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 : The Castle -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (5719)	5/5/2011 1:20:56 PM
From: TimF	1 Recommendation Respond to of 7936

Then and Now, Taxes by Don Boudreaux on October 19, 2010 in Myths and Fallacies,Taxes Here’s a letter to the New York Times: Paul Wagenseil is correct that “From 1954 through 1963, federal income tax topped out at an astonishing 91 percent” – but he is mistaken to conclude from this fact that “the government during the Eisenhower years was able to do more because it had more” (Letters, Oct. 17). Over the course of the ten years that Mr. Wagenseil praises for their “astonishing” tax rates, Uncle Sam’s annual revenues averaged 17.5 percent of GDP. During the ten-year stretch of 2000 through 2009, these revenues averaged 17.6 percent of GDP. In 2010-dollar terms, the “astonishing” tax year with the highest federal revenues – 1963 – Uncle Sam’s receipts totaled $756 billion. During the period 2000 through 2009, the year with the lowest federal revenues – 2009 – Uncle Sam’s receipts totaled $2.1 trillion – or 178 percent more real revenues than in 1963.* Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux * Data are found in this 2010 OMB document. I used the Minnesota Fed’s on-line inflation converter (“What is a dollar worth?”) to convert all dollars into their 2010 values. cafehayek.com

To: TimF who wrote (5719)	5/5/2011 1:33:07 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7936

Tax increases aren't flexibility, they are impositions of force (taxes in general are, increases are extensions of that imposition of force). They follow from the idea that the government is so much smarter than us that it will do much better with our money than we will, which is a false idea. Oh please.....Tim, if you want to have an adult conversation about taxes and revenues, then you need to grow out of your Ayn Rand period. Seriously. Otherwise let's just drop the subject.

To: TimF who wrote (5719)	5/7/2011 5:43:02 PM
From: skinowski	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7936

Deficits are way to large for any remotely reasonable tax increase to cover more than a tiny portion of bringing the budget in to balance (or even just bringing deficits down to manageable levels) The fact that our government allowed itself to increase spending so uncontrollably is for the history books. Centuries from now people will be studying this current period, trying to understand the mistakes in order to avoid them in the future. Regrettably, they will also be studying the sad repercussions of such corrupt, wild spending.