Hope and change, baby! Hope and change!
Volcker recommends a VAT tax! I'm shocked! Shocked!
The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.
I'm so looking forward to it! I can't wait!
Hurray! We get to contribute even more. Heck why even get a paycheck. Let the gubmint take care of us. I bet Gloria and Emilio are getting real nostalgic about now.
Geniuses! What a way to come out of a recession and close the deficit: Increase income taxes to disincentivise investment and entrepreneurship, and then implement a VAT to crush consumption. How about this, geniuses: CUT YOUR FUCKING SPENDING!!.
Gubmint?
Like I said about Obama's baseball throw, if Obama takes Volcker's advice and we know he will, Obama never misses a chance to disappoint us.
Honey,
I’m afraid Obama will take Volcker's advice and we'll be drowning in taxes sooner than expected.
You know that we were going to get this Obama.
Honestly, let Obama raise taxes and continue strangling our economy and that’s what will get him and the Democrats out of office starting next November.
Hope and change: Obama's message was very clear... HOPE to RUIN your life,and CHANGE it for the worst. People just couldn't read between the lines.
wow! that took less time than I thought. and how are they going to say that a VAT only affects those that make over 250K a year?
Marista,
Yes "gubmint".
Well that is the end of the stock market recovery ...
First of all, we owe too much money to foreign governments (i.e. China) and we need to get out from under all that debt (and stop adding to it) or our country's future, and our children's future is in great peril.
What about a temporary tax increase that would be coupled with a drastic and severe cut in spending as part of a plan that is focused on getting the country out of debt within five to ten years?
For me, it would be worth it to sacrifice for a few years, than to look back in 20 or 30 years and see that this great country is but a shell of its former self.
Although we have been digging this hole for a very long time, and it is unfair to put the entire blame on Obamita, the community organizer doesn't have a clue on what to do about it. Its a serious problem that getting worse and worse. Its not too late, but we are pretty damn close......
Sure, I agree, spending SHOULD be cut. But the present tax system is also incredibly generous to most people.
News out today ...
Nearly half the country pays no federal income taxes.
And average two-kid families earning $50,000 or less pay no federal income taxes (unless they have a stupid accountant).
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0&.v=1
Get ready to bend over, America! Kneel before your Tyrants! The end of our republic is nigh! The corporate sponsored oligarchy will force you to submit.
"Will you bite the hand that feeds you, or will you stay down on your knees?" Nine Inch Nails
Mojito-Fan;
Good point. That means that the half that does pay taxes (includes me) supports the half that doesn't. The top 10% of the earners in this country pay 73% of the taxes and some want them to pay more! When he told Joe The Plumber that he wanted to "spread the wealth around" that should have been a huge red flag for all of us.
First a socialized system of health care, now a value added tax just like Europe. We are on our way to be another nanny state, all for the so called greater good of society.
Furthering what ECDB just said, according to Dennis Gartman (if you don't know who he is, Google him), the top 1% pay 38% of the taxes (they make 22% of the income)...the top 5% (ex the top 1% with an cutoff income level of 152k$) pay 59% of the taxes on 15% of the nation's income. The top 50% of ALL income earnings citizens pay 97% of the taxes....the bottom 50% pay just 3% of the taxes.
What always amuses me is when someone earning, say, 50K to 150K calls for a flat tax or lowered tax rates. What they never seem to understand is that doing so would inevitably move the tax burden from those earning 100K and over to those earning less than 100K. I mean, if you keep tax revenues steady, then that is simply how it has to be. Nothing wrong with that (after all, it may well be "fairer"), I just wonder if they really understand the effects of what they are calling for. I always get the impression they feel that this will actually lower their own taxes, which is not likely to be the case if tax revenues are held steady.
Sure, you can hope that reducing the tax rate will increase tax revenues (as it sometimes but not always has), but the relative tax burden is still going to shift from the high earners to the middle and lower income classes.
ECDB wrote "What about a temporary tax increase that would be coupled with a drastic and severe cut in spending as part of a plan that is focused on getting the country out of debt within five to ten years?"
Not a bad idea, but I think the five to ten years is incredibly optimistic. But something certainly has to be done. An idea I had, and this is just a rough idea and I'm sure it will never happen, would be to privatize part of the national debt. Right now, each individual's share is something like $50,000. Assign, say, $10,000 of each person's share of the debt to that person. Allow them to amortize it over 30+ years at a very low interest rate. Monthly payments on the debt might be $40. Most people could manage this, it would be fair, and it would reduce the national debt overnight by 20%. Maybe you would adjust the amount of $10,000 by a person's age, and income level. And new immigrants would also inherit some share of the debt. And if people wanted to pay off their share early, they could do so.
Anyway, like I said, I don't see this ever happening. No one / no politician has the guts to honestly face up to the debt yet. It's all just jibber jabber. I think the way out the politicians will take is hyperinflation down the road, and that could still be a decade or two away. And I think this will happen regardless of which party is in control.
To Mojito-Fan;
Excellent idea! Mojito-Fan for president!
Everybody gets their share of the load, $10,000 (or whatever), to pay off as they wish, while at the same time we drastically cut our spending. Sign me up! The sad part that while everybody should recognize this as the huge problem that it is, any politico that runs on the platform of paying off the debt will essentially be conceding to the opponent. The moochers (the ones on perpetual welfare and the ones in office) are sinking us and nobody cares.
I read somewhere that it takes about 80% of the total individual income tax collected just to pay the interest on the National debt. God help us All when the Chinese will no longer buy US Tax Bonds!
80% sounded way too high so I looked it up this morning. The numbers I found suggest that approximately 20 cents out of every dollar of total tax revenue collected (individual and corporate) is used to pay interest on the Federal debt. Another way to look at it is that approximately half of all individual income taxes collected goes to pay off the debt (i.e., that would be the case if you exclude corporate taxes).