[Shish]

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...

[Maxsan]

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.

[RoadToad]

"...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.

[kenoc7]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I have a novel idea. Once the covid 19 thing is behind us and the economy normalizes, how about getting back to the good old days where the government runs a budget surplus during good times and uses the surplus to pay down debt.

It's called fiscal responsibility, and it involves cutting spending, not looking for ways to tax people. Deficit spending is acceptable during crisis times like we are now in, but is unsustainable when done year after year as has become the new norm.

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.

[RoadToad]

Originally Posted by blueash

Your point was, if I understood it correctly, that poor people paying no tax were having their votes bought by politicians who supported policies that helped the poor. I am suggesting that it is even less virtuous to have wealthy people having their votes bought by politicians who will support policies that help rich people.

If poor people paid a small tax do you think that would in any way change the economic calculation of whom they would support? Of course not. So your suggestion that non-tax payers are specially susceptible to having their votes bought lacks support. But I am pleased to see we are in basic agreement that all politicians make economic promises in the hope that voters will see how those promises will benefit their own family. As I watch a large percentage of my neighbors cheating within the letter of the law to have their old roofs replaced while railing against welfare mothers and people who don't pay taxes, I see hypocrisy.

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

[RoadToad]

Originally Posted by noslices1

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?

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.

[bmit16]

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!

[Lindsyburnsy]

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

[davem4616]

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"

[sloanst]

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.

[NJRICHARD]

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.

[biker1]

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.

Originally Posted by bmit16

If you have been paying attention, you would have heard the President state about a month ago that the money was coming from the existing budget. Instead of funneling trillions 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. He actually is spending less on us during this time then we spend on foreign aid in a month. 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!

[bd20166]

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.

[biker1]

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.

Originally Posted by NJRICHARD

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.