OK Conservatives, what will you pay for?

There's another thread active now asking why Republicans hate taxes. I think a corollary to that asking a different question is in order.

What, Conservatives" are you willing to pay for with your tax money?

Are you willing to pay more taxes to;

See Trump's wall built;
Deport 10 million illegals;
Fund Trump's trillion dollar infrastructure proposals?

This, I think, is a fair question since Republicans have made being anti-tax a part of their core philosophy since 1988. And yet...

Republicans gave us two wars without taxes to pay for them;
Republicans gave us Medicare Part D without the taxes to pay for it;
Republicans passionately opposed the taxes raised to pay for the ACA;
This Republican president is proposing trillions in new spending but no taxes to pay for it.

So, fair question.

What new taxes or tax increases would you support to pay for programs you want?

 

I don't mind paying high taxes for education, defense, and infrastructure. I don't like paying taxes for healthcare, entitlement programs, and other planned parenthood.

 

Congratulations on the courage to respond.

So then, you believe the Social Security and Medicare programs should be eliminated?

Actually, I'd like you to be more specific than "education" or "defense." For example, we just launched a billion dollars worth of missiles in Syria. Are you willing to pay more taxes to cover that spending?

 

Taxes going to social programs and bloated military budgets are bogging this country down. Let the states handle social programs, slash the military budget and focus on border security and infrastructure.

 

yes, and when it comes to Social Security and Medicare programs, I don't mind paying for some of it, but those programs have greatly expanded over the years, and I think it would be best if we trimmed them down a bit.

In terms of education and defense, I'm a big fan of the military and I'd pretty much cover the bill for anything they need. Education is the same way, but with a few exceptions.

 

I wouldn't get to excited about a Billion dollars, we piss'd away $34,785,052,636.90 in interest just last month! So a billion, pffffffffffffffff, that's chump change!

 

Really?

It will add to that interest and ... Then you'll complain about that interest even though you made no effort to pay for what you got.

 

Well you might want to remember "Who" added eight trillion to it and have that party pay it down.. Think about what you libby's could do with thirty five billion extra a month Thank you Obarry

 

Ignoring the four trillion the Shrub added to it for his unfunded war in Iraq, I see...

 

So should he have mentioned the debt added by all preceding presidents? That would be absurd.

Not mentioning is NOT the same as ignoring and it's disingenuous to imply that.

 

As a libertarian, I am willing to pay for protection against force, fraud, and coercion along with national defense. Also, you shouldn't limit the source of a change in tax revenue to income tax rates.

 

No worries, Obarry has the record

 

So the environment is out? Education?

Still, not specific.

 

Please, will someone read an up to date economics text? The billionaire Peterson foundation and subsidiaries have gas-lighted the public for long enough. They "give" the tax deductible donations to colleges and Universities in the name of their economics departments, who are always low profit centers for the school, and only "request" that they use out of date or "sanctioned" texts (Milton Freedman) in return. Schools who have contracts with tenured professors who would not comply have shut down their programs to avoid conflict from a major benefactor although they don't admit the reasons were anything more than "economics." Pun intended........ The dollar is an IOU that is transferable and designed to facilitate commerce. Most of us have heard this before. A "dollar" or "sum of dollars" is paid to contractors that perform services for the government. Money spent into the economy. The starting point of any dollar, not corporations. No one but the government can create this currency. Congress does this by creating a program and determining how much new money will be created to pay those who carry out the tasks of the program. The treasury sets up accounts for each of the entities that are awarded contracts. When the job is done the treasury credits the account(s) with the allotted amounts in accordance with the congressional budget office. The Fed only oversees that the payments clear. The contractor has paid employees and subcontractors and the currency is on it's way through the economy. Each time there is a change of hands of any given dollar there are income taxes to be paid (for use of the currency). When those taxes are paid to the government those dollars are cancelled out, "paid in full" IOUs. In other words, burned, deleted from the ledger, not saved or returned to use, cancelled. All Federal spending is "new money." Your personal money is not paying for the programs. The money congress creates is a representation of the resources we all own collectively, including any labor or skill the government hires done. It's our money and "we" via congress can create all we find appropriate and necessary and the only thing that will happen is things will get done and citizens will get paid to do it. No BS inflation if taxes are set appropriately no recession if enough money is spent to match or exceed money going out. The federal "debt" is an accounting term that means money spent into the economy by the government less the taxes paid for it's use at that time. Federal "debt" is not like household debt. The services have been rendered. The only part that needs to be paid back is the tax for having earned it each time it changes hands. The rest is for us to keep the economy working with or save for a rainy day. Please. if you are serious about your credibility in the stating of your opinion about macro-economics, then read; Debunking economics by Steve Keen and Contending Perspectives In Economics by John T. Harvey. They were both written such a way that the lay person can read them.

 

Since you insist on bringing it up...

Republican's unfunded tax cuts? 4 trillion and counting
Republican's unfunded wars? 3 trillion and counting
Republican's unfunded medicare mandate? 1 trillion and counting

Wookidat! Just three Republican things that have created more than 8 trillion in debt.

So, back to the question.

What specifically are you willing to raise taxes to pay for?

 

I was very specific. Force, fraud, or coercion. If I can prove in court that someone has negatively affected my person through degradation of the environment, then, they are liable. Education should be competitive.

 

It's a legitimate issue, but the primary basis for our long term debt and our yearly deficits are Medicare and Medicaid. When are Democrats going to fully fund them and how?

 

I'm pretty sure Republicans are in charge in Congress. I'm also pretty sure if Republicans propose raising those taxes Democrats will go along.

 

Federal taxes do not fund spending. Federal taxes drive currency. They are the price of using a the currency system.

 

Federal taxes do not fund spending. Federal taxes drive currency. They are the price we pay to use the currency system.

 

Read the Constitution, all the answers are there...

 

But the programs and methods of financing were passed in the 1960's with a firmly Democratic Congress. Given that Democrats have been resistant to change them, and are not going for any bipartisan agreement with Republicans in the current climate, they're stuck until Democrats decide what they want to do. They of course should have set them up to financed properly from the beginning, but long term thinking when it comes to spending is not a Democrat strong point.

 

The "debt" is the currency that has been spent into the economy by the funding of previous programs that has not yet been taxed out of existence. That currency that is above what is taxed is paid for by those who filled the contracts to the federal government and is still "flowing" through the economy. It is "called" debt because of the side of the ledger it is on in the federal books. But, the only "owed" aspect to it is when it is "paid" to someone new as "income" otherwise it is just the funds you and I and business and states have in oue savings and checking accounts. The "debt" bogaboo is a red herring scam to make citizens think that this numbr must be low because that forces more people to borrow from private banks. Japan has a "debt" of 250% and lower interest rates than ours. See a free downloadable book from Warren Mosler - Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds