Does Washington have a Spending Problem or a Revenue Problem?

As "fiscal cliff" negotiations heat up, congress can’t agree on whether Washington has a spending problem or a revenue problem. Nor can the American people or, in many instances, even economists.

In an article on Marketplace.org, headed up “Washington has a spending problem not a revenue problem,” the argument is made that you can’t keep spending and just raising taxes to meet the outflow of money. The best way to fix the country’s deficit problem is to gut spending.

In a story in the Daily Kos, Joan McCarter looks at it from the other side in an article titled, “We have a revenue problem, not a spending problem.”

In the story, McCarter shows the loss in revenue as a result of the Bush tax cuts and the economic downturn in the economy between 2001 and 2011.

If you believe that it is a spending problem and not a revenue problem, what programs would you be prepared to cut to fix the problem? On the other hand, if you believe it is a revenue problem and not a spending problem, what percentage of your income do you think it is fair for the government to take in taxes to fix the problem? Tell us in the comments.