Perhaps you've enjoyed the privilege of never being tax exempt due to poverty. What you're suggesting is people who earn poverty rate, having to actually be even MORE poverty-stricken by not being allowed the standard deduction - which gives them a refund of the taxes they did pay, if any.

Being poverty-stricken is not something I'd recommend to anyone. Having to pay taxes for the privilege of being poor is just - nasty.

...................and the wealthy do as they have always done to avoid paying their fair share.
They ship their money offshore.
The average working person always picks up the tab!

The national debt has not been paid down since Eisenhower.

How about deducting the U. S. cost of the Virus from the debt we owe to China, since they started this and didn’t warn anyone until it was too late?

That's one way of paying down the national debt. :thumbup:

That's a great idea. I'd definitely go for that. Higher than .2% would be my choice.
You may also be helping to stop these hedge funds from manipulating stocks with these rapid trading practices to raise prices and then shorting the stocks back down. Charging them for each transaction would be great, but only if there are no exceptions for brokerages and market makers, etc...

Never happen
 

If the virus has taught us nothing it should teach us that we (our government, elected officials) never solve or even address a problem until it is a catastrophe. Deficit, social security, health care, homeless, drug addiction, broken immigration policy....name it, it will not be addressed until it is totally out of control. Politicians don’t solve problems, they work to get re-elected, they work for their own power and gain. Check out the financial standing of politicians before, during and after they leave office, it will astound you.

"...Pray that it won't be in the form of inflation which would hit the retired class the hardest...."
Too late for that...Prayer not answered...Just look at last 10yrs of REAL data... Phony "inflation rate index" total BS.

Debt and Taxes
 

Here is a novel idea. Once COVID-19 is behind us and the economy normalizes how about getting back to the good old days when the government had enough money to provide the services necessary for the common good. The low tax mania since Reagan is responsible for the decline of public health services that we needed in this crisis, the condition of infrastructure and the list goes on. For the common good, for a solid economy, and a decent society individuals and corporations in America have to pay more taxes. The problem is revenue, not spending.

GOOD ON YOU!!
More Christians.. Fewer "Christian" hypocrites.
:a040:

Actually, it appears the Virus originated from Europe, NOT Asia (China).
Nasty White folks, as it were. OOPS
GOOGLE IT!! FactFind!! Research!! Do Not Just Retweet it

China should pay for the cost of this pandemic. They own a lot of our debt and are actually making a very large profit off of the pandemic is so many ways.

If you have been paying attention, you would have heard the President state about a month ago that a substantial amount of the money was coming from the existing budget. Instead of funneling billions to foreign countries in aid, he redirected that money to the American people. We are not giving our usual aid to all the foreign countries that do not support us. So, the budget will be fine and the future even better for balancing since under this administration we will not be wasting money propping up our enemies. The MSM has not reported this since he initially said it. Imagine that!

The same corporations that received a gigantic tax cut now want our tax dollars to bail them out now.

this whole thread reminds me of an old saying.... "It's too bad that all the people that are truly qualified to run for political office are already employed as barbers and cab drivers"

When Congress gets serious about spending, then MAYBE, something MIGHT be done about the debt. As it is, we are headed for national bankruptcy. We should be weaning our population off of entitlements. That includes all welfare and social security. I know that isn't a popular statement but other countries have made better decisions. We should have also. The math is simple.

New idea reducing debt???
 

Instead of increasing or implementing a new tax idea.....how about something as radical as reducing spending??? Across the board 10% cut, no exceptions. In reality we could cut it bt 20% without any reduction of services.

We don't funnel "trillions to foreign countries in aid". The entire Federal budget is about $4.4 trillion. The foreign aid budget is about $50 billion per year or about 1% of the Federal budget.

I don't see how the coronavirus relief bill can come from the existing budget. The bill has a price tag of $2 trillion (not sure if all of it will be spent). Again, the current annual Federal budget is about $4.4 trillion and has a deficit.

Does this idea address corporate debt (which is staggering), individual debt, student debt, etc.?

The Dollar is slowly losing its reserve currency status. I believe the plan is to devalue the dollar in order to pay off or pay down debt with near worthless dollars and a new digital currency will arise. It will be a painful process for us all. I don't agree with this path but we will obediently follow along (like our response to Corona).

Ideally having an enforceable balanced budget, term limits on the sociopaths we elect to represent us, returning to a gold standard and repealing the 16th amendment would go a long way to restoring our financial health. Financial education in school and at home would also solve financial illiteracy and a thorough grounding for every student in the Constitution will create a much more prepared citizen and voter.

