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quote:Originally posted by Pogo142:
Larz34:
A quick question: How would everyone here solve the national debt problem? If you had the job, what programs would you cut? What measures would you take to lower the debt? And for sake of debate lets assume we are not in a war at the moment. Besides, only saying get out of Iraq is too easy of an answer and is merely a temporary fix.
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I would cut the Defense Budget by at least half. It's nothing but a huge rip-off of the tax payer with a huge amount of money going to the defense industry, it's CEO's and stock holders for weapons that we don't need or use. You don't need to be able to blow up the world ten times, only one time will do it. They then turn around and give huge campaign contributions to congress that support their agenda.
I would end the Bush tax cuts and put a wealth tax on the top 1%. They have as much wealth as the "Bottom" 90% and should pay a tax on wealth. We are talking about multi millionaires and billionaires. I saw one such plan that began with those who made a million and a half a year paying an additional $15,000 a year and it increases with the income level.
I would also increase the corporate tax.
I would give tax breaks to the average working people and the poor, who need the money and will spend it.
quote:Originally posted by Pogo142:
I forget the exact figures but without looking them up corporations paid much more then they do now and the economy worked fine, for everyone. They were cut by Reagan and as I remember the first year taxes were cut the Treasury was something like $50 billion short and it continued ever since. Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy slightly, only by a couple of percentage points, and along with some ill advised cuts that caused a lot of suffering was able to have a surplus.
The plan I refereed to was present by Robert Borosage, a progressive economist, where in about 10 years think it was, without cuts to those in need, the US would be able to wipe out the debt. We are talking about taxing the 1% who's wealth equals that of the "bottom" 90%. They are not paying back into the system for that 90%. Every tine increasing taxes on multi millionaires and billionaires is proposed right away images of the middle class being wiped out by taxes is thrown up as a scare tactic. The middle class is being wiped out now because our incomes are not rising and the very wealthy are not paying their fair share of taxes.
The American worker has also been busting his bottom but his wages are not going up, but profits for the wealthy are. Unions level the playing field. It's up to the government to tax the profits and reinvest in the country. There is a good quote by Lincoln about the govenrments role in paving the way for the workers to succeed.
America is facing a crises and it has to do with the large income gap, the selling out of our jobs and industry for increases in profits and massive debt. It will collapse. They have been blaming workers and unions for twenty-five years but it's not the problem.
Corporations are multi national and move capital around the world and these problems need to he faced on a global scale.
And, thanks to Bush and company, the Clinton plan for resolving the Social Security Crisis went down the tubes. This quote is from his final State of the Union Address in 2000.quote:Originally posted by pba:
Thanks to Bushy and his republican rubber stamp congress your kids and grandkids will be paying on this debt for a long time indeed.
Had the tax and spend policies that brought us the budget surplus been carried on, we would not be debating the future of Social Security and Medicaid and we might even be talking of other programs to aid impoverished Americans.quote:Beyond paying off the debt, we must ensure that the benefits of debt reduction go to preserving two of the most important guarantees we make to every American -- Social Security and Medicare. (Applause.) Tonight, I ask you to work with me to make a bipartisan down payment on Social Security reform by crediting the interest savings from debt reduction to the Social Security Trust Fund so that it will be strong and sound for the next 50 years.
I want to ask a question of you. Where is that 20 billion in pork going to be spent?quote:Originally posted by Southern Patriot:
Your friends on the left a doing a fine job on that deficit too. The first major piece of legislation they are trying to push out has 20 BILLION + in pork spending. You keep beating up on GWB, but as the Dem's say "congress controls the purse".
