Utahns, how excited are you about Mitt Romney

[jvquarterback]

So my ten year old daughter really likes ranked lists and often asks me to rank the last ten or twenty presidents. Tonight she asked me to rank the last five and I was very surprised that in pretty much every category Trump ranked number one. Crazy I know but think about it.

I guess he still has time to start a full scale war in Syria and move himself lower in terms of foreign policy. And if he passes his gas tax and ridiculous infrastructure spending he can drop for sure but right now he's at the top of the list.

[byufan4ever]

So my ten year old daughter really likes ranked lists and often asks me to rank the last ten or twenty presidents. Tonight she asked me to rank the last five and I was very surprised that in pretty much every category Trump ranked number one. Crazy I know but think about it.

I guess he still has time to start a full scale war in Syria and move himself lower in terms of foreign policy. And if he passes his gas tax and ridiculous infrastructure spending he can drop for sure but right now he's at the top of the list.

What criteria do you use to rank the presidents? I'm honestly curios.

[jvquarterback]

Foreign policy.
Tax rates.
Government spending.
Adherence to constitutional constraints.

[Mars]

Let me guess, lower taxes are better?

I would rather pay higher taxes so as to pay off our national debt, get our country out of bondage to foreign powers.

[Ddawg]

It's going to be a close senate race. Latest poll 2/20/18.
Romney 60, Wilson 14. Romney +46

Hold your breath.

[BroncoBot]

Let me guess, lower taxes are better?

I would rather pay higher taxes so as to pay off our national debt, get our country out of bondage to foreign powers.

This is just dumb. Why pay higher taxes? To pay off national debt? Ha Ha. Screw that, it'll never happen. Increased tax (theft) only gives the left AND right more power for their particular entitlements. When the govt gets serious about cutting spending I'll consider that they are serious about the debt problem. Until then I'll continue to be the greediest capitalist pig (in regards to tax) you'll ever meet. I earned that money and I'll keep an much as I can and donate the rest to where I see fit. Thank you.

Besides that, everytime the govt has cut taxes, they bring in MORE money. Including this most recent cut, so far.

[BoiseBYU]

Let me guess, lower taxes are better?

I would rather pay higher taxes so as to pay off our national debt, get our country out of bondage to foreign powers.

This is just dumb. Why pay higher taxes? To pay off national debt? Ha Ha. Screw that, it'll never happen. Increased tax (theft) only gives the left AND right more power for their particular entitlements. When the govt gets serious about cutting spending I'll consider that they are serious about the debt problem. Until then I'll continue to be the greediest capitalist pig (in regards to tax) you'll ever meet. I earned that money and I'll keep an much as I can and donate the rest to where I see fit. Thank you.

Besides that, everytime the govt has cut taxes, they bring in MORE money. Including this most recent cut, so far.

Why should we be spending more than we are taking in? Why put the burden of that debt on our children and their children to pay? That used to be a ruling principle of the Republican Party and Conservatives but obviously no more. And I am not aware of any evidence that lowering taxes brings more tax revenue in than the tax cut caused. The latest place that tried that is Kansas and see how that worked out. I know about the money some companies are repatriating back to the US as a result of the tax cuts BUT that is a one off and does not count.

[Ddawg]

... I am not aware of any evidence that lowering taxes brings more tax revenue in than the tax cut caused.

You need to study more.

Forbes article -
"In simple terms, when taxes are cut, Federal revenue has a very strong tendency to rise! And when taxes are raised, government revenue has a strong tendency to fall."




"The next time you find yourself engaged in this debate and someone tells you that you that taxes must be raised to pay down the debt, you can refer them to this article. In conclusion, as JFK, Reagan, and George W. Bush understood, reducing taxes has a stimulative effect on economic activity which leads to an increase in government reciepts. You can't argue with history!"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton ... e690144bf2

[Mars]

The graph is confusing. It appears to have federal receipts almost constantly going up over time, including the only period where taxes increased (1986-1994). The only two periods where the federal receipts are shown going down, taxes are not increasing. So the -.5 correlation is interesting, but doesn't appear to show well visually.

It makes sense though that decreasing government spending and increasing debt payments will pay down the debt faster than simply increasing taxes.

[Ddawg]

.... Romney goes on to say this:

"In many cases, lowering taxes can actually increase government revenues. If new businesses, new investments and new hiring are spurred by the prospects of better after-tax returns, the taxes paid by these new or growing businesses and employees can more than make up for the lower rates of taxation."

It's a balancing act. The lower taxes must spur economic growth (as is expected). It taxes are cut, and a recession occurs, revenue will not increase. Cut taxes, economic growth is spurred (as is happening now), revenue increases because of economic growth.