Promises, Promises, and More Promises

From the JP Morgan report that included the charts above:

Some politicians and think tanks (e.g. the Tax Policy Center) have argued that tax revenues and government spending as a % of US GDP are not that high, so there’s room for both to rise. The analysis above renders such claims disingenuous at best. Measures of current spending do not capture the scope and size of government programs that already exist, and which will have to be paid for, although no one knows how. Richard Fisher (Dallas Fed President) likens the US entitlement burden to German attacks on the UK in the 20th century, the costs of which eventually sunk the British pound; except this time, the wounds are self- inflicted.