If I recall correctly, only about one-third of the budget is discretionary. The other two- thirds is pretty much untouchable (medicare, medicaid, social security, retirement for federal workers and veterans, and interest on the debt). Nobody in Congress is going to talk about cutting the non-discretionary part of the budget.

There is an almost endless list of "things" that could be cut out of the discretionary part of the budget but, unfortunately, it adds up to relatively small percentages of the entire budget. A lot of those "things" are pork and, unfortunately, have become part of the legislative process. You need to look no further than the recent coronavirus relief bill for examples of that. Regardless, I believe progress on reducing spending can only be made if term limits on Congress are put in place, and I am not optimistic that will ever happen.

Sure.
Progressive Taxation vs. Regressive Taxation | Northeastern University

Another penalty for those few supporting our country. Would be too complicated. We have spending problem, best way is to cut spending. Wasteful spending and fraud is off the charts.
No offense, it is a good thought, but to me, not the answer.

How about all politicians needing to show their tax returns to show they paid taxes

Their tax return is none of your business. Compliance is not your job.

Tax the highest 3%
 

Most economists (unless they are diehard political liars) will tell you “trickle down” only works for the rich. Tax increase for the 3% highest incomes and also cut Unnecessary spending. OP, your proposal also have merit. Those that are able must also work and no increases in public aid for over two children. Term limits for Congress. Happy Easter!

Sigh. I have read them all. It will be far worse than any imagined and we will have to do what was done in the generation before mine...in the thirties. So start saving anything extra...reusing what you have and doing without. It is going to be tough. I hope it brings out some good traits in everyone they didn't know they had and makes people rethink things about large families and wasting money on things not necessary...and taking care of their own and expecting their own to work hard and do without too.

It will be difficult to say the least and there are no easy or simple answers. The government may need to do things like the New Deal to employ people.

My generation will suffer a lot if they don't have savings that are safe. Everyone will suffer. Now is not the time to spend money on foolishness.

I am not offended and appreciate your contribution.

Well the rescue money is going to be spent to try to not have the economy collapse. People can't pay their rent, buy food, basic essentials. Most Americans do not have savings. So even the GOP has overwhelmingly supported this bail out.

My quibble is your comment that it would be too complicated. It is no more complicated than the collection of sales tax when you buy something. When you would buy or sell publicly traded shares the agent collects the trade tax and remits it to the gov't just like the merchant who sells you a product does now with the sales tax collected. And as very few agents can do that sort of transaction all of which are large businesses like banks and Etrade, it could be reasonably straight forward, I think.

Just saw this..

It is a slow day in the small town of Pumphandle, and streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.

A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.
The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit.
The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything.
At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything .
However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a Stimulus package works

Great idea Warren Buffet proposed an amendment to the constitution along the line of when the economy is doing well and the govt runs a deficit all sitting members of congress would be ineligible to be reelected.
The deficit would eliminate in just over a heartbeat.

That might sound like a great idea, but in reality it is called defaulting on debt. If the USA defaults on its debt obligations then how would it fund it’s massive budget defects?

The idea though - not the implementation, seems like it could be negotiated. The US puts some of the burden on China for the expenses incurred regarding the spread of the virus. We get China to accept at least some responsibility for it. We agree on a value of that responsibility. We then deduct that value from what we owe them.

That will at least slow down the increase of our own country's deficit. It won't bring us to a zero balance. But it might give us some breathing room to come up with other ways of catching up.

None of my business.

Actually what I suggested was proportional.

Good little tax cattle...Doubleplusgood!

Surprisingly enough, I agree with you. I’m truly not sure this stimulus package was a good idea. We have added a huge amount of debt to our bottom line.

The political terrorists steal trillions from us and you want to give them more? Doubleplusgood indeed!

Actually a program like the New Deal would be great. It would employ and repair.

2 pennies for every $10. This is so moderate! Unfortunately, people who hold these funds and stocks will say it’s my money. Gov’t keep your hands off!
How about, I want to contribute to my fellow Americans and stabilize our gov’t.

2 cents is so low it makes great sense.

I might have gone with 2 pennies is so low it makes great cents

As regards the stimulus story above, it does illustrate the reason why a stimulus, or a tax cut, or any other financial benefit given to the non-wealthy has more benefit to the economy. Give that same $100 to Thurston Howell and it doesn't circulate.

As wealth increases the likelihood that a stimulus is pocketed rather than spent is documented HERE This is why there is an income cut off when stimulating the economy is the goal.