I didn't say SS isn't funded, although there are concerns that it will soon pay out more than it's taking in.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/05/polit...uts/index.html
Looking at a calculator, middle class people will save anything from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars on their liability.
https://taxfoundation.org/tax-calculator/
A single person with two kids making $52,000 saves about $1,892. A married couple with two kids making $82,000 save about $2,253.
There is a misunderstanding about the effect of the tax cuts since it came with an increase in take-home pay so some people are disappointed by the size of their refunds. The media has screwed up in its role in educating the public.
I do live in New York, and with a middle class income just over median national income, my state and local taxes are under $5,500 combined.
Republicans probably went too far on that one, although Democrats screwed up in the aftermath as well (
I can't think of anything any Republican said as problematic as Hillary telling someone she'll prosecute the American who lit a koran on fire.)
As of 2016, Colorado state taxes were 4.16% of federal taxable income.
https://www.bankrate.com/finance/tax...-colorado.aspx
To get a total of $9,000 in state taxes, unless there has been a recent drastic tax increase, your federal taxable income would have to be about $216,000.
As far as I can tell, the debt increased every year under President Clinton.
Mandatory spending is still spending. And it's nearly two-thirds.
So it would be dishonest not to consider major sources of spending. Just because Congress has automated Medicare spending doesn't mean we should ignore 15% of the federal budget in discussions about costs (even if the end of the conversation may be a decision to keep an important program as is.)
It's a third rail politically, but that's a different discussion.