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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (180747)	1/17/2004 8:07:13 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1576002

Tim, re: I notice how rarely I see a poll along the lines of "Are you willing to cut or eliminate program X to reduce the deficit?" or "Are you willing to contain increases in spending for Y to balance the budget?" It would be a long poll, with all the discretionary programs, but as you imply the results would be interesting. Still, it's interesting that the majority of the public is willing to pay higher taxes to reduce the deficit. How's this for a conservative idea from someone that often gets labeled a liberal on this thread (just because I think Bush is a disaster). Figure a way to change taxes in (almost) real time for any spending bill that gets passed. In other words, if you pass a spending bill to fund NASA going to Mars, have the budget office figure the cost, and raise the income tax percentages immediately to cover the cost. Same with going to war. If you cut a program, immediately lower taxes. Sort of like responsible folks do with their own family budgets; common sense. The net effect? A lot less crap programs would get passed. A lot more public debate. A balanced budget; no more credit card spending by the government, passing on bills to the next generation. A much greater feeling of participation by every taxpayer. Feel welcome to label me a liberal for this idea, because somehow the Democrats have become the champions of a balanced budget, while the Republicans have abandoned their very core principle of a balanced budget. And in this twisted political world if you believe in a core conservative principle that Bush (the ultimate liberal) doesn't believe in, then you are always labeled a flaming Democrat/liberal. John