employment, and price stability. They do so by adjusting spending and fiscal policy- tax rates- or managing money supply and controlling use of monetary policy-credits. It slows down or speeds up the economy’s rate of growth, which affects the level of prices and employment. After the Great Depression in the 1930’s, recession (high unemployment) was

Gross Domestic Product, also known as GDP, is defined as the dollar value of all final goods and service produced within the border of a country during a specific period of time, typically in one year. GDP measures the value for the whole country, and it also changes quickly. We can take a look at the trends of US GDP in the website of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

According to the financial definition, a recession is a significant decline in activity spread across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income, and wholesale-retail trade. The technical indicator of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as measured by a country's GDP. (Dictionary.com) A less official and more realistic definition of an economic recession is the social perception of the state of the economy at a given time. The collective beliefs of the public, mainly businesses and consumers, drive the social perception of whether things are seen as positive or negative. Unfortunately

A recession is full-proof sign of declined activity within the economic environment. Many economists generally define the attributes of a recession are two consecutive quarters with declining GDP. Many factors contribute to an economy's fall into a recession, but the major cause argued is inflation. As individuals or even businesses try to cut costs and spending this causes GDP to decline, unemployment rate can rise due to less spending which can be one of the combined factors when an economy falls into a recession. Inflation is the general rise in prices of goods and services over a period of time. Inflation can happen for reasons such as higher energy and production costs and that includes governmental debt.

The economic meaning of a recession is that the gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined for two or more consecutive quarters. Unemployment rises, housing falls, stocks fall and the economy is in trouble. Whenever the government sees that the economy is entering a recession it is important for it to act. The U.S acted in two ways during the Great recession of 2008 through fiscal and monetary policies. Renaud Fillieule identifies that “ Monetary and credit expansions have been the main tools used by the U.S. government and central bank to try and recover economically from the Great Recession of 2008” (Fillieule r, Pg. 99 2016). These Keynesian policies are debatable among economist, none the less they were implemented and put the U.S on the road to recovery.

The American people are in the presence of the highest tax burden in American history; taxes represent a larger share of the U.S. economy than ever before (Armey 2). After World War II, the average family sent only about three percent of its income to Washington. The same family today gives 24 percent of its income to the federal tax collector (Mitchell 1, 9). Once state and local taxes are added to the federal take, taxes make up the biggest slice of the average family's budget. As Daniel Mitchell of the Heritage Foundation shows in Figure 1, the typical American family now pays more of its budget in taxes than it spends on food, clothing, transportation and shelter combined (Mitchell 1, 10).

In a democracy, being taxed is an institution that is often despised by the citizens, but are often necessary for the functionality of a government. A major effort by the Trump administration is to reform the current tax code in the United States and bring back the “Reagan Tax Cuts,” which often Republican reminisce about. From this, there are polarized views about the subject from liberal and conservative views, such as Center for American Progress’ view on the losers and winners of the House GOP tax plan, and The Heritage Foundation’s overall macroeconomic standpoint on the tax bill. The article by the Center for American Progress emphasizes the actual impact to average everyday Americans contrasted to the wealthy elite. In contrast to

By examining states across the country that have experienced greater business growth and have decreased unemployment, the cause of the economic growth traces back to reduced marginal tax rates. Likewise, greater investment and productivity comes from lowering tax rates, since returning more money to the US taxpayers encourages their saving and work effort. Lowering taxes also results in perhaps the most important effect, increasing government revenues and reducing the national debt. With America’s increasingly massive national debt and stagnant economy, the need to improve the country’s economic situation grows more important every day. Perhaps when Congress goes to prepare its next budget, it should consider reducing marginal tax rates as a remedy for the nation’s economic

RECESSION A recession—also sometimes referred to as a trough—is a period of reduced economic activity in which levels of buying, selling, production, and employment typically diminish. This is the most unwelcome stage of the business cycle for business owners and consumers alike. A particularly severe recession is known as a depression.

A general slowdown in economic activity, a downturn in the business cycle, a reduction in the amount of goods and services produced and sold. All of these listed here, are characteristics of a recession. A recession has a domino effect, where increased unemployment leads to less growth and a drop in consumer spending, directly affecting businesses, which lay off workers due to losses. A recession occurs when there are continuous (two or more) quarters of negative gross domestic product growth (GDP). In plain english this means, that economic growth slows down during a recession.