A reader from Shelby Township, Michigan, wrote to us to ask about the Bush-era tax cuts. "How much revenue would the federal government get," he wrote, "if taxes were raised on the people making more than $200,000 per year?" It's a very timely question. Bush-era tax cuts for high earners are the most contentious part of negotiations raging over the so-called fiscal cliff.

I used to be oblivious to the inner workings of my pay stub, and how the taxes I pay are used by the federal government. As a recent high school graduate, working two jobs and preparing for college, reading A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget has been a real eye-opener. As I prepare to vote for the first time this fall, and enter into college as a political science major, I am more aware of how seemingly concrete numbers can be twisted around to aid different points of view.

Federal income tax credits, deductions, and exclusions are a form of government spending that cost more per year than the amount of the U.S. budget deficit.

Tax day is a week away, and this year National Priorities Project writes you a receipt for how much you paid in federal income taxes-- so you can see exactly how much of your own 2011 income taxes went to the military, health programs, education, and everything else. But some ...