Honestly, can we afford another four trillion dollars in debt?

[MadHound]

The Bush era tax cuts, those for the rich and those for the rest of us, will cost us a total of four trillion dollars over the next ten years. With our debt currently standing at almost 14 trillion (and at 98% of our annual GDP) is it wise to be adding such a large amount to our debt tab? For what, a few hundred off of our tax bills?

Part of the argument for keeping the tax cuts is that they stimulate the economy. Granted they do, but the fact of the matter is tax cuts and tax credits are the weakest forms of economic stimuli going. For every dollar in tax cuts put out there, you get only a dollar and six cents in stimulus value. Not much for taking on such a large amount of debt.

Even if we dropped the tax cuts for the rich, there would still be over three trillion dollars added to the debt. In fact it is tax cuts and more tax cuts over the past thirty years that has gotten us to this point. Face it, you need revenue to run a government, and thanks to Reagan and those that came after, tax cuts have been the order of the day.

One thing we could do instead of renewing any of the tax cuts is to take one trillion of the proposed savings and invest in one of the best forms of economic stimuli going, a WPA style jobs creation program. The economic benefits we would receive from such a program would far outweigh the debt we incur, and more than make up for the tax cuts the middle class loses.

But frankly, even if we don't institute such a program, we simply can't take on that kind of debt. Such debt acts as a headwind for our economic recovery, slowing it down, making it hard to make any progress.

It is time to let the Bush tax cuts expire, all the Bush tax cuts.

[sixmile]

1. Yes we can!

Debt makes the world go around.

[MadHound]

2. I seriously hope you're being sarcastic. n/t

[pnwmom]

3. I think we'd be crazy to let the middle and lower class tax cuts expire.

And now is not the time to be overly concerned about the debt -- not when we're staring at the real possibility of a deflationary spiral.

[MadHound]

5. Large debt can actually help bring about deflation

And frankly, who is going to pay for this debt? Having such a large debt limits a lot of what our government can do in terms of bringing this economy back around. Furthermore, having such a large debt makes future borrowing more expensive. Our treasury bond rating is already a bit shaky, add much more debt and that rating will fall and all hell will break loose.

You simply can't continue to pile debt on top of debt, especially if you are getting little or no return for that debt. Let all the tax cuts expire, let's not continue going down the path of ever increasing debt.

[pnwmom]

7. Paul Krugman, the progressive Nobel winning economist

at Princeton University, has written extensively about why this is the WORSE time for us to be trying to reduce our debt. Stimulate the economy, get it really moving again, and we'll have plenty of time to reduce the debt. That's what finally happened post-depression and that's what can happen again.

[girl gone mad]

11. People have been saying the same things about Japan for 2 decades.

They were wrong then and they're wrong now because they lack a fundamental understanding of how modern money functions.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Yes, the answer is to raise taxes, not cut them.

[girl gone mad]

10. Only if you want deflation.

Still not a good plan, imo.

[Crazy Dave]

6. I say we go back to the tax rates we had under Bill Clinton

Back then I made $15k more a year than I do now and my health insurance premiums for the whole family were $2.5k less per year than what I pay for myself alone now. Get me back to where I was ten years ago and I can afford to pay the taxes.

[bemildred]

8. Sure, why not?

[Motown_Johnny]

9. I would rather see my taxes go up then see rich people's stay where they are

we just can't afford it

[Ichingcarpenter]

12. In the World Economic System the US pain

will be past to the populace and not the corporations

THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE USA OR CURRENCY

They know where the game is played


DO YOU?

This US thing ......... is DEAD

The corporations are in control.

[johnaries]

13. Remember what happened when FDR listened to Repubs

and allowed tax increases. It seriously hurt the recovery.

But I don't think dropping the tax cuts for the folks who don't need it will hurt the recovery at all.

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. The Shit that is going on

MAKES THE SO CALLED middle insane.


I REALLY NEED A BLOW JOB
at my age

At least we would have something to talk about

[MadHound]

15. But weren't Democrats against these tax cuts to begin with?

I thought that the original plan was to let Bushco have their tax cut fun then restore some sanity when the Dems came back into power? Or was I imagining all of that?