2011 Death & Taxes Poster

"Death and Taxes" is a large representational graph and poster of the federal budget. It contains over 500 programs and departments and almost every program that receives over 200 million dollars annually. The data is straight from the president's 2011 budget request and will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress to begin the fiscal year. All of the item circles are proportional in size to their funding levels for visual comparison and the percentage change from both 2010 and 2001 is included so you can spot trends.



"Death and Taxes" is more than just numbers. It is a uniquely revealing look at our national priorities that fluctuate and almost always expand yearly according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congress, and (to some extent) the will of the people. Thousands of pages of raw data have been boiled down to one poster that provides the most open and accessible record of our nations' spending you will ever find. Everyone who taxes has paid for a part of everything in the poster.

A substantial part of this spending is for unconstitutional and anti-liberty budget items. It would be interesting to compare these 500+ federal programs with the strictly limited 17-20 (depending how you count them) enumerated powers given to the federal government through the US Constitution by the people. In fact, such a study must be done and all extra-constitutional laws, rules, policies, and agencies must be phased out!

Every congressman should have a copy of this poster on his office wall and should, with his full staff, take the time to ponder the conflicts between its content an that of the Constitution while thoughtfully reviewing his oath of office

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

.Voters would do well to do the same.

The overwhelming nature of this poster could easily be resolved if Congress would conduct an audit of all laws, rules, policies, programs, and agencies followed by legislation to phase out all laws, rules, policies, programs, and agencies which are outside the limits placed on the federal government by the US Constitution. Congress should also enact legislation requiring that all new or expanded laws, rules, policies, programs, and agencies have a maximum 10-year sunset.