3 Ways To Spot Small-Government Phonies

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The missing ingredient in most of the financial proposals is common sense (a lack of which must be a requirement to hold public office). My favorite is the call to lower taxes even more than they currently are - let's face it, if you were going to try and restructure your personal finances to pay down your debt, the first thing on your agenda is NOT going to be requesting your employer cut your wages!
Another is the "eliminate taxes on corporations to stimulate the economy". Yeah, RIGHT! When corporations are taxed, it's on profit, not income. Make them pay taxes, and they'll find ways to reinvest in the company or increase workforce/wages/benefits so they don't have to pay tax on it. Remove this incentive, and they'll just rake the profits, take them offshore, then cut jobs here and replace them with overseas positions. That's worked out so well to this point, hasn't it?!?!
People have to face the fact taxes will HAVE to rise, and start figuring out the best way to do it that will have the most benefit with the least negative impact. Like it or not, this means high earners will pay more than low earners - if not, they may have the cash, but they won't have the country they want.

Ron of CA 12:55AM May 13, 2011

1. Party seeks numerical majority to gets its way with policy.
2. The most important thing in the world to party politicians is (re)election. See #1 for why.
3. No party politician will ever arrive at the proper solutions to fix our debt/deficit problems because they are bought and paid for.
4. Hundreds of government agencies govern the same aspects of civic life; they should be consolidated, thus saving billions.
5. The military should be incorporated into one force with one infantry division, one air wing, and one navy; cross-train soldiers, cross-purpose provisioning, reduce bases. Our military mission has changed given the realities of our current world; smaller, more lethal, and higher-trainer special forces are called for now. All of these changes would save hundreds of billions annually.
6. Our foreign policy with respect to interventions should change to an America First perspective. Want to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein has thumbed his nose at the world? Fine. Invade. Remove him. Leave. Then say, "Make it right or we'll be back." We'd lose maybe three soldiers (two to vehicular accidents) and we'd save billions. Our military should not be told to stand on a street corner (a target) and be a cop.
7. A one-time tax on those with incomes of seven digits and above should be part of the next budget. Announce it now, let them prepare, then do it. Reassess whether it needs to be done again in the next budget. See #1-3 for why our current "representatives" won't do this.
8. Special taxes should be raised on financial instrument perveyors, you know, the kind of knuckleheads who almost pulled our economy down a couple of years ago (the ones who invent credit default swaps, etc.); tax anything out of existence that an ordinary ... lawyer or CPA can't explain in three sentences.
9. Import tax China back into backseat status on the world stage.
10. Tax American companies for every job they export, and to protect those companies, tax those companies they compete against on the global market to level the playing field.
The above as a unseverable program will never happen with ideologically-driven, bought and paid for party politicians running the show. Start now ... elect fiscally conservative Independents (leave the social questions for another day), insist they implement the changes above, and maybe we can get out of this rut before it all comes crashing down on us.

Ron Duplantis of CA 7:20PM May 12, 2011

Social Security . . . For those of us who worked 40 + years, we paid for it and 50% was paid by our employers !!! Hello, it's not given to us by the Gov't. It is ours and they took it used it and now the pot is empty. Sorry not my fault you spent the money I gave you to put away for me. Get off the Social Security FREE GOV'T AID. It's not free, you have my money !!!!!!!

Margaret Kelly of CA 6:21PM May 12, 2011

While I agree that we as a nation need to change how and what we do: re: not rely so much on government programs, etc - , this does not go nearly far enough. If one wants to cut Social Security (which I have paid into since the age of 15), Medicare and Medicaid, Defense, etc., one must also help develop the tools for re-educating the nation financially. This is not being done at all! Further, education of any kind is being massively cut nation-wide. And when an extremely profitable oil company is being paid tax-funded subsidies (for what, exactly), then raising gas prices ridiculously when there is an excess of such fuel, I do have an issue with this. I do not, as a state employee, get wage increases (contrary to popular belief), and I do pay into health care and retirement. Having been a single parent and struggling, there was no better education on financial management out there - and, believe me, I searched! This continues today. If we as a nation are to pull this country and ourselves out of debt, we need to not jump on Paul Ryan's bandwagon. His bill will very adversely affect the wrong people, and in fact will pull more citizens into poverty - which number is climbing daily.
It would be great if our politicians could work out a more reasonable and effective solution. Currently the level of partisanship is so extreme on one end, that it is nearly impossible. Yet those same self-serving people are requesting and even demanding that the President put aside partisan issues. There's an oxymoron for us all!
I do not have any great answers. But I do know that we as a nation and as individuals need to look at our own lives and choices differently. We need to re-educate ourselves and eachother on issues such as investment, business, and realize that real success isn't just financial. I hope any of this makes sanse to others.

