I agree with you on the payroll tax. Everything I've heard and read from leading economists say that it would be the best way to put money back in to people's hands (and the economy) right now..
But as far as tax cuts for the wealthy? It's widely known that investing by companies, banks, private individuals and all other sorts of entities is very limited right now. Everyone is just sitting on their money, kind of afraid to spend it and unsure of what to do. Giving a tax break to millionaires only means they will have more money to sit on, which doesn't do anyone any good.
Give a tax break to someone who makes $50K a year and I guarantee they'll spend every penny of it. Give a tax break to someone making $5M a year and they'll probably just put it in the bank (which isn't lending...)
Same goes for the unemployment benefits. Every single dollar goes straight back in to the local economy. In fact if you read the CBO report, they estimate that for every $1 spent on unemployment benefits, $2 of economic payback is created.
Yes I fully realize that the middle class tax cuts cost more than those for millionaires. But that's because they cover 98% of the population, not just 2%. They may cost 4.5 times more, but they cover 50 times more people. Also, as pointed out by the CBO, they are far better at stimulating economic growth.
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I'm cool with tax cuts for anybody so long as they are accompanied by spending cuts. Instead of doing that however, Obama decides he's going to extend unemployment benefits along with the tax cuts. GREAT IDEA! :down:Leave a comment:
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It'll be a pointless venture either way if they don't learn to work within a real budget. In other words I don't see things getting better from this alone because our politicians will still juice the system and we as tax payers are paying for some seriously ridiculous things.Leave a comment:
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I'm torn. As I agree that the tax rates did not need to go higher on anyone, period.
However, the cuts for the middle class cost SUBSTANTIALLY more than the cuts for the rich, yet you completely ignore this fact (over the course of 10 years, the tax cuts for the middle class would cost 4.5 times MORE than the cuts for the wealthy). The Republicans said "all or nothing" they didn't fight for only the rich, unfortunately, it looks like they gave away plenty of other stuff to get it.
I hope you're sitting, because this is an unlikely POV for me. But I actually think the "payroll tax holiday" should be MUCH MORE aggressive than a 2% reduction in SS taxes. I would go for a complete "tax holiday" on the federal income tax (and yes have to borrow it for the year). My gut tells me if people were able to take home a lot more money next year, pay off some debt, get some money in the bank it would be a huge positive for the country. For me alone, no federal income tax for the year would add nearly $8k to my take home pay next year. I could get a lot done with that, and nearly all of it would be used to "stimulate the economy."
And mainly from the improved mindset people would have, or consumer confidence if you will.
EDIT: The estate tax? I don't think there should be one period. Why you aren't allowed to pass on your accumlated wealth to your family is beyond me. The money was already taxed when it was earned by the deceased, why does it get to be taxed again?Leave a comment:
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The Bush Tax cuts...
I'm curious as to how some of our conservative member on this board feel about these tax cuts being extended in the wake of the overwhelming victory by Republicans in November on the basis of cutting the deficit.
The CBO (Congressional budget office) estimates the tax cut for the wealthiest Americans (top 2% of income earners) to be $140bn over the next 2 years of the extension. Included in the bill is also a revision of the estate tax which lowers the rate from a maximum of 55%, beginning at $1M, to a maximum of 35%, beginning at $5M. That is estimated to cost $88bn over the next two years.
So after lots of pandering and yelling about deficits and high debt and a need to reign it in, the republicans just fought hard for and negotiated a $226bn tax break for millionaires and only millionaires... Adding $226,000,000,000 to the national debt. I'll also point out that according to the CBO, tax breaks for wealthy individuals is the least effective way of stimulating the economy:
http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/118xx/doc1187..._Testimony.pdf
If you voted Republican in the last election, hoping to see a reduction in deficit spending and the national debt, how do you feel about this? I'm not trying to stir up shit, I just can't see how anyone can take these guys seriously. The only reason they won is because there was a serious grass-roots movement for fiscal responsibility that helped put them in to office. Now they turn around and borrow hundreds of billions of dollars from China and give it away to rich people, knowing full well it will do little if anything to help the country recover... It doesn't make any sense to me :loco:
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