Raise America’s Taxes

[yubba]

I have always wondered, what they were thinking, when they cut down the last tree on Easter Island.

[FIREWALL]

Or maybe a simpler way. Put all the massive unemployed citizens back to work that will pay taxes and, help take the burden off the already working taxpayers.

Just a thought.

[elephantium]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

Now you have one. Granted, it is not going to go over well politically, but it is sound and there is a popular movement backing it. You can back it or you can resign yourself to the fate your realism has assigned you. It is your choice.

I said realistic plan.

What you've said amounts to little more than a revolutionary fantasy, IMO ... the Tea Party movement (or at least elements of it) would support you in that, but I don't think we'll see any effective change on that front. Dysfunction is very strongly entrenched in Washington.

[gimpy117]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

Or maybe a simpler way. Put all the massive unemployed citizens back to work that will pay taxes and, help take the burden off the already working taxpayers.

Just a thought.

its something our government should be making a priority yes, Build the middle class; that is where stability and a health economy comes from. But Washington is too focused on giving their corporate buddies handouts.

[Terrax]

I'm in the minority, but no pain no gain. If the US would actually stick to a plan and drive down debt, as a citizen, I would gladly pay more taxes. I myself HATE being in debt & am working my ass off to get out.

But our budget is a typical situation. I'm way over simplifying it, but pay off one debt, & another pops up. Get the mortgage paid off & then the the family wants a new car. Most people can't save money, excess $$$ must be spent. You've got to make sacrifices to dig yourself out a hole that you've made for yourself. Our government should be the same way.

Even if we (unlikely as it is) pass a long term workable budget, sh!t will come up before we reach zero that puts us into the red again.

I would gladly deal with new taxes, if It meant solving the problem & getting the US out of debt. But bastards in Washington would raise taxes, balance the budget, & then fuk it all up again.

So as it is, I've become selfish & just worry about my own little corner of the world. As a result, I've become part of the problem. Painful cuts are the only way to fix the problem, but because politicians want to get re-elected, they refuse to make changes that will be unpopular with voters so they can keep their jobs. Even if it's the right thing to do for the country.

I can see the temptation though. Once someone got a taste of the power & the good life, they would probably do all they could to keep all the perks & the $$$.

That's my problem, I haven't seen anything from anyone of those people in the last few years that shows me that they have my best interest in mind. It just seems like a big pissing contest. It's really hard to care at this point, and it seems like the guys in DC don't care either.

So to summarize, if the government spent my $$$ responsibly (determined by gentleman much smarter than myself), I would be glad to lower my quality of life to help my country.

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by gimpy117

its something our government should be making a priority yes, Build the middle class; that is where stability and a health economy comes from. But Washington is too focused on giving their corporate buddies handouts.

[elephantium]

Originally Posted by Terrax

I'm in the minority, but no pain no gain. If the US would actually stick to a plan and drive down debt, as a citizen, I would gladly pay more taxes. I myself HATE being in debt & am working my ass off to get out.

But our budget is a typical situation. I'm way over simplifying it, but pay off one debt, & another pops up. Get the mortgage paid off & then the the family wants a new car. Most people can't save money, excess $$$ must be spent. You've got to make sacrifices to dig yourself out a hole that you've made for yourself. Our government should be the same way.

Agreed -- we'll need to pay more in taxes fund the government services we expect, or we'll have to learn to do without a lot of those services. Either way, it's a sacrifice.

OTOH, I'm not too keen on the idea of making deep sacrifices myself in order to pay an extra million to the multi-billionaires in this country.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by elephantium

I said realistic plan.

What you've said amounts to little more than a revolutionary fantasy, IMO ...

Killjoy.

the Tea Party movement (or at least elements of it) would support you in that, but I don't think we'll see any effective change on that front.

That's the popular movement I was referring to. I know it's sort of in vogue to bash the Tea party and laugh about how dumb they are in certain circles(not implying that you're among them, no grudge if you are), but don't underestimate the Tea Party. There aren't many times in our history where a popular movement has resulted in a major shift in politics, but the Tea party is thus far showing every sign of being one of those, particularly the most important sign: They are really pissed off.

This is not just some "revolutionary fantasy" of mine. Well, there's a little bit of fantasy in there. I don't imagine that any of the things I suggested will be implemented in the fashion I suggested, nor do I suppose that the Tea Party will be completely successful in eradicating the dysfunction of government. These same people will probably do the exact same thing previous generations did, which is to say they will empower the government again as soon as they want something fixed. What's important is that they will rob the government of its primary means for empowering dysfunction, namely free money. With fiscal responsibility comes, well, responsibility. The government won't be able to be co-opted by their demands or those of anyone else, because it will not have the means.

At a time when national expenditures have nearly reached a crux, movements like the Tea Party are likely to gain momentum rather than lose it. And even if they lose in the near future, they will win when things inevitably get worse. And even if they somehow manage to not win then, there will certainly be a revolution should our economy collapse under the strain of government spending. Of that you can be certain.

It's not really a revolutionary fantasy, just a bit of revolution mixed with fantasy.

Dysfunction is very strongly entrenched in Washington.

Agreed, but that's no reason to give up.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

Or maybe a simpler way. Put all the massive unemployed citizens back to work that will pay taxes and, help take the burden off the already working taxpayers.

Just a thought.

Sort of what FDR did with the many work programs.

Unfortunately with the technology we have today, the safety regulations, not to mention the unions, there is very little untrained unemployed labor could do

We need to find some program that will serve society that we can implement in a deliberately labor inefficient way to put people to work. I just can't think of one that will get past the regulators and the unions.

Maybe we need to work through the unions. Hey, the US government worked through the Mafia during WWII, maybe they can work through the unions?

Wish I had the answer.