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myxzptlk commented on the blog post Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan Would Massively Redistribute Wealth Upward
What’s insidious about any flat tax is the predisposition it establishes against further change. If the country falls into a revenue hole (which is guaranteed, over a long enough timespan), adjusting taxes upward to cover the shortfall means EVERYONE pays more, not just those who can afford it. And revenue shortfalls are most likely to happen in times of economic distress, making tax hikes even more onerous for the poor and middle class.
I wish someone in our responsible MSM would actually analyze the consequences of adopting idiotic policies like Cain’s 9-9-9, and roast him on a spit for proposing it.
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myxzptlk commented on the blog post Obama Proposes Replacing AMT with Millionaire’s Minimum Tax
At least Obama is starting to make the right noises. But like his Jobs Act (which is better than nothing), the Buffet rule strikes me as analogous to the cop who says he can only recover what the pickpocket has on his person, because he’s already passed your wallet to his accomplice (or to his offshore account).
So many apologists for the wealthy whine that taxing the rich won’t put much of a dent in the deficit, to support their cost cutting agendas (just Social Security and Medicare, don’t you know).
But if that’s true, we’re just not asking the rich to pay enough.
Let me propose the “Cui Bono” act of 2011:
- Start with the last time we had a national surplus (sorta, if you ignore the SS surplus contribution to the General Fund) – 2000 – as our baseline (tho the deficit problem arguably began with the Reagan administration).
- Identify who has benefitted from the tripling of our “Defense” budget since then (if you include off-budget expenditures), and in what proportion
- Identify who has benefitted from the Bush tax cuts since then, and in what proportion
- Identify who has benefitted from the trillions in Fed loans since the 2008 crash, and in what proportion
- Identify who has benefitted from the financial system deregulation started under Clinton (Glass Steagall repeal, CFMA), and in what proportion
- Identify who has realized increased earned income since then, and in what proportion.
- Divide the difference between the deficit in 2000 and 2011 across these corporations and individuals, proportionate to the benefits they enjoyed.
- Make them pay.Heck, give them reasonable terms, like the ones extended by Countrywide and their ilk to marginal home buyers.
