Why Can't We Balance The Budget

All of the back and forth here in the Dungeon (and on Capitol Hill) makes me wonder why no one ever asks this question, or at least never gets an answer.

Here is what I propose:
1. Explain if the US can or can't balance the budget.
2. Describe why/how.
3. What do you propose is a fair amount of taxes for individuals to pay.

 

1.yes, we can
2.by controlling costs and leaving politics out of it
3.flat rate taxes

1. no, we can't
2. the political system as it stands creates to much head butting to get anything accomplished.
3. Taxes suck, there is no fair amount.

 

Alexa, you forgot to vote!

 

Hmmm, after seeing you talk out of both sides of your mouth like that it seems that you should be in politics.

 

Yes we can balance the budget

As soon as we can clean house (so to speak) of all the big vote buyers in Washington.

We pay enough taxes as it is, so Washington can do with what the get presently.


By the way, the dungeon could never balance the budget without a considerable amount of teeth, hair, and eyeballs all over the place.

 

Yes I can and all I need is a palace, fleet of bikes, Barber and a metric ton of Maple







to begin.

 

That's just the legacy of learnin' at my dad's knee.
#2 applies most to the questions at hand, but 3-5 play a supporting role.

1)Game theory: always think 6 moves ahead.

2)Reality check theory: there's always at least 2 sides to every story.

3)Bullshit theory: you can't bullshit a bullshitter.

4)Debate theory: never argue with drunks or crazy people.

5)Reality check theory #2: never trust anyone farther than you can throw them.

There's a few more, but they've all served me well at one point or another in my life.

 

1. Yes, don't think it'll happen. I hope every politician gets replaced in 2012 and we get some people (Ron Paul?? ) in there that will make some tough decisions and not just pander to their stupid constituents and lobbyists. The realist in me is predicting more of the same...

2. Stop fighting wars we don't need, quit subsidizing oil companies and farmers and stupid projects like ethanol, and start cutting costs hard. Close loopholes and simplify the tax code. Also, stop allowing the dipping into social security to cover other budget shortfalls and update the SS age so that the program remains solvent (this does not work toward balancing the budget but it pisses me off that something so ridiculous and easy to fix can be allowed to continue). In short, cut spending deep and in a real way.

3. It seems like somewhere around 25% should be fair, but I'm not a tax professional. What I do believe is that the poor should pay less (or none) as a percentage of income and the uber-rich (let's call it anything over $1M a year) can pay a little more. I'm fairly happy with the progressive system we have, my issue is with all of the deductions and crap that people can use to severely reduce their tax liability.

 

Yes. It was balanced when W took office. Why not again?


Okay no. Not as long as there are elements in political parties that refuse to compromise with others, no matter what.

 

Why? Should not we honor equal protection under the law?

 

Sheep, how do you feel about same-sex-marriages?

 

Ah yes. The great myth rears its head again. The "balanced" budget was nothing more than accounting trickery. They did the equivalent of taking money out of one pocket and put it in the other. Apparently it did fool some people though.....

 

Sure, hire Bill again.

 

Crash, I gotta ask...
I keep hearing that the budget wasn't really balanced when W. took office, and that the "surplus" was nothing more than Dem accounting trickery. If that was the case, then whose money did W. mail off to everyone in late 2001? I personally got a check for something like $650. More to the point, that line of reasoning would seem to suggest that not only did W. fall for the crafty Democrat budget trickery, he made things immeasurably worse by mailing out billions of dollars in "tax refunds" that didn't come from a surplus at all, but in fact greatly deepened the Federal budget deficit. If no Clinton surplus, then where did that money come from?

 

Because paying 25% of your income to taxes makes living a lot harder for someone making $20k than someone making $200k.

 

Your doing just fine until #3. 25% should be fair. WTF? Why on earth do we need to pay that much in taxes? Don't start with the roads, schools, cops bullshit as that is an issue for your community and state. Remember property taxes. Everyone is all about raising taxes and the rich paying more right up until its time to cut the check on April 15th. Then every single person is doing whatever they can to pay as little as possible. I am so sick and tired of hearing people spew they would be ok with an increase in taxes just to hear them bitch come tax time, want you to pay in cash, or ask to dodge sales tax on a purchase.

 

W was buying votes and just dug us in deeper.
Google Clinton surplus to read about the interesting accounting used in the claimed surplus.

 

Here is what I propose:

1. Explain if the US can or can't balance the budget. YES.

Here's how....it's simple and fair.

The US Gubment should start buying lottery tickets, and then fix all the drawings.

In a matter of a few years we will have erased the debt, and lookie-lookie....the people buying the tickets are often the people on welfare...so it's win-win.

 

This makes about as much sense as the stuff that comes out of DC.

 

1.) Yes we can
2.) No we won't
3.) After #2, saying how is a pointless waste of breath