The USA needs to increases taxes...

[mephiston5]

I don't really like the idea of paying higher taxes, but I like the idea of a crumbling infrastructure and inadequacy in education/gov-supported research/police/firefighters even less. We are simply living above our means. In fact, we have gotten so used to living above our means, even HUGE spending cuts will not do the trick.

Yet, we seem to have some sense of entitlement to keep running up the debt. When did that happen?

Granted, given the fragile recovery, we may need to phase tax increases in, but it seems impossible to avoid.

Thoughts, would you support higher taxes?

 

[techie81]

No I wouldn't. Trim the fat please.

 

[sMiLeYz]

Absolutely, they don't have to be that much higher. Just pre-Bush levels.

 

[Jaepheth]

No I wouldn't. Trim the fat please.

At this point we have to raise taxes AND trim the fat.

 

[Infohawk]

I just don't see how it would help with the main issue affecting our economy: outsourcing of jobs and profits. Many American multinationals have most of their sales outside of America these days. You can't capture that. Increasing taxes, if anything, would increase the flight of capital.

Instead, we need to increase trade barriers.

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

30 years of supply side need to be paid for.

It failed and now the beneficiaries need to pay.

 

[HAL9000]

Definitely the US needs money to pay for things like health care for it's citizens and increasing policing.

 

[boochi]

We have the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world. How is that working for us? Jobs have moved overseas. Lower the corporate rate to 18-20% and everyone will have a job and personal income tax revenues will go through the roof. Lower the highest personal income tax bracket from 35% to 32% and small businesses will be able to thrive and expand.

 

[Infohawk]

We have the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world. How is that working for us? Jobs have moved overseas. Lower the corporate rate to 18-20% and everyone will have a job and personal income tax revenues will go through the roof. Lower the highest personal income tax bracket from 35% to 32% and small businesses will be able to thrive and expand.

Even if you lower the corporate tax rate industry is still going to go where the labor is cheaper. Raising or lowering taxes isn't going to change that by enough to make a difference.

 

[ProfJohn]

Tax increases have NEVER been followed by spending cuts.

Anyone who think that we should raise taxes to cut the deficit is delusional. It won't happen. They will just take the new money and spend it.

 

[HAL9000]

Tax increases have NEVER been followed by spending cuts.

Anyone who think that we should raise taxes to cut the deficit is delusional. It won't happen. They will just take the new money and spend it.

It defies logic to think that the government will be given new money then keep it in a bank or something.

 

[glenn1]

I don't really like the idea of paying higher taxes, but I like the idea of a crumbling infrastructure and inadequacy in education/gov-supported research/police/firefighters even less. We are simply living above our means. In fact, we have gotten so used to living above our means, even HUGE spending cuts will not do the trick.

Yet, we seem to have some sense of entitlement to keep running up the debt. When did that happen?

Granted, given the fragile recovery, we may need to phase tax increases in, but it seems impossible to avoid.

Thoughts, would you support higher taxes?

You have it entirely backwards - only spending cuts can do the trick. You could raise taxes to 100% and it wouldn't matter so long as Washington pockets any tax increases and spends even more atop that. We need to break the addiction to deficit spending, and you can't do that by sending more money to the feds to play with.

 

[Engineer]

We have the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world.

And what is our effective tax rate (i.e. true burden) after deductions compared to the rest of world? Hint: It's the 2nd lowest.

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

I think you meant to say that spending increases are rarely followed by tax increases.

 

[Engineer]

I think you meant to say that spending increases are rarely followed by tax increases.

The last 30 to 40 years have been proof of that 100%.

 

[ProfJohn]

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/...-allen-says-us-corporate-tax-rate-second-hig/

The World Bank published a report last November containing the effective corporate tax rates of 183 nations. The U.S. had an effective corporate tax rate of 27.6 percent, according to the study, which is still pretty high. Among larger international economies, only Japan, New Zealand and Thailand had higher effective tax rates on corporate profits.

 

[glenn1]

I think you meant to say that spending increases are rarely followed by tax increases.

And spending cuts are rarer still.

I'm not against spending, but both progressives and conservatives need someone to slap some reality into them in terms of how and what they spend money on. Neither side is willing to take a holistic look at what we spend money on and set realistic priorities. Instead, probably the only workable solution would be to cut spending across the board since neither side is willing to accept cuts to their sacred cows (social welfare spending on one hand, and defense on the other).

 

[shortylickens]

At this point we have to raise taxes AND trim the fat.

Agreed.
Which is sad.
And a little risky.

 

[Engineer]

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/...-allen-says-us-corporate-tax-rate-second-hig/

I stand corrected though I admit that the information that I posted was from several years ago from CNBC. I wonder if other countries have lowered their rates in the last few years (I know some have). Also, it does not explain whether the effective rate of 27.x% is a combination of US federal and state/local taxes or just federal tax burden.

Back to the OP:

Cut services (i.e. spending): People bitch
Raise taxes: People bitch

The only way to get spending under control is to either take the bull by the horns and cut or raise taxes (while not raising spending) and forcing people to pay for the service that they "think" they want/need. Too many people don't have a dog in this fight so as long as they get their services and don't see the bill, why should they care.

 

[KlokWyze]

At this point we have to raise taxes AND trim the fat.

:thumbsup:

 

[yllus]

From the taxpayer receipt:

Getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan is going to help quite a bit. Still, if you're going to keep Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as-is, you're probably going to have to raise taxes.

I stand corrected though I admit that the information that I posted was from several years ago from CNBC. I wonder if other countries have lowered their rates in the last few years (I know some have). Also, it does not explain whether the effective rate of 27.x% is a combination of US federal and state/local taxes or just federal tax burden.

The world seems to be cutting corporate rates and raising personal income taxes to balance it out.

 

[matt0611]

No, we pay too much as is. Things need to be massively cut.

 

[a777pilot]

Anyone that says the USA ought raise individual tax rate is either an idiot or a leech....maybe both.

I bet anyone of you that voted to raise taxes doesn't pay income taxes in the first place. You just think it is OK to steal money from others if you get your cut.

 

[shortylickens]

No, we pay too much as is. Things need to be massively cut.

We pay considerably less than damn near every other industrialized nation.
Of course, we try to provide too much shit too.

 

[Engineer]

I bet anyone of you that voted to raise taxes doesn't pay income taxes in the first place.

How much of a bet? I know for a FACT that one of us that voted for increased taxes does indeed pay income taxes. You name the pot and I'll have a third party verify said paid (and paying) income taxes.

I don't mind cutting of spending but if we are not going to cut, then we need to pay for our shit. People want all of the shit and not pay for it. Maybe once they start actually paying for it, they'll wise up and "finally" cut back.