Why it's now impossible to pay enough taxes to feed the government

The U.S. government has brought in an impressive haul of tax revenue for the first five months of fiscal 2016, but despite the size of the take, it's still running a massive deficit.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - The Treasury Department has brought in nearly 1.25 trillion dollars from American workers since Oct. 1, the start of the 2016 fiscal year. That is approximately $8,263 per working American. How much money have you brought home in that time?

In addition to spending that $1.25 trillion, the government has also run a deficit of nearly $200 billion in that same time.

Deficit spending is essentially using a national credit card to cover regular expenses, and that debt must be repaid with interest. In general, the U.S. government spends over $1.6 trillion per month.

Most of the government's revenue taken to date comes from the individual income tax, which brought in nearly $600 billion. Social Security and other payroll taxes brought in about $428 billion.

The heart of the problem is that many Americans pay no taxes and our government willingly spends more than it takes in. Programs that put Americans to work, as well as eliminating wasteful spending are essential if the United States is to reverse its problem with debt.

But even this is likely impossible. There are too few working age Americans with too few working hours available to satiate the government's appetite for spending. Even if every American citizen worked and paid taxes, there would just be new spending on top of old spending, creating even more debt. We're in an economic system that thrives on debt and we cannot break even, we cannot even quit.

Debt eventually snowballs and can become impossible to repay. The repudiation of debt, or the attempt to repay a snowballing debt in the face of bankruptcy can has substantial social consequences, as we've seen in Greece the past few years. Despite selling government assets and deep cuts in social spending, Greece cannot repay its debts, which remain out of control.

Since many banks rely on debt payments to remain solvent, a missed payment, or even the threat of a missed payment can throw an entire economy into disarray.

This is our future if we do not reform our tax policies and slash government spending.

---

The California Network is the Next Wave in delivery of information and entertainment on pop culture, social trends, lifestyle, entertainment, news, politics and economics. We are hyper-focused on one audience, YOU, the connected generation. JOIN US AS WE REDEFINE AND REVOLUTIONIZE THE EVER-CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE.