Congress should break out defense spending into a specific tax like FICA

[her209]

This way:
- everyone with an earned income is paying for defense spending, not just the people who pay taxes
- everyone can see how much they are spending for defense
- should defense spending go up or down, the defense tax will go up or down
- lowers marginal tax rates because its not coming out of the "general" fund

 

[cubby1223]

Will never be implemented, so why bother discussing?

Just say you wish defense spending were decreased.

 

[Vette73]

What people would say to keep it from happening...
SLOGAN: Why do you hate good hard working American soldiers?

What really happens...
REALITY: Why do you hate contracting companies that are always late and over charge?

 

[cubby1223]

What people would say to keep it from happening...
SLOGAN: Why do you hate good hard working American soldiers?

What really happens...
REALITY: Why do you hate contracting companies that are always late and over charge?

Same slogan was used by certain media outlets (MSNBC I'm looking in your direction) to push just about every Obama spending plan. And pretty much the same reality. There is no need to separate out defense from all government spending. Call it all a high probability for waste and inefficiency.

 

[Infohawk]

Why stop there? Separate out all categories of spending. And also list percentage of Americans not paying any taxes.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Why stop there? Separate out all categories of spending. And also list percentage of Americans not paying any taxes.

Indeed, why single out defense?

You could do this for the social welfare, international aid programs, interest payments on federal debt, etc. Then people can have an itemized list and see exactly how much domestic / international handouts and debt really cost us.

 

[BoberFett]

A person could easily set up a website that did exactly that. Just let a person put in their federal tax amount (could be their weekly deduction, previous years amount, whatever) and then it could use data that already exists (the data used to generate that chart full of hundreds of circles) and then provide a drill down list of expenditures in much the same way that the aforementioned chart did.

 

[cubby1223]

Indeed, why single out defense?

You could do this for the social welfare, international aid programs, interest payments on federal debt, etc. Then people can have an itemized list and see exactly how much domestic / international handouts and debt really cost us.

Can't wait for the day my paycheck stub will be 100 pages long of micro-print!!!

 

[Zebo]

A person could easily set up a website that did exactly that. Just let a person put in their federal tax amount (could be their weekly deduction, previous years amount, whatever) and then it could use data that already exists (the data used to generate that chart full of hundreds of circles) and then provide a drill down list of expenditures in much the same way that the aforementioned chart did.

individual income taxes are only 1/3 of federal budget. How do we direct loans we get? Our Gas and other excise Taxes? SS taxes? That one brings up an interesting pickle since employer pays half..which way are they going to vote.... You could easily wind up with a situation that is worse than today if at all interested in social welfare.

The US Constitution is the most perfect document in the history man - I won't go changing representative democracy, a republic, which relies on informed and active public, if not, we truly get what we deserve.

 

[her209]

Indeed, why single out defense?

Same reasons why Social Security and Medicare are singled out.

 

[BoberFett]

individual income taxes are only 1/3 of federal budget. How do we direct loans we get? Our Gas and other excise Taxes? SS taxes? That one brings up an interesting pickle since employer pays half..which way are they going to vote.... You could easily wind up with a situation that is worse than today if at all interested in social welfare.

A budget is a budget, and no matter how you play with the numbers to move money between accounts, at the end of the day you've still got money in and money out. The point isn't about exact numbers anyway, if you want to add in your employers payroll tax obligations, go for it. What it's about is understanding what you're voting for. If Joe Sixpack could see that every week he has $75 taken out of his check to pay for defense, maybe he'll think twice before pulling the lever for a Republican warmonger next time.

 

[cubby1223]

Same reasons why Social Security and Medicare are singled out.

Seems to me you're trying to get at if people knew what they were forced to pay in to defense spending, they would demand those expenditures be cut. Has that worked to reign in the spending on Social Security & Medicare?

 

[woolfe9999]

Will never be implemented, so why bother discussing?

