Tuesday, April 10, 2012

More Bad Budgets

The rich should be paying their fair share, not 15% on investment income. Preferential treatment for capital gains income should be eliminated. Obama has proposed extending most of the Bush tax cuts, except for taxes on the very rich and the capital gains tax cut. However, that would still leave capital gains being taxed at 20%, which is lower than the current 25% rate for middle income taxpayers. And this proposal would cost $4.1 trillion over the next ten years.

George W. Bush doubled the debt and left future budget years with trillions in deficits. What is happening is that the Republicans are starving the beast in order to reduce social spending. This is called Disaster Capitalism. You cannot continuously raise expenses such as two wars and a prescription plan that pays whatever is asked (no negotiation) and expect surpluses when revenues are lowered at the same time. Clinton raised taxes (as did Reagan) and left surplus budgets. Bush lowered taxes and left record deficits.

Much is being made about poorer people not paying federal taxes, but they certainly pay other taxes. They pay federal payroll taxes, federal excise taxes, state and local taxes.

People who work hard for a living are tired of freeloaders - the rich who pay less as a percentage of taxes, corporations that pay little or no taxes, companies with record profits that receive subsidies, speculators making money on commodity markets where they do not have any interest in the commodities and who drive up the price of commodities (think oil and gas, heating oil) for all of us.

Want smaller government and lower taxes? Try living in Somalia.

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