(10-27-2011, 06:33 PM)Jester Wrote: He didn't say tax rates. He said taxes.He said lowest. And, while 27% is low compared the the OECD average of 36%, we are not the lowest taxed western industrialized nation.
And... we just happened to be in a spike downward due to the governments tax cuts (Bush, 2001, and Obama 2009) in an attempt to stimulate the economy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cou...age_of_GDP
Per GDP, we are not that far off from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada. And, we are well above the 17% levels of India, and China. If the contest is for who has the biggest bureaucracy, then yes, by all means, Europe wins. I think what we are aiming for in the US, at least, is a high standard of living, and a competitive economy.