In 2012, Americans will pay approximately $4.041 trillion in taxes, which is $152 billion, or 3.9%, more than they will spend on housing, food, and clothing combined, according to our new study by Adjunct Scholar Kevin Duncan. In addition, an increasing proportion of government benefits now go to pay for those same basic expenses of low-income Americans.
Examining the trends of tax collections and expenditures on housing, food, and clothing for the past several decades, the study shows that an ever-increasing amount of taxpayer money has gone into government programs that subsidize or pay for essential household goods. Cash and voucher benefits now pay for over a third of basic household expenses, up from less than 1% in 1929 and less than 20% in the early 1970s.
