Hoyer: We May Have to Raise Taxes
Filed under: Economics, Government — DRJ @ 7:28 pm
[Guest post by DRJ]
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) admitted today that Congress may have to raise taxes to pay down the deficit:
“Tax increases may be necessary to rein in $12 trillion in federal debt, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday.
Hoyer emphasized the need to reform Social Security and Medicare, but he also made it clear that raising taxes will have to be on the table.
“No one likes raising revenue, and understandably so,” Hoyer said in an address at the Brookings Institution. “But if you’re going to buy, you need to pay.
“If need be, I am hopeful that both parties will agree to look at revenues as part of the solution — not as a gateway to higher spending, but as part of a compromise that cuts spending and balances the budget,” he added.”
It wasn’t everyday Americans who insisted on “buying” (with enormous bailouts) institutions like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, investment firms, General Motors, and Chrysler. If Congress wants to spend money, it should figure out how to pay for it first.
So how much will taxes go up?
“To hit the deficit target relying only on tax increases on the rich, as identified by Obama, the income tax rates for those earning more than $250,000 would have to be increased to more than 70 percent, Williams and his colleagues Rosanne Altshuler and Katherine Lim wrote in a Tax Policy Center paper released last month.”
There won’t be many rich people left at this rate.
– DRJ
patterico.com
The estimate for the required tax increase on "the rich" to hit the deficit target estimate ignores the Laffer curve effects. 70% is probably on the far side of the Laffer curve, meaning it produces less tax revenue than lower rates.
Also see the comments
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Will the last gullible rich leftist please turn out the lights on the economy? Thanks.
Comment by KingShamus — 3/1/2010 @ 7:46 pm
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How often have Democrats offered a deal where higher taxes would be matched by reduced spending?
How often have they taken the tax increases and spent more than ever, then blamed Republicans for raising taxes?
I would hope that Charlie Brown has a clue about Lucy by now.
Comment by Machinist — 3/1/2010 @ 7:46 pm
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Looters and moochers.
Comment by Machinist — 3/1/2010 @ 7:49 pm
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It is about time to call in the exemptions of the half of the population that pays zero in income taxes.
Much of the monstrous borrowing of the last year from our grandkids has publicly been proclaimed to be beneficial to this ‘unfairly’ underfinanced cohort. So let them share in the credit for participating in the enormous job of digging out from under that mountain of Obamadebt.
Begin at an annual $10 each (that’s $1,500,000,000 into the Treasury) – which is considered ‘nothing’ by the Obama administration, in its haste to squander money. But it can and should be honored by a grateful citizenry, if we all are expected to participate in the emergency bailing of the sinking ship of state.
And it wouldn’t hurt to deflate the sense of entitlement to a free ride, held by such a large sector of the electorate. Such entitlements held by anyone are detrimental to political health, particularly when held by half the population of the country.
For sobering example, see Greece, country of.
Comment by Insufficiently Sensitive — 3/1/2010 @ 7:52 pm
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this is unprecedented!
sane people would think first of spending less…..
Comment by redc1c4 — 3/1/2010 @ 8:00 pm
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“No one likes raising revenue, and understandably so,”
Yea, right. He forgot to add: “But as a liberal, as a Democrat, my choosing to raise taxes actually will be about as dislikeable and unpleasant as taking a lunch break at 1:15 PM instead of the stroke of noon.
Comment by Mark — 3/1/2010 @ 8:07 pm
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But if you’re going to buy, you need to pay.
Then put down the credit card you moron!
Comment by SaintGeorgeGentile — 3/1/2010 @ 8:11 pm
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