The graph on that page seems to say otherwise: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Hauser%27s_law#&#x2F;media&#x2F;File:U.S.-Tax-Revenues-As-GDP-Percentage-(75-05).JPG" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Hauser%27s_law#&#x2F;media&#x2F;File:U.S...</a><p>Just eyeballing it, from 1975 to 2005 the tax to GDP ratio in the US was always above 24% and peaked at 30% in 2000. Is the discrepancy due to State taxes being included in the graph?<p>In a sense you&#x27;re right. Government spending is the problem: the money was &#x27;spent&#x27; over the past few decades but just won&#x27;t be paid out until grandfathered boomer pensions and medicaid payments fall due. Pretty sweet deal for politicians and boomers: buy political capital from the boomers now, and let the children pay for it later by raising their taxes in future, cutting their entitlements and raising the retirement age so that they&#x27;ll be working until they&#x27;re dead.<p>Not that Gen Y are blameless. Politicians respond to incentives just like anyone else. If you don&#x27;t vote, don&#x27;t expect them to give a crap about you.