Kristi Leathers of WI 4:46PM May 12, 2011

How long will it take the American people to realize that? Over the past decade everyone has enjoyed tax cuts, but none more than large corporations and wealthy individuals. If "trickle down" works, where are the jobs? I can tell you, its no secret. The jobs went to China, India and a host of other third world nations. We have successfully exported slavery at the cost of the middle class. Organized labor created the middle class in this country and is almost non-existant today. Is that a coincidence?

Bob Smith of FL 1:30PM May 12, 2011

The author of this article and the people who commented on it don't seem to understand the nature of social security and medicare, the apply named entitlements. Neither of these are part of the national deficit and cutting either of these will not reduce the deficit one cent. They are self-paying insurance programs. They are like group medical plans where the group contributes money into an account, and then some insurance company figures out how much is needed to pay predicted medical costs of the group members while providing a generous administrative fee to the insurance company. The benefits for American workers of social security/medicare include administrative costs only a fraction of what they would be in the private sector. Best of all, with no fixes at all, social security is fully-funded by contributions into the 2030's. Medicare has problems only because medical costs in the private sector have soared. Fix those, and no problems. I paid for social security and medicare for forty years; therefore, I'm entitled to them.

starman4701 of FL 9:25AM February 12, 2011

The effort by neo-conservatives and multi-nationoal corporations to assure a military presence all over the world, and, to reduce the middle-class political and economic clout has worked admirably. Their efforts, including the Fair Trade treaty, to make the US a third world country like Mexico has been the catylist for the immigration from Mexico and South American countries into the US to force wages down and establish a large pool of workers (unemployed). The go fight for us and get citizenship program is a means to an end of the wealthy that their sons and daughters do not have to show their patriotism by defending this nation. (Shades of the downfall of the Roman Empire.)

Ralph Jull of OR 6:57PM November 18, 2010

By the way, who does this money belong to, the taxpayer, not the crooked political elites? Tax cuts generate more revenue, The Reagan tax cuts increased revenue to the U.S. Treasury. $515 billion(1980) to $991 billion(1989). I am on dialysis, along with disability, yes, I am poor, so I do not want to hear whining about the poor. I believe that the private market is a better decision maker than the government, yes, I worked for the government. If we kept our tax dollars in our communities, we would have a much higher standard of living. Yes, I have worked with individuals who have MD, CP, and every other physical challenge on this earth. Believe it or not, not everyone who is challenged in life wants a disability check. How many workers jump at the offer of overtime, if the government will take 50 percent of their overtime pay? I have heard this complaint, time and again. Will you and others work harder if you will keep 99 percent of what you earn or 50 percent of your hourly pay or salary? In cutting taxes, we will enable society to be become more generous and progressive. I am FOR the elimination of payroll taxes, pure and simple.
Private charity will enable us to devote more money to serving the poor, than paying salaries and benefits to the government bureaucrats. We need to create more taxpayers and decrease the tax burden on overtaxed workers.
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Joe of OH 4:35PM November 18, 2010

The big problem in finding a solution to the mess our goverment and economy are in is that nobody want's to suffer any loss or pain to fix the problem areas. Many speak of the horror of leaving this huge national debt to our children and grandchildern but balk at proposals that may put more strain on their own wallet. Most of the country agrees global warming is a real problem but few are willing to give up their comfortable consumption or support alternative solutions if it will cost even a little bit more. Forget the corporate heads trying to help the economy recover, they have told us time and again that their obligation is to their stockholders. If their stockholders are Americans I guess the will have to go down with the rest of us or move with their fortunes to some other land where lots of money will keep them afloat a little longer. Many speak of the great challenges Americans have overcome in the past as evidence of our ability to do it again. They usuall gloss over the part were the nation came together as one to accomplish what individuals couldn't. Also in those past times the wealth of the country was a lot more balanced. A lot of the things that need fixed require lots of money and the rich won't give it up freely. They never have and the law is always on their side. How do we fix our country? Don't ask me. I'm just real glad I don't have to be the one to decide. I don't pretend to Know.

stuart bellant of WI 1:59PM November 18, 2010

It's very clear how the republicans plan to balance the budget. They constantly mention it. What they want to do is get rid of social security. Of course, don't get me wrong. They don't want to cut payroll taxes which come mostly from the middle class and the poor, they just don't want to give out anything to the poor and middle class for those taxes. What they would like is a government that is run by payroll taxes which are capped so that the wealthiest don't have to spend much on them, and use those taxes to pay for a very large military which will probably be turned against the American people because of the political unrest that will be caused by extreme unemployment and poverty caused by their policies.

Dealmaker777 of WA 12:12PM November 18, 2010