Allow the Bush tax cuts to expire
August 8, 2010 3 Comments
Our government has a cost
President Obama made a campaign promise to allow the Bush Tax cuts to expire for those people at the highest tax bracket. I believe we should allow all the Bush tax cuts from 2003 to expire at the end of this year. I do not want to pay any more taxes than anyone else, but the truth is that there is a cost associated with running the government and that cost should be shared among everyone. Many economist told us that those tax cuts were needed to stimulate the economy. Now some economists are telling us that the climb in our deficit was a major reason leading to our current recession. I believe they are right. It does not make sense that reducing our revenue and increasing spending will lead to prosperity. We can cut our national deficit by 30% if we allow all the Bush tax cuts to expire.
I believe that Americans are willing to pay taxes, but they want value for their money. There are too many stories about big money interests using taxpayer funds for their own interests. I have studied the analysis from several top economists about our current economy. In every case the concept of tax cuts to upper middle class and upper class brackets did not have a positive effect on the economy because those people use the tax cuts to pay off debt or increase savings. We know that extending unemployment benefits stimulates the economy because the people receiving the benefits live from pay check to pay check.
I propose that the federal government sponsors major projects that add value to our community. In California I believe transportation projects would stimulate the economy and immediately add value to our community. High paying jobs would be created this year. There are many projects pending that are shovel ready with plans already approved. The the federal government should team with local agencies to produce transportation systems that would give value for decades. The people would see value for their taxes. A major transportation project would help the environment, cut energy consumption, and make travel much more convenient for everyone.
It is not difficult to make the case for moving forward with major transportation projects. What we need is in-depth research that lets us know how the money will spent and who will benefit from the project. It is critical for the taxpayers to get as much value for their money as possible. All aspects of projects must be open to the public. We need people who will take the time to do the research and document that research so we can have access to information recorded from the taxpayer prospective. Polly Dicta is sponsoring White Papers about major projects. Please send me your comments about the tax cuts and government projects. I know America will be a better place if more Americans take part in how our government works. Let me know what you think.
Jim Brandt, Facebook
Regarding: “I propose that the federal government sponsors major projects that add value to our community. In California I believe transportation projects would stimulate the economy and immediately add value to our community.” Government creating jobs was successful during FDR’s era. I recently read an article on The New Deal. My Dad participated in one of those programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) when he was a very young man. Maybe government sponsorship and government creating jobs isn’t the same but it sounds similar to me. Great proposal, Jim!
I think you are right that they do sound the same. I believe if we create jobs and build something of value for the community at the same time we will make progress.
I agree that we need to collect more revenue. Govt. spending on value producing projects requires many workers who put their wages into the economy, making it more healthy. The argument that lower taxes will allow the wealthy to use their extra funds to hire more people is silly. Since they are wealthy, they already have enough funds to hire people if they wanted or needed to. Their extra money from low taxes will just go a) into financial markets, b) overseas, c) Extra homes, yachts, art works, etc.
I’d like to see a flat tax with the following provisos: a) 70% tax on ALL income including capital gains and overseas, b) eliminate ALL deductions, c) a $150,000 exemption on income, or $300,000 for couples. A family that made up to $300, would pay no income tax. At $400,000 they’d pay $70,000 or 17.5%. At $1,000,000 they’d pay $490,000 or 49%.