Wednesday, July 21, 2010

On the edge of the Laffer curve - How high would taxes need to go to pay off this year's $1.5 trillion deficit? According to the Tax Foundation, one option is to raise the top three tax brackets to 100% - and this still wouldn't be enough.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What? It'd take more than a single calendar year to pay off? Who knew?

Bush tax cuts + Bush wars = $2.6 trillion through 2008, $500 billion of the 2009 deficit, and a projected $7 trillion from 2009-2019. Stupid stimulus!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE how liberals think that a tax cut (ie. allowing someone to keep more of THEIR money) is the same as government spending.

Despite what most liberals believe, all the money a person makes is NOT owned by the government and doled out as they see fit.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE how conservatives think that passing a budget-busting tax cut for the wealthy while simultaneously starting a war (and not just that, but keeping the cost off the books via "emergency supplements") is the kind of strong stewardship that's been torpedoed by Comrade Obama. Gotta keep our economy out of the hands of those unserious liberals!

Anonymous said...

If a war is not emergency spending, what is?

Also, yes even the 'evil wealthy' should still have control of their money. It is NOT the governments money and they should not get to decide how much everyone should keep!

Anonymous said...

Is that an actual question? World War II wasn't filed under "emergency spending" or any other cheap accounting trick. It was part of the federal budget, which increased 600 percent from 1942-45. The top income tax rate wasn't slashed, it went up. You know, to pay for the war. People didn't get $300 checks, they bought $186 billion in war bonds. Socialism!

And nowadays? Bush crapped the bed, and Obama is stuck cleaning up the sheets.

Anonymous said...

Right. OBAMA is cleaning up the sheets. That is why the unemployment extension was just passed by the Dems in Congress and signed by BO was "emergency spending."

Oh, and those war bonds bought during WW2, I don't think the government held a gun to anyone's head to buy them.

I must say though, that I don't approve of ANY special accounting tricks by EITHER party. Everything should be "on budget" (including the raids on the Social Security "lockbox"....though that appears to be over now simply because it is out of money).

Anonymous said...

Oooh, another Republican who's personally incensed by deficit spending... in 2010.

"Hello again, deep, fundamental convictions! I missed you!"

Jeremyigan said...

What? It'd take more than a single calendar year to pay off? Who knew? Bush tax cuts + Bush wars = $2.6 trillion through 2008, $500 billion of the 2009 deficit, and a projected $7 trillion from 2009-2019. Stupid stimulus!