This 240 page beast has something for everyone to hate. More than 100 recommendations on ways that expenses could be cut, or revenues increased. You’d have to go through this line-by-line to find which idea will hurt you worse. My guess is that the average American family will get hit by at least a half dozen of the options.
There are a number of suggestions that may prove “popular”. For example a transaction tax on large financial institutions generates $71b over 10 years.
Impose a Fee on Large Financial Institutions = 71b
Increase Alcohol taxes.
Increase All Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages to $16 per Proof Gallon = 60b
Or any of these:
Raise Tax Rates on Capital Gains = 48b
Set the Corporate Income Tax Rate at 35 Percent for All Corporations = 24b
Tax Carried Interest as Ordinary Income = 21b
Reduce Funding for the Arts and Humanities = 5b
Cut the Number of Aircraft Carriers to 10 and the Number of Navy Air Wings to 9 = 1.8b
These things look interesting. But as you go through the report you get to see just how big these numbers are. While it may sound good to raises taxes on booze it really does not make much of a dent in the big picture. We need big numbers. Some of the suggestions that actually help fill the bucket:
Impose a 5 Percent Value-Added Tax (over 10 years) = +2.5 Trillion
Impose a Price on Emissions of Greenhouse Gases = 1.8 Trillion
Limit the Tax Benefit of Itemized Deductions to 15 Percent = 1.2 Trillion.
Limit or Eliminate the Deduction for State and Local Taxes = 862b.
Increase Individual Income Tax Rates (1% increase on income and AMT) = 702b
Accelerate and Modify the Excise Tax on High-Cost Health Care Coverage = 650b
Increase the Maximum Taxable Earnings for the Social Security Payroll Tax = 457b
Tax Social Security the Same Way That Distributions from Defined-Benefit Pensions Are Taxed = 438b
Accelerate and Modify the Excise Tax on High-Cost Health Care Coverage = 310b
Increase Excise Taxes on Motor Fuels by 25 Cents = 291b
What’s not to hate about these ideas? The one that stands out in my opinion? We’re getting a VAT.
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What a bunch of clowns. How about radical spending cuts?! If they can willy nilly spend $3T why doesn't anyone have the balls to say "we're cutting government $3T and it's going to really hurt (mostly the libs)". Force a radical change on SS and Medicare. Raising taxes only allows government to continue spending and kick the can farther down the road. I'm getting real sick of this. - Captain Betty
ReplyDelete"We’re getting a VAT."
ReplyDeleteYes, you are.
Been there, done that: Canada got their VAT in the mid-80s, just after - guess what? - the 1981-82 recession decimated government finances.
My question to all of these dimwit governments is this: how exactly is raising taxes and fees and limiting deductions supposed to support consumption? Which, after all, is their aim...
The ONLY workable choice is to CUT ENTITLEMENTS, military spending and government services.
The worst of all worlds is if we get a VAT, and don't lose the income taxes.
ReplyDeleteThe VAT is definitely in the offing—it's the easiest to implement, politically, because there's no lobbying group protecting the interests of the American people.
ReplyDeleteAll the other issues you pointed to? Cutting unnecessary aircraft carriers, raising alcohol tax, etc? Some interest group or other would throw a hissy fit—and throw money at their K Street lobbyist. Presto-change-o, no tax, no cut, not deficit reduction.
So the VAT is what's coming.
GL
Plus the VAT would have the advantage of not hitting rich people very hard. . .
ReplyDeleteCynical? Sure am, but rarely too cynical.
More false choices.
ReplyDeleteSince most dividends are going to a select minority of Americans, let's just progressively tax dividends. It seemed to work well before. Giving the top-10% more money hasn't improved the country.
Get the effective tax rate up on corporations. That worked too.
But no, instead we get more false choices.
To the simpletons calling for radical spending cuts, let us do it!
ReplyDeleteKill highways spending. Gone
Kill education spending. Gone
Kill public safety spending. Gone
Kill agriculture subsidies. Gone.
Keep military spending as-is. I likes my fly-over displays at NASCAR events!
You just accelerated the next leg down and leave no infrastructure in place for an economy to grow. Now what?
Where is the growth going to come from when goods cannot move safely or easily. When consumers have more fear and uncertainty about the products/services available, why would they spend money?
Specifics please.
End all overseas wars.
ReplyDeleteGut the military procurement budgets.
Increase social security contribution limits.
Means scaling for SS payouts.
Single payer healthcare for economy of scale.
Up the capital gains rates.
Up the tax on those earning over 500k annually.
Nah no VAT is coming at least in the House side. When Obama gets canned next yr, you really think a VAT is coming.
ReplyDeleteI want what youre smoking. Its good shit.
What you're getting is more QE.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't see John Hempton's recent blog post before you wrote this, did you? -- http://brontecapital.blogspot.com/2011/03/health-care-and-fiscal-reform.html
ReplyDelete