[attishina]

It is a real question, people are like "CUT!", but they never have any specific programs in mind. What would you cut this year to put us into the black?

Everything.
Could go back to 2005 spending levels for all sectors of government and roughly brake even with what revenue is roughly sitting at. Then can further decrease Defense by ~$95 billion, and maybe increase taxes by $100~$200 billion so that we can actually start paying off our national debt with some nice lump sums of cash.


The thing is, people who are screaming cut spending, don't want their programs cut and guess what programs need to get cut for any type of survival fiscally in the USA. SS and Medicare! Who do you think is going to try and tackle this issue. No one really unless they wanna lose their job and get their reputation smeared.
The growth of SS and Medicare is going to destroy this nation. So we will get to keep it for another decade or so how it is, but then after that they will disappear and taxes will be the highest in the world due to a $20+ trillion dollar deficit.

And yeah, Defense needs to go way down. It has basically doubled the past 5 years.

[blankostaroe]

Food Stamps, Welfare, Social Security and similar "social projects." You cant feed those who cant feed themselves when you yourself cannot put bread on the table, its so basic and simple. Also, we cannot afford our overbloated defense department, especially when we fund our DoD as if we are the same imperialists we were after WW2, but with a fraction of the "projected power" we had at the time. Once again, very simple.

There is really nothing that will "erase" the deficiet in the short term, its going to take time to pay it down. But there are plenty of unecessary programs that can be reduced or cut to lower spending. Taxing more on the other hand will cause companies to vacate the US and puts more pressure on an already war/recession weary population. Increasing taxes at this point in time will only hurt the overall economy. Lowering taxes however will give much needed breathing room in the private sector that will spur bussiness to expand/hire and will help the average joe who will then be willing to spend money.

Lower taxes, cut spending, allocate funds to eliminating debt and stop government enchroachment overall. This basic and simple "no brainer" things have been proven in the past to boost the US economy back to where it should be.

So millions of older Americans will be kicked out of their nursing homes, and/or forced to starve? "Sorry Mabel, you should have thought of this when you were younger!"

Welfare? What do you actually know about welfare? Get rid of that entirely and see what happens to spending! Acute, nonpaying hospitalizations... through the roof. Crime... through the roof. Jail... well, you get it. I suppose you want to do away with the FDA, the DEP, and other useless departments? Able bodied or not, there is something "weak" about a person who relies on welfare. I thought taking care of the weak was a core value of this country? Getting out of these silly wars would save a lot of money, cutting the defense a bit would save a lot of money. Reviewing and adjusting social programs would be a good idea, but you can't just cut them. Super rich people paying more taxes would help too. Look at shervins sig quote, so true.

On a different note, where I work, we have patients stay 48hrs to a few months at times. We cannot allow them to use their own medication while they are admitted, and we are not allowed to give them the medication they have paid for while they were admitted, it all gets destroyed. 100 metered dose Symbicort? 96 doses left? Medication waste bins... This is one of the biggest problems with health care, as well as prescribers not taking the time to find the right medication, having people run through 4-5 of one type of medication before settling on one. The financial waste from that is huge. How about the cost of not paying for certain presciption drugs, then the person gets sick, and medicare/medicaid eats that whole hospital stay? If you want to cut things, you need to know specifics.

[Vulkanevsel]

I wonder what tax rates would be for online retailers, at least in my state. Newegg has a distribution center in my state, but I only have to pay something like a 7.25% tax, but if I order from BestBuy, Walmart, Target, etc. I end up paying a 9.25% sales tax.
I know the 7.25% is state only, and 9.25% includes local government. Maybe Newegg got exempt from the local taxes.

You're missing the point... Legally, you're already supposed to be setting the money aside and giving it to your state tax department for any online purchases that do not already include taxes as part of the purchase.

If you're not, you're committing tax evasion. Regardless of the loopholes the companies may be exploiting, YOU ARE COMMITTING TAX EVASION!

Now... let's do some basic economics, that're frightfully simple:

1. Everyone pays taxes on internet purchases to their respective state...
2. State has more money...
3. Federal govt doesn't have to bleed federal money, since states will be in a better position to help themselves!
4. ?
5. The Feds can pay off the budget deficit!

So I see three (really, two) EDIT: ways this can be resolved:

1. All the states agree to enforce state sales taxes on online purchases.
2. The Feds force the states to collect.

--OR-- (And I'd be all for this!)

