Does the U.S. Government spend all our income?

This was also published on www.publicani.com. 

It looks like the U.S. Government takes in taxes at least about 50% of the national income, and borrows another 50%. If this is true, it means that the entire national income - everything that we earn - the government spends on the project it deems important, such as Iraq.

It’s pretty serious. I’ll tell you what my sources are - please let me know if I am making a mistake in my numbers.

The first quote is from Harry Browne, who referred to the U.S. Census Bureau:

“Today federal, state, and local taxes consume 47% of the national income. “

In fact, it is a very conservative estimate because it is based on the year 1995, after which the government publications stopped publishing this series. I suspect the percent of the government intake did not become smaller after the nineties.

Another reference is from another Brown, Gordon Brown:

“Net debt is now … 47% in America,…”

Where do I go wrong?