What if we raised taxes, and cut the budget? Tried to pay off the nationa debt.

[Paul98]

Right now may not be the time to ask this. But if we really wanted to pay less in taxes over the long run shouldn't paying off the national debt be a top priority?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Top priority is to grease the wheels so as to be elected next cycle.

why should an existing politician try to resolve what has been passed on to them since before they were probably born.

 

[werepossum]

Yes, so that for times like these we'll have some credit without breaking ourselves.

Personally I'm ready to end ALL the Bush tax cuts just as soon as Congress and the White House demonstrate that they can cut spending to significantly below 2006/2008 levels and maintain those levels of spending for two or three years without spending off budget to make up for it. Until such a time, giving government an extra dollar just inspires them to spend three more dollars.

I'm also open to other means of raising taxes, such as making some or all capital gains taxable as income or adopting a flat tax or a consumption tax in lieu of the present progressive income tax.

However all of this is so much fart gas until government gets a handle on entitlements.

 

[Illusio]

Personally I'm ready to end ALL the Bush tax cuts just as soon as Congress and the White House demonstrate that they can cut spending to significantly below 2006/2008 levels and maintain those levels of spending for two or three years without spending off budget to make up for it. Until such a time, giving government an extra dollar just inspires them to spend three more dollars.

Can't argue with that. I'd be willing to give more taxes once they demonstrate they can spend it responsibly.

I'd also like it if the fixed the messed up tax code to be a bit more fair. Notable the top and bottom should both be paying more taxes.

 

[werepossum]

Can't argue with that. I'd be willing to give more taxes once they demonstrate they can spend it responsibly.

I'd also like it if the fixed the messed up tax code to be a bit more fair. Notable the top and bottom should both be paying more taxes.

Agree completely. Everyone should be paying something to have skin in the game. And far too much of what qualifies as capital gains does nothing to promote investment and growth, and often doesn't even represent money placed at risk. If an exec can just sign a paper exercising his stock options and get a fat check, that ought to at least be treated as income - if not as a gift!

 

[Jhhnn]

Yes, so that for times like these we'll have some credit without breaking ourselves.

Personally I'm ready to end ALL the Bush tax cuts just as soon as Congress and the White House demonstrate that they can cut spending to significantly below 2006/2008 levels and maintain those levels of spending for two or three years without spending off budget to make up for it. Until such a time, giving government an extra dollar just inspires them to spend three more dollars.

I'm also open to other means of raising taxes, such as making some or all capital gains taxable as income or adopting a flat tax or a consumption tax in lieu of the present progressive income tax.

However all of this is so much fart gas until government gets a handle on entitlements.

So, uhh, did you demand that Repubs cut spending before cutting taxes? That they raise taxes to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Probably not.

The rest, other than taxing capital gains as income, is the usual attempt to shift taxation down the foodchain, sad to say.

 

[Jaskalas]

Right now may not be the time to ask this. But if we really wanted to pay less in taxes over the long run shouldn't paying off the national debt be a top priority?

In a sense, I believe adding to our debt is in effect raising our taxes. Through this basic principal, President Bush raised our taxes. Lowered them in the short term, but raised them much higher in the long term.

It would be a good policy to forgo cutting them until after the debt is cleared. At least then we'd need not pay taxes to pay off the interest on our debt.

 

[Infohawk]

Theoretically yes it would be a good idea to increase revenue to get up to speed but raising taxes in a questionable economy is not the right thing to do.

 

[Jaskalas]

Theoretically yes it would be a good idea to increase revenue to get up to speed but raising taxes in a questionable economy is not the right thing to do.

Thus borrow and spend has been exposed. Reagan's economic principals worked for the short term, fueled a government run economy, but it was continued well into the long term past the last vestiges of sanity.

If we pamper the economy with increased spending, how much longer is our debt worth salt? How much longer til it in itself becomes a crisis that torpedoes any economy?

We must tread carefully, and lower our debt.