I wonder if this will still be true for Democrats when the shoe is on the other foot. They were held together by Pelosi’s skilled hand for twelve years. I think the fundamentals are strong for the Democrats. They care a lot about good governance principles. Ultimately, I think that will keep everyone on the same page. I don’t see any part of the party willing to rock the boat.
Where I am starting to get worried is with the national debt. The US, China, and many other governments are going to run into both debt issues and an aging population. That will force a reckoning at some point on entitlement spending, which is very popular.
The solution to the debt is taxing the rich, and equitably too. They’re going to have to pay double for the amount they’ve stolen from we the people since 1980.
That’s going to have to be part of it, but it can’t be all of it. There isn’t enough money in the upper class to take care of all of the debt, and at a certain level of taxation they will just move. I will speak in favor of increasing taxes on around pretty much every individual making over 100k or couple making over 200k. For a single person working 40 hours a week in the US, that is the 77th percentile. My husband and I are in this position and I think starting the additional tax burden with us would be fair.
I don’t see raising taxes much below us as being very productive, and those “flat tax” people can fuck right off. That group is already paying money into entitlements so the oft repeated statement that half of households pay no income tax is misleading. They’re really struggling right now, so I just don’t see an increase in taxes as productive.
EDIT TO CLARIFY:
“There isnt enough wealth to tax to cover ALL the debt” is both a bad faith argument and reducto ad absurdum. Nobody expects $33T to be raised in one year or even ten by taking from the 1%. It’s also absurd to speak as if their wealth is static and not replenishing daily.
“If we tax them they will just leave” is the mantra of the battered housewife. They’re free to leave but they are not free to take the infrastructure that we gave them to be in business, and they are not free to continue doing business in the country that allowed that business to thrive and grow. When they walk away, they leave the house and car. They are free to go restart their business somewhere else. Let them try to tell the Chinese that they have businesses in the Cayman Islands for tax write-offs.
The problem with doing that is that people then get more hesitant about putting money into a country. Would you invest in a country if there’s a good chance its leadership is just going to do an about face and tax your wealth into nothing? Take your possessions? It’s part of the reason why many countries struggle to get foreign investment. Their past has caused businesses to have little faith that investments won’t just get nationalized by the government.
I wonder if this will still be true for Democrats when the shoe is on the other foot. They were held together by Pelosi’s skilled hand for twelve years. I think the fundamentals are strong for the Democrats. They care a lot about good governance principles. Ultimately, I think that will keep everyone on the same page. I don’t see any part of the party willing to rock the boat.
Where I am starting to get worried is with the national debt. The US, China, and many other governments are going to run into both debt issues and an aging population. That will force a reckoning at some point on entitlement spending, which is very popular.
The solution to the debt is taxing the rich, and equitably too. They’re going to have to pay double for the amount they’ve stolen from we the people since 1980.
That’s going to have to be part of it, but it can’t be all of it. There isn’t enough money in the upper class to take care of all of the debt, and at a certain level of taxation they will just move. I will speak in favor of increasing taxes on around pretty much every individual making over 100k or couple making over 200k. For a single person working 40 hours a week in the US, that is the 77th percentile. My husband and I are in this position and I think starting the additional tax burden with us would be fair.
I don’t see raising taxes much below us as being very productive, and those “flat tax” people can fuck right off. That group is already paying money into entitlements so the oft repeated statement that half of households pay no income tax is misleading. They’re really struggling right now, so I just don’t see an increase in taxes as productive.
Stockholme syndrome
EDIT TO CLARIFY: “There isnt enough wealth to tax to cover ALL the debt” is both a bad faith argument and reducto ad absurdum. Nobody expects $33T to be raised in one year or even ten by taking from the 1%. It’s also absurd to speak as if their wealth is static and not replenishing daily.
“If we tax them they will just leave” is the mantra of the battered housewife. They’re free to leave but they are not free to take the infrastructure that we gave them to be in business, and they are not free to continue doing business in the country that allowed that business to thrive and grow. When they walk away, they leave the house and car. They are free to go restart their business somewhere else. Let them try to tell the Chinese that they have businesses in the Cayman Islands for tax write-offs.
They make over 200k a year, not exactly struggling.
Yeah, 200k and DINK. I want to have my taxes raised, just as long as others like me also have have their taxes raised.
The problem with doing that is that people then get more hesitant about putting money into a country. Would you invest in a country if there’s a good chance its leadership is just going to do an about face and tax your wealth into nothing? Take your possessions? It’s part of the reason why many countries struggle to get foreign investment. Their past has caused businesses to have little faith that investments won’t just get nationalized by the government.
High corporate taxation Made America Great. Low taxation destroyed it and created oligarchy. Undeniable.