Are Americans really this retarded?

[MysteryMeat]

What is it with people in this country honestly expecting tax breaks, while still wanting government-funded benefits, or better funded military, etc.? Don't people realize that even before asking for these things, we're going to have to pay taxes to cover the deficit driven by the last 4 years of Bush rule? It sucks, because if Kerry wins and is forced to raise some taxes to cover Bush's crap (which I'm not opposed to -- it'll need to be done at some point), the Republicans will rip him apart accusing him of raising taxes (which he may only be doing to cover for the previous monkey-in-charge's spending habits).

Bunch of damned retards, I tell you.

[matt]

on top of that if kerry is elected he will not be able to go forward with his health care plan for one. even with the raised taxes. he has to cover the ass of the last administration. his healthcare plan is expensive, there is no doubt about it. but bush even uses that fact as a tool for his campaign. I mean wtf. he is the reason why some of kerry's plans would not be able to be budgeted. it is going to be a huge mess to clean up for years to come.

[Anal Seepage]

what you guys are discribing is a two edged sword. it could happen with, and does happen with most shifts in power between the parties.

[matt]

Well, didn't we go into this administration with the largest surplus in us history?

Originally Posted by MysteryMeat

What is it with people in this country honestly expecting tax breaks, while still wanting government-funded benefits, or better funded military, etc.? Don't people realize that even before asking for these things, we're going to have to pay taxes to cover the deficit driven by the last 4 years of Bush rule? It sucks, because if Kerry wins and is forced to raise some taxes to cover Bush's crap (which I'm not opposed to -- it'll need to be done at some point), the Republicans will rip him apart accusing him of raising taxes (which he may only be doing to cover for the previous monkey-in-charge's spending habits).

Bunch of damned retards, I tell you.

I've said this so many times but it bears repeating.... maximizing tax revenues is not necessarily accomplished by raising taxes and usually isn't.

Originally Posted by matt

Well, didn't we go into this administration with the largest surplus in us history?

yes, I know I looked at a Money magazine that mentioned this...but it was only a small mention...a small chart...when it should of been one of the attributes of the last administration shown proudly...
just about every other administration in the last 50 years had a deficit...but somehow slick willy pulled it off...
it probably helps when you are more concerned with what's going in your house..instead of worring about what they are doing over there...

[Adam D]

If the IRS fully went after corporations for not paying taxes and for tax fraud, we could very easily cover the ass of Bush and have well funded social programs that would benefit everybody.

[MooCow]

Originally Posted by E-brake

I expect both, I want to keep my tax cuts and I think the government should step up to the plate on health care and insurance. The government takes in mroe than enough money to cover it they just need to re-budget and cut a lot of the pork programs.


$19,569,000 thanks to Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) to study the effects of cattle crossing streams in rural areas.
$14,534,000 thanks to Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) in government funds to clean up the streams from "cattle polution" and grazing land runnoff
$9,929,000 thanks to Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) for or agriculture-based industrial lubricants, and hoop barns
$7,227,000 added by Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) for poultry litter composting
and an additional $36,924,000 from other crazy government programs such as the national wild turkey reserve, and wool research

Right there out of the Agriculture budget I have found a way to save;
$88,183,000.00...

...Also the millions spent in government for "flood controll" in Las Vegas, And biggest of all the 100+ million that we pay farmers for growing corn to make Ethenol (they use more fossil fuels to make the ethenol than it produces)
...

Ahh yes, but what better way to maintain the support of your constituents by bringing home the bacon every once in a while! Sadly, shit like that is what's considered tangible to people in home states. Rarely do they catch wind of how you voted on one bill or another - even if they did, results - or, word of results - means votes. Silly, isn't it? Ideally, monetary planning at all levels of bureaucracy would adhere to the "Zero-budgeting" philosophy - re-justifying the need for every dollar for the upcoming year, rather than pegging it to the year before (i.e. "This is what we set aside last year, so let's just go from there" ).

Of course, that pork-barrelling doesn't always go unchecked. Remember, there are plenty of intermediate budget and appropriations committees that can nip that shit in the bud. When it comes to agriculture, though, they usually don't. The farmers have had their hands in the till for so long, (the "we feed you" argument has been rather compelling) ... that it's to the point where agricultural subsidies are just a fact of life, and they're pretty much guaranteed that they'll have SOMETHING to do, even if it's just harvest ethanol... heh.. I think a misallocation of resources is more grossly realized in the upholding of protectionist measures and trade barriers, and I hypothesize that more capital (jobs, production, etc) is lost in that scenario than in pork barrelling (easily into the multi-billion dollar arena).

Brad

[MooCow]

Originally Posted by Adam D

If the IRS fully went after corporations for not paying taxes and for tax fraud, we could very easily cover the ass of Bush and have well funded social programs that would benefit everybody.

Do you mean corporate taxes in particular? Eh, there are plenty of ways for companies to shirk taxes. Corporate social responsibility seems to be much more buzzworthy these days (tho it's growing passe as stakeholders are growing more active and the watchful eyes of regulatory bodies scrutinize more closely, Sarbanes-Oxley, yada yada). Legal ways still remain for you to fudge your balance sheet and still be okay with GAAP, like by investing in derivatives and options... Multinationals can also avoid paying taxes domestically via other forms of creative asset management... like making direct investments in foreign countries, increasing employee benefits and wages (which are tax-exempt), and most notoriously... dumping millions of dollars of useless inventory on 3rd world countries under the pretense that it's a donation.

Shit, we already bagged Leona Helmsley, what more do ya want?