The New Intimacy

should we raise taxes to offset high government spending?

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Contributor: El-Jaro El-Jaro
I heard on NPR this weekend that there's an investigation starting soon to look at/revise our tax system. The last one was in 86 and took about 3 years to complete.

I agree though, government spending needs a rethink too! Remember those $1000 toilet seats and $400 hammers? Since there's money involved in these government contracts, you know there's a fair amount of greed too.

I think people also need to be clear about something, the big debate about taxes isn't necessarily about rich v. poor. That's too abstract really. Should Mom and pop stores be taxed the same as big businesses? If so, what kind of allowances should be considered? See? The devil's in the details...

Budgets and taxing are, unfortunately, very political if they aren't practical.
07/14/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Scallops
I'm not sure where you get your numbers, but (link here) federal spending is about 18.74% on military, and 19.63% on social security. so it's not the biggest user of tax dollars.

also, we spend $164 Billion, or 4.63% of our national ... more
Defense speding in 2010 was 20%! That's close to 700 BILLION dollars. Where do you get 4.63%? Damn, spin....



And here's the USA in Defense spending compared to other countries.



Next year's military spending is looking at more than a trillion dollars. Things CAN be cut there.
07/14/2011
Contributor: Beck Beck
I think we pay enough! They just need to stop sending it on strips clubs and prostitutes and expensive dinners.
10/21/2011
Contributor: Princess Zelda Princess Zelda
Quote:
Originally posted by southern woman
Agreed.. some of the stuff they're spending money on is rediculous tho!
agree
10/21/2011
Contributor: RonLee RonLee
Some years ago, one of my coworkers was complaining that he'd been hit with the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and so could no longer take many of his numerous deductions. This was the same guy who complained vociferously about across the board tax cuts. Around that time I had a part time job preparing taxes for Block, I'd done my sisters taxes several years, her and her husband earned about eight dollars an hour each. Under the Clinton administration before that across the board tax cut they paid about five or six hundred MORE than after that across the board tax cut. That doesn't sound like much but if you're low income five hundred is a lot of money.

How about all of those who think that taxes should go up, stop itemizing their own taxes and just take the standard deduction. It seems to me that nearly all of those folks who think that taxes should go up mean that someone else's taxes should go up NOT THEIR OWN.
10/21/2011
Contributor: Sex'и'Violence Sex'и'Violence
Personally, I say before increasing taxes we should lower national commitments to foreign aid, deport/ expedite the deportation process of non-citizens currently in the penal system and crack down on immigration.
10/21/2011
Contributor: GenderSexplorations GenderSexplorations
Trim the fat and trim the corruption. We wouldn't have a problem once that was done. When there are school administrators making more than the president of the united states, you know we have a problem.
10/21/2011
Contributor: RonLee RonLee
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Defense speding in 2010 was 20%! That's close to 700 BILLION dollars. Where do you get 4.63%? Damn, spin....



And here's the USA in Defense spending compared to other countries.



Next year's military spending ... more
When a catastrophe occurs nearly anywhere in the world, if needed the USA sends a carrier. When disaster strikes, to whom would you say?
"NO WE CANNOT HELP"

CVN-68 Nimitz-class Carriers:
The carrier's two nuclear reactors give her virtually unlimited range and endurance and a top speed in excess of 30 knots. Eight steam turbine generators each produce 8,000 kilowatts of electrical power, enough to serve a small city. The ship has enough electrical generating power to supply electricity to a city of 100,000. The ships normally carrys enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days. Four distilling units enable NIMITZ-class engineers to make over 400,000 gallons of fresh water a day from seawater, for use by the propulsion plants, catapults and crew. The ship carries approximately 3 million gallons of fuel for her aircraft and escorts, and enough weapons and stores for extended operations without replenishment. These ships also have extensive repair capabilities, including a fully equipped Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, a micro-miniature electronics repair shop, and numerous ship repair shops. Keeping a NIMITZ-class carrier ready at all times requires repair shops to maintain machinery and aircraft, heavy duty tailor shops to repair parachutes and other survival gear, and electronic ships that keep communication, navigation and avionics equipment in good condition. NIMITZ-class carriers boast all the amenities that would be found in any American city with a comparable population, including a post office with its own ZIP code, TV and radio stations, a newspaper, a fire department, a library, a hospital, a general store, two barbershops and much more.
10/22/2011