3. They start tracking down everyone who has been evading paying the taxes that they are LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO PAY, and slap them for everything back as far as the statute of limitations allows! [thumbup]

[attishina]

Your points 3 through 5 are dumb.

[Natashasuw]

so exactly how is the USA going to pay off the debt? isnt it something like every newborn baby owes $40k or something?

[Vulkanevsel]

Your points 3 through 5 are dumb.

They may be "dumb" to you, but it's the truth with some old school /. flare...

It's convenient how that's all you have to say considering everything I wrote, you silly tax evader, you! [thumbup]

EDIT: And based on the part you deleted from your response...

Were going to pay off the Federal debt off with the estimated $10 billion in state revenue that all 50 states combined are missing out in!? Holy cr/p sign me up!
Who says that the federal government has to give any money to any state? If a state is in Red they will still get huge amounts of Federal support. Then states like California, a couple hundred million is going to do squat for their tens of billion dollar deficit. How many more taxes need to be increased there to get in the black?

Even if we taxed the "rich" people who made $250,000 or more 100% of their income, they would only be able to fund the government for ~5 months.

you have no idea about what to do... so rather than have anyone make any attempt to at least *TRY* something, you'd rather them do ****-all and our economy collapse??? All so you can save a few pennies on a dollar as you evade the taxes you should be paying, anyways???

That sounds like a brilliant idea!!!

[attishina]

So your idea is to increase taxes $1.5T and this is BEFORE we can pay the deficit?

If we tax 100% beyond $250,000 earned that only runs the government for ~5 months. Yeah, sounds like a fantastic idea to reduce the deficit. Oh wait, we are still in the red!
And $10 billion spread out amoung 50 states will not even equal $1,000,000 in Federal government savings.

I know government needs to TRY something, and that is cut spending FIRST. THEN increase taxes to make up for the gap. Though all they can think of is increase taxes.

Oh, how about this. A $4.3Trillion stimulus that doesn't add to the deficit, doesn't add to the debt, and all goes into the private sector. http://www.boortz.com/weblogs/nealz-...omy-heres-how/
Thats a lot of revenue for all sizes of government that they are missing out on and a nice "jolt" that the private sector could use.

Plus I already stated go back to 2005 spending levels, INCREASE taxes and we can actually start paying off our deficit with some nice lumps of cash.


As far as the tax evasion on my part, I think you might need to take word up with my tax man then.
Shoot, isnt it illegal to buy goods in one state and transport them to another. So me shopping in GA due to lower taxes is technically illegal. I at least know it is here for cigarettes. GA is 2 miles down the road but it is illegal for me to buy them in that state and bring them into TN to smoke.

[neniajany]

Shoot, isnt it illegal to buy goods in one state and transport them to another. So me shopping in GA due to lower taxes is technically illegal. I at least know it is here for cigarettes. GA is 2 miles down the road but it is illegal for me to buy them in that state and bring them into TN to smoke.

If that was the case, duty-free shops wouldn't exist on the Canadian border.

It's not illegal if it's a small enough quantity and it's obvious it's for your own personal use. WV is pretty close to here, and the taxes on cigarettes & alcohol is a lot cheaper. Some people choose to drive the half hour to cross the border to buy a few cartons of smokes. Sometimes the state troopers run checkpoints around the holidays, but it's typically to search for fireworks, which are illegal in PA. I do remember a news story from not too long ago about someone getting busted with a trunk full of cigarette cartons.

Back when I used to smoke, and before there was even a need for a passport to go into Canada, on the way back I got a couple cartons of smokes at the duty-free shop, there was no problem bringing them back into the country.

[sherrferris]

Be a man and pay 15% sales tax like we do here, case closed.

[dafodilkemmy]

Be a man and pay 15% sales tax like we do here, case closed.

My tax is bigger than your tax!

[BartRonalds]

Be a man and pay 15% sales tax like we do here, case closed.

No thanks, because in all reality I've seen what you get back for it...and it is severely lacking.

[sherrferris]

Well it all depends if you make use of the services that they put up for you to use, paid with your tax money. Right now I am sitting in my IT college class, getting paid 1000$ a month + all school expenses and transport paid by the provincial unemployment program so I'm not complaining. But if we continue on this topic we will divert from the thread.