Taxpayer Confidence In Government Spending Decreasing

image
Alex GauthierAlex Gauthier
Published: 09 Aug, 2013
1 min read

The debate on tax policy seems to emerge once every year as budget negotiations deadlock and little substantive progress is made to address the nation's fiscal needs.

This last cycle, negotiations culminated under the 'fiscal cliff' which has since disappeared from media airwaves. Consequently, voters are left out of the real discussion concerning tax policy.

The infographic designed by Kingworkscreative.com highlights the fact that American attitudes on wasteful government spending have dramatically shifted over the years. When asked, "Does government waste our tax dollars?" in 1958, 43 percent of respondents replied "a lot." When asked the same question in 2012, 73 percent of respondents had the same answer.

On the other side of the coin, 10 percent of Americans in 1958 responded "not much." In 2012 that number has dropped to 4 percent.

Concern over whether or not taxpayer dollars are spent effectively has grown significantly over the last half-century. What hasn't grown, however, is the political will to fix it.

Taxes

Source: Master of Accounting

You Might Also Like

Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read
court gavel.
Virtual Discussion: The Fight for Equal Independent Voting Rights Makes it to SCOTUS
Every major voting rights movement in U.S. history – whether successful or not – has intertwined with landmark litigation. This was the case for women’s suffrage. It was the case for civil rights. And it is the case in the ongoing effort to protect the right of all voters to have equal participation in taxpayer-funded elections – something millions of independent voters are denied across the U.S....
29 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read
Supreme Court building
SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Closed Primaries -- Here's Why It Is Such a Big Deal
In a dramatic step forward for litigation challenging closed primaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated they are going to conference to discuss whether to grant a writ of certiorari to Polelle v. Florida Secretary of State; a case challenging Florida's closed primaries that Open Primaries has supported since its inception....
26 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read