Wake me up when it’s over
- January 2, 2013
- 3 comments
- Posted in Taxes
We’re taking a vacation, without cell phones. I don’t want to hear the works “fiscal cliff” for two weeks. I’ve no comment on the tax bill until I see the details. Taxes are rising for everyone — higher earners (income taxes and the new tax to help finance Obamacare), and all earners (an end to the 2 percentage point cut in Social Security taxes). With current tax levels as their lowest since WW2, paying more makes sense.
In the 2000′s, the GOP became the party of “borrow and spend,” in order to slash taxes. That’s after the Dems and moderate GOPs, together, had done the hard work of balancing the federal budget in 1999-2000 without hurting basic safety-net programs. Now they have to do the hard work again, with no help from most of the GOP and the safety nets under attack.
The sluggish economy is the primary reason for the lack of sufficient tax receipts — not enough people at work at good wages. The true “job creators” are the vast middle classes, who buy stuff when their earnings are sufficient. That’s where true recovery lies.
The economy should be OK this year, provided that the debt-ceiling fight doesn’t put us back into recession. Right now, the Congress — especially the House — is the nation’s chief economic risk. Astonishing.
FINALLY, someone makes complete sense. And it is stated in just a few sentences. Amazing. Thanks, Jane.
You say paying more taxes makes sense, but you make no argument as to why. In fact, you actually argue against it. Fact: Paying low taxes (which don’t seem low to me) did not get us into this mess. Fact: Personal consumption makes up 2/3 of our economy. Fact: Higher taxes makes personal consumption go down. Fact: Higher taxes hurts the economy unless the government is more efficient than the private sector. Question: Is government spending more economically efficient than consumer spending? If so, we should raise taxes to 100% and enjoy the fruits of a more efficient economy.
Fact: Taxes rose in the 1990s and personal consumption did not decline, it rose. In fact, we balanced the federal budget for the first time since the Lyndon Johnson administration.
Gotta check your facts before saying “Fact.”
cheers, Jane