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snoscytheIn another thread, another poster commented on how Congress was going to be raising taxes on the rich by inaction--by declining to renew the Bush tax breaks on high-earners. Rather than hijack that thread into a political debate, I thought I would post this article here that catalogs all of the various tax raises EVERYONE will be seeing soon simply because Congress is letting deadlines slide.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/541131/201007211841/The-Tax-Tsunami-On-The-Horizon.aspx " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Now, I am a practical person--I understand that to heal the economy over the long-term we need to get our budget in the black and start paying off our debts--and that's going to require higher taxes. At the pinnacle of the American economy in the roaring twenties, income tax rates were over 50% across the board. I think we can afford to pay more than we are paying now, and I think we need to if we want any prayer at righting the sinking ship. That said, this is the absolute wrong way to do it.
The first step to getting out of debt and getting financially secure is to corral spending. That is the antithesis of what has been happening. Congress is spending money at a record-clip, borrowing and printing more money than should be imagined. Until Congress can show fiscal responsibility, they should not be raising taxes.
My second complaint is this--rather than being studious in levying and raising taxes to generate the most revenue with the lightest impact on a delicate economy, Congress is taking the easy road out, and that easy road is going to kick us in the nuts. No one wants to vote on a bill that expressly raises or levies a tax--it would be suicide in November if they did. So instead of doing what's best for the country and their constituents, they do what's best for their career and raise taxes by simply letting things expire that need to be renewed.
Taxes need to go up, but Congress needs to cut the fat and make hard positive decisions for the good of their country, and we as voting citizens need to support them when/if they do.
Now, I am a practical person--I understand that to heal the economy over the long-term we need to get our budget in the black and start paying off our debts--and that's going to require higher taxes. At the pinnacle of the American economy in the roaring twenties, income tax rates were over 50% across the board. I think we can afford to pay more than we are paying now, and I think we need to if we want any prayer at righting the sinking ship. That said, this is the absolute wrong way to do it.
The first step to getting out of debt and getting financially secure is to corral spending. That is the antithesis of what has been happening. Congress is spending money at a record-clip, borrowing and printing more money than should be imagined. Until Congress can show fiscal responsibility, they should not be raising taxes.
My second complaint is this--rather than being studious in levying and raising taxes to generate the most revenue with the lightest impact on a delicate economy, Congress is taking the easy road out, and that easy road is going to kick us in the nuts. No one wants to vote on a bill that expressly raises or levies a tax--it would be suicide in November if they did. So instead of doing what's best for the country and their constituents, they do what's best for their career and raise taxes by simply letting things expire that need to be renewed.
Taxes need to go up, but Congress needs to cut the fat and make hard positive decisions for the good of their country, and we as voting citizens need to support them when/if they do.