That's precisely went through my mind. Unless the government wants to admit it was just a general income tax all along, which it really was. Good luck winning the next election on that one.
First, ain't going to happen until the economy collapses and debts get forgiven or restructured. Going forward after that sure, we can sharpen our pencils. I would like to see Social Security treated more like a pension fund---allow part of it to be invested in the stock market (can you imagine how much it would be worth now if it had not just invested in t-bills?). I'd also like to see a national Medicare for All program that gives the following 'conservative' benefits: lower cost through volume purchases, elimination of redundant paperwork and associated staffing to push such papers from private insurance, elimination of most of the thousands of federal, state, and county programs that subsidize healthcare like Obamacare and Medicaid, perhaps even Workman's Comp and auto insurance medical portions. Being a Medicare model it still allows for private markets to operate as best they can in a business that is ill-suited in many ways to free markets. The government just pays the bills. Rewriting the tax code to a simpler version would also help, requiring less bureaucracy to regulate.
If the "defense" (Empire/War) budget is immediately cut by at least 10% we will know that the new administration is serious about getting our financial house "in order". That is of course in addition to immediately ending the insane conflict with Russia in Ukraine. If not - then it's all just more smoke and mirrors leading up to SHTF Day.
Very difficult to digest/accept this on a day that I found out my monthly mortgage increased by $200 per month due to increase in my homeowners insurance. The idea of spending cuts sound good on paper and the "hypothetical" scenarios are as well. But in reality when you discuss spending cuts the splitting of the atom rears its ugly head. Every fvcking politician has their reason for being in office and you can be pretty confident that the battle will loom when the cuts are announced...and you will see clear as day which politician has their hands tied by their kicking and screaming specific to a particular spending cut. And to read the hypothetical that our taxes could actually come down due to spending cuts? That reminds me of how the auto insurance I got when I was 19 and they told me when I reached 25 it would come down...didnt happen...but I was told that when I reached age 35 it would come down...and the beat goes on...At the end of the day the separation of wealth will always exist and the US will be controlled by Big Banks, Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Big Insurance....show me a time when your insurance rates went down with NO changes in coverage and I will show you the rainbow unicorn...
Interesting essay.
If Social security & Medicare are entitlements, then I want every nickel back from their deduction from my paycheck.
That's precisely went through my mind. Unless the government wants to admit it was just a general income tax all along, which it really was. Good luck winning the next election on that one.
Exactly. Try not paying it....then you know there's nothing entitled about it.
First, ain't going to happen until the economy collapses and debts get forgiven or restructured. Going forward after that sure, we can sharpen our pencils. I would like to see Social Security treated more like a pension fund---allow part of it to be invested in the stock market (can you imagine how much it would be worth now if it had not just invested in t-bills?). I'd also like to see a national Medicare for All program that gives the following 'conservative' benefits: lower cost through volume purchases, elimination of redundant paperwork and associated staffing to push such papers from private insurance, elimination of most of the thousands of federal, state, and county programs that subsidize healthcare like Obamacare and Medicaid, perhaps even Workman's Comp and auto insurance medical portions. Being a Medicare model it still allows for private markets to operate as best they can in a business that is ill-suited in many ways to free markets. The government just pays the bills. Rewriting the tax code to a simpler version would also help, requiring less bureaucracy to regulate.
It's about the consumption and investment multiplier and monetary velocity... tax cuts leverage the first two and accelerate the latter....
War is peace. Ignorance is strength.
If the "defense" (Empire/War) budget is immediately cut by at least 10% we will know that the new administration is serious about getting our financial house "in order". That is of course in addition to immediately ending the insane conflict with Russia in Ukraine. If not - then it's all just more smoke and mirrors leading up to SHTF Day.
Very difficult to digest/accept this on a day that I found out my monthly mortgage increased by $200 per month due to increase in my homeowners insurance. The idea of spending cuts sound good on paper and the "hypothetical" scenarios are as well. But in reality when you discuss spending cuts the splitting of the atom rears its ugly head. Every fvcking politician has their reason for being in office and you can be pretty confident that the battle will loom when the cuts are announced...and you will see clear as day which politician has their hands tied by their kicking and screaming specific to a particular spending cut. And to read the hypothetical that our taxes could actually come down due to spending cuts? That reminds me of how the auto insurance I got when I was 19 and they told me when I reached 25 it would come down...didnt happen...but I was told that when I reached age 35 it would come down...and the beat goes on...At the end of the day the separation of wealth will always exist and the US will be controlled by Big Banks, Big Pharma, Big Tech, and Big Insurance....show me a time when your insurance rates went down with NO changes in coverage and I will show you the rainbow unicorn...