IIRC, if they just stop "fixing" the Alternative Minimum Tax, and just leave it where it is, and also don't extend any of the tax cuts that were supposed to have expiration dates, the U.S. deficit would disappear within a decade. Dire predictions of exploding debt are based on the (sadly justified) assumption that irresponsibile politicians will keep extending tax cuts and keep raising the requirements for the AMT to apply. And, of course, they could cut three quarters of the defense budget and still be spending much more than the U.S. needs to defend itself. They'd have to stop wasting money on pointless and unprofitable foreign wars, but as someone with a friend in the U.S. military, I'd rather she be looking for a job than risking her life for no good reason (and that's what she'd prefer too, as it happens).
US Budget can be balanced without touching entitlements
- Thread starter WoodPeckr
- Start date
Oh, yes let the Revolution begin!
Why is it I suspect that you have no fear of the AMT applying to you?
So it's your view that the entitlement programs are not part of the budget, and do not need to be considered when people talk about balancing the budget?
Because if your answer is yes, those things need to be considered, then fundamentally paying money into the entitlement programs is, at the end of the day, just paying into the same big pool of money in reality.
Then your only complaint is that some people pay more of the tax burden, and some less. That means you have a fundamental disagreement with progressive taxation, which is something quite different than saying those people don't pay tax.
By the way, the group of people who pay no tax that I think offend most people are those who earn over a million a year, but pay no tax. I find that offensive. But the US has provided a large number of deductions and exemptions for various sorts of investment income, and so many of those people who earn only investment income actually pay no federal income tax. Is that fair?
Dunno. Maybe all of your own beliefs are entirely selfishly motivated, so you assume others will be the same. Of course, maybe you just saw it in a dream. I try not to be too confident in my speculations about the motives of people I don't know.
Self centered selfishness has always been a major factor in the conservative psyche. It's all about me, myself and I, to them. The famous quote by JFK, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country!" Always made them very uncomfortable. This was why they miss Dubya and his DICK so, who they could count on for a new tax-cut just about every year....while the country went broke....
They truly delude....Greed is Good....
