"I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States," comedian Arthur Godfrey once said, "The only thing is I could be just as proud for half the money." Even though American citizens agree on the need to raise public revenue and spend for the public good, the sometimes bitter debate over how to collect money and when, where and how to spend that money stretches back before the nation's founding and continues today. America.gov looks at some key events in the U.S. story of government and money.