Sidetracking the Gravy Train | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Sidetracking the Gravy Train | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "A recent study, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that average U.S. federal salaries exceed average private-sector pay in 83 percent of comparable occupations"

"over the last 70 years in the United States, maximum federal income tax rates have ranged from a low of 28 percent (1988-1990) to a high of 92 percent during and just after World War II, yet tax revenues have never exceeded 20 percent of GDP. In 1989, when the maximum individual tax rate was 28 percent, individual income tax revenue was 8.3 percent, and total revenue was 18.4 percent of GDP, both slightly above average for the period from 1970 through 2008, even though the maximum rate was 70 percent during the years 1970-1982."