Fox's Bill Hemmer attacked the notion that the federal government needs additional revenue, suggesting that current budget issues are solely due to spending. In reality, economists agree that federal revenue is necessary to reduce the deficit and is at a historic low as a share of the economy.
During an interview with Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) about his budget proposal that seeks to generate more revenue through capping deductions, America's Newsroom host Bill Hemmer asked Corker, “Why do you want to go after revenue at all?”
Hemmer downplayed the need for additional revenue, claiming that any new taxes collected will be spent. In doing so, he ignored the fact that additional revenue would greatly contribute to cutting future deficits. In an analysis of President Obama's 2013 budget proposal, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that 46 percent of the $3.8 trillion in deficit reduction is attributable to increased revenue.
Indeed, economists agree that additional revenue through tax increases should be included as part of any deficit reduction plan, an idea that is shared by a plurality of 45 percent of Americans.
Hemmer also failed to acknowledge the current state of dwindling federal revenues. According to the Tax Policy Center, federal revenue as a percentage of GDP stood at 15.4 percent in 2011. While this figure is up from 2009 and 2010, federal revenue has not dipped to such a low percentage of the economy since 1950, and is well below the post-World War II average of 18.1 percent.
Of course, Hemmer's statements were in line with Fox's history of dismissing revenue needs when approaching deficits.