Or we could cut federal spending back to the Clinton eras 19% of GDP, instead of the bloated 25-30% it’s been since GW Bush.

There’s no dichotomy here. We could collect the unpaid taxes and reduce spending.

Why do people respond to the taxation of the wealthy by suggesting that we cut spending?

The apologist approach to the taxation the wealthy is just baffling.

The rich have been allowed to accumulate wealth because of tax laws that favor them.

The rich accumulated wealth because they earned it. You are angry that our tax laws didn’t take as much as it could from them.

Still doesn’t change the fact that federal spending is out of control.

> Unreported income is the single largest reason that unpaid federal income taxes may amount to more than $600 billion this year, and more than $7.5 trillion over the next decade. It is a truly staggering sum — more than half of the projected federal deficit over the same period.

Wow, even managing to collect 100% of these taxes would still result in the US adding 7.5 trillion to the debt.

I read it as saying that collecting 100% of federal income taxes would add $7.5 trillion in revenue over the next decade

Not sure where you’re getting that, it’s saying there is more than $600 billion in income going unreported (untaxed).

They said uncollected taxes over the next decade would total 7.5 trillion and that sum would be equal to half the total deficit over the same time period. To me that sounds like the total projected deficit over the next 10 years will be will be 15 trillion (assuming no additional taxes are collected, but 7.5T if 100% were collected)