Just say you wish defense spending were decreased.

I wish defense spending was decreased.

- wolf

 

[Fear No Evil]

As long as we add one for social programs I am all for it. Not sure why people think defense spending is a black hole though, its one area where Americans still produce a lot of the products.

 

[charrison]

Indeed, why single out defense?

You could do this for the social welfare, international aid programs, interest payments on federal debt, etc. Then people can have an itemized list and see exactly how much domestic / international handouts and debt really cost us.

I agree.

Let the DOT be funded by fuel taxes.
Let the DOEnergy be funded by energy taxes.
Let the DOEedu be funded by educational based taxes.
see where this could go.

 

[Zebo]

Defense spending is the biggest social welfare program of all time and has 50 years of fail to show for it. We can't even beat a rag tag militias who spends orders of magnitudes less. People need jobs tho and I suppose Army is just as good as building iPhones, right?

 

[drebo]

I agree.

Let the DOT be funded by fuel taxes.
Let the DOEnergy be funded by energy taxes.
Let the DOEedu be funded by educational based taxes.
see where this could go.

Better solution: get rid of all of those unneeded federal organizations and stop spending tax money on them entirely!

 

[Darwin333]

A budget is a budget, and no matter how you play with the numbers to move money between accounts, at the end of the day you've still got money in and money out. The point isn't about exact numbers anyway, if you want to add in your employers payroll tax obligations, go for it. What it's about is understanding what you're voting for. If Joe Sixpack could see that every week he has $75 taken out of his check to pay for defense, maybe he'll think twice before pulling the lever for a Republican warmonger next time.

Joe Sixpack didn't pay a dime towards Defense this year, neither did anyone else (at least via taxes).

 

[BoberFett]

Joe Sixpack didn't pay a dime towards Defense this year, neither did anyone else (at least via taxes).

Are you shitting me?

 

[her209]

Seems to me you're trying to get at if people knew what they were forced to pay in to defense spending, they would demand those expenditures be cut. Has that worked to reign in the spending on Social Security & Medicare?

Not necessarily, but I think people would demand more accountability though than there is now. People would be livid if they saw Congress authorize a multi-billion program after spending a few hundred million, possibly billions, in R&D and then have it canceled and have nothing to show for it.

 

[her209]

As long as we add one for social programs I am all for it. Not sure why people think defense spending is a black hole though, its one area where Americans still produce a lot of the products.

$100 hammers... yeah baby!

 

[Darwin333]

Are you shitting me?

Nope, nothing was left over from revenue after we covered the non-discretionary entitlement spending. That means all DOD spending (and everything else for that matter) was paid for with borrowed money, NOT money collected via taxes.

 

[chucky2]

This way:
- everyone with an earned income is paying for defense spending, not just the people who pay taxes
- everyone can see how much they are spending for defense
- should defense spending go up or down, the defense tax will go up or down
- lowers marginal tax rates because its not coming out of the "general" fund

I actually agree with this, at the very minimum, it lets people see their "contribution" to the war effort. If it were doable (for those on electronic systems it'd be, those on non-electronic it wouldn't), I'd say break it out even further:

List Defense Total, and then list each of the major wars/actions for that pay period under it. Support going to Afghanistan? Fine, now that we're there, here's how much it's costing you.

Chuck

 

[Darwin333]

I actually agree with this, at the very minimum, it lets people see their "contribution" to the war effort. If it were doable (for those on electronic systems it'd be, those on non-electronic it wouldn't), I'd say break it out even further:

List Defense Total, and then list each of the major wars/actions for that pay period under it. Support going to Afghanistan? Fine, now that we're there, here's how much it's costing you.

Chuck

That would require us paying for it in the first place. I guess you could tell them how much it is costing China but I doubt they would care nearly as much.

 

[cubby1223]

$100 hammers... yeah baby!

It's all stimulus. The guy who made that hammer now has $100 to go out and buy things from small businesses in his local community