OK Conservatives, what will you pay for?

Can't we stop paying money to old people?

As my dad said when he was in his 70s, "our time has come and gone. We won't be productive citizens anymore"

 

If that money came out of a limited pool of taxes paid in that might make sense. But, since every new dollar made adds stimulus to the economy to do so would kill jobs. We need to get "dad" a new recliner and a new rod and reel and get more people digging up resources from the center of the earth, preferably in the same hole they have been digging in, so more products can be made and more jobs with more overruns so prices drop and more cash for trips to Disneyland. Oh, I forgot, the neo-libs and neo-cons have been joined at the hip to make austerity happen by funneling it all to war machines and bank bailouts. Since there is too little federal money out that does need to be paid back (they call it "debt" but that's a lie) we have unemployment out the wazzoo and all have to borrow from the private banks at sky high rates to keep the income gap even higher. Making bubbles and buying fed chairs is goooood business. All the embezzlement and no prosecutions.

 

Not really an answer to the question "what will you pay for?"

 

Again, I'm pretty sure Democrats will be willing to raise the taxes needed to pay for the programs and the question is, what are you willing to pay for?

 

They always say that...but then they pass bills that shrug off their expenses to deficit spending. The programs I was talking about, Medicaid and Medicare, were started in the 60's by Democrats, and they didn't fund them properly. And in the decades since then, Democrats have controlled the Congress most of the time? Why didn't they fix it?

Obama's stimulus and Obamacare had some tax increases, but not nearly enough to pay for the programs. Like everything else, they put it on the national credit card. Why is that? Why didn't they fully fund them?

So your idea that the Democrats would be willing to raise the taxes needed doesn't match their past history. Would they be willing (assuming they had the political power) to raise the nearly half a trillion dollars needed to fix the budget deficit for 2017? I think you know the answer.

 

Please do not edit my post. In addition to being just bad etiquette it renders any reasoned response impossible.

 

Republicans have controlled the presidency or at least one house of Congress for 40 of the last 50 years. As I remember Democrats working with Reagan raised those taxes back in the 80's. You know, back before anti-tax became part of the Republican theology.

And, again, you fail to respond to the question.

What program(s) would you be willing to see increased taxes to implement.

Not really a hard question and yet, no one has answered.

 

I advocate the federal government spending money

1) To maintain a military capable of fighting and winning any remotely conceivable war, easily.

2) To explore space

3) Maintain a MINIMAL social safety net.

 

Well actually that would be off by about 940 million. Tomahawks run about a million each.

 

I agree with bloated military.
What is the logic behind states handling social programs?
Infrastructure, yes.
You do know that most illegal aliens get here via air travel and overstay visas, don't you? Border security will do nothing about that.

 

I will gladly pay for me and mine...get rid of the portion of property taxes that pays for scools. Get rid of school districts. I want to be able to send my kids to the best school I can afford.
Give me back the SSN money, I can find better things to do with it.
Stop taxing me so much to pay for government charities and I would have more to donate to charities I believe in.

 

The so called "bloated military" is a huge myth. In truth, based on our overseas commitments the U.S. defense budget should be at least 20% or more larger. Comparing it to other countries budgets is worthless.

 

Here's my thought: Whatever the projected deficit is for the year, like for this year it's estimated to be almost 500 million dollars; just average that and add it to everyone's income tax as a surcharge. That will be a pretty big hit for a lot of people, but it will have the clarifying effect of making sure that everyone pays something and we (as a nation) are not getting something for nothing. Don't worry, this will never be a real policy. There would be no support for it, but it might make voters take spending issues more seriously.

 

I think conservative values dictate that the government's purpose is to penalize and punish and money spent on those ends is well worth it.

 

Trimmed them a bit?

Tell it to retirees. I think they'd disagree

 

So you want to give people a fantasy bill just to scare them into screwing up the country.

Wonderful

 

Fantasy bill? I just want fiscal responsibility and an elimination of the budget deficit. I take it you are on the pro deficit side?

 

I don't know many people who are "pro-deficit".

But I do remember the last time we didn't have one and it was the (now) fiscal conservatives who couldn't change that fast enough with tax cuts.

 

Hence the topic of this thread.

 

I may have missed your meaning, but to clarify, it was fiscal conservatives that last eliminated the deficit.

 

It was DEMOCRATS in any regard.

And Republicans couldn't do an about face fast enough

 

No, it was a Republican House led by Newt Gingrich that jammed a balanced budget down Clinton's throat.