puffgeezer
Premier Member
Registered on
Apr-19-2002
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Message #173432 posted by puffgeezer (Info) March 18, 2008 20:04:35 ET
In Reply to: Re: Obama on religion and politics posted by The Sage (Info) March 18, 2008 19:25:00 ET
Sage,
"I don't know how you determine who should be taxed for ignorance and mismanagement"
I think we've gone down a tangential path. I'm not suggesting that tax rates be based on competence, but only responding to DB that not everyone who is a senior exec is by definition competent and worthy of the exorbitant incomes they're many times paid. I agree that fairness requires that any incremental taxes for the wealthy be applied across the board.
IMO, the wisest direction is to drastically cut federal government expenditures and involvement in the lives of Americans. But that isn't in the cards, at least in this election, and you gotta play with the cards you're dealt. The reality is that we have huge obligations for SS and especially Medicare that have to be paid for.
Benefits could be cut and undoubtedly will to some extent, but there would be a revolt if the reductions were even close to sufficient to balancing the books. Government could simply print or borrow more money (the preferred solution so far), but we would eventually pay the piper through higher inflation which in effect is a tax on everyone. And inflation is a regressive "tax" and especially harsh for lower income brackets where the cost of living is a much higher proportion of income compared to the wealthy.
I don't like any of the choices.
Puff
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