Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: RetiredNow who wrote (320991)	1/15/2007 8:29:50 PM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575941

why do you think raising taxes bring in more tax revenues ??? I cut back on work and lay off people when taxes are raised

To: RetiredNow who wrote (320991)	1/16/2007 12:46:21 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575941

Mindmeld, > Raising taxes a little bit now to eliminate the deficit and start paying down the debt will hurt a hell of a lot less than when our debt payments result in the need to raise taxes dramatically, which will crowd out alot more spending and investment than what is occurring today. The Mondale/Dukakis doctrine, which even Democrats don't want to touch with a 10-foot pole. Here's a better idea. How about government reduce spending? Tenchusatsu

To: RetiredNow who wrote (320991)	1/16/2007 5:54:53 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575941

Ignoring the pain doesn't make it go away. It just makes it get worse, until the consequences are much worse than if you'd just dealt with the problem early on. Assuming the debt is at a sustainable level the primary pain of deficits is that money is taken out of the private sector. But taxes do the same thing. I guess your arguing that the deficits and debt are so large compared to the economy that they are leading to a fiscal disaster. I don't really agree with that, but I don't think the idea is a silly one that should just be dismissed out of hand. If we assume that is true, my response would be the same as Tench's. It would be better to cut spending. You replied "but not being able to cut spending should not be an excuse for doing nothing.". I would reply who says we are not able to cut spending? How do you measure that? By the fact the spending has not been cut during our current period of relatively large deficits? Well taxes haven't been raised either, so can I argue that we can't raise taxes, and we must cut spending because the inability to raise taxes "should not be an excuse for doing nothing"? It just makes it get worse, until the consequences are much worse than if you'd just dealt with the problem early on. If the economy grows faster then the interest on the debt, and esp. if raising taxes reduces the growth of the economy, then it could be worse to deal with the problem early on through tax increases. I'm not saying that we shouldn't deal with the problem early on, but rather 1 - It would be better to deal with it through cutting spending, 2 - Not raising taxes doesn't automatically mean that the problem will get worse (compared to the size of the growing economy), and 3 - Raising taxes might have more of a negative effect than a positive effect.