The New New Math: Government Revenues are taken in by Magic.

I don't get the disconnect between government revenues and taxes. That..is how government funds itself..mainly through taxation. Cut taxes and there were be less money to spend. And we've been spending money like crazy lately; two wars, a brand new agency, a brand new entitlement, bailing out corporate fuck ups and saving our banking, financial and insurance institutions. And this year..more butter. An extention of the Bush taxs cuts..yay!

Drying up the government, as Grover Norquist suggests, is going to make this country look like Guatemala..without the charm.

Krugman's take:

Op-Ed Columnist
The New Voodoo
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 30, 2010

Hypocrisy never goes out of style, but, even so, 2010 was something special. For it was the year of budget doubletalk — the year of arsonists posing as firemen, of people railing against deficits while doing everything they could to make those deficits bigger.

And I don’t just mean politicians. Did you notice the U-turn many political commentators and other Serious People made when the Obama-McConnell tax-cut deal was announced? One day deficits were the great evil and we needed fiscal austerity now now now, never mind the state of the economy. The next day $800 billion in debt-financed tax cuts, with the prospect of more to come, was the greatest thing since sliced bread, a triumph of bipartisanship

<-snip-<

How will this all end? I have seen the future, and it’s on Long Island, where I grew up.

Nassau County — the part of Long Island that directly abuts New York City — is one of the wealthiest counties in America and has an unemployment rate well below the national average. So it should be weathering the economic storm better than most places.

But a year ago, in one of the first major Tea Party victories, the county elected a new executive who railed against budget deficits and promised both to cut taxes and to balance the budget. The tax cuts happened; the promised spending cuts didn’t. And now the county is in fiscal crisis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31krugman.html?_r=1&hp
As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out, the incoming House majority plans to make changes in the “pay-as-you-go” rules — rules that are supposed to enforce responsible budgeting — that effectively implement Mr. Kyl’s principle. Spending increases will have to be offset, but revenue losses from tax cuts won’t. Oh, and revenue increases, even if they come from the elimination of tax loopholes, won’t count either: any spending increase must be offset by spending cuts elsewhere; it can’t be paid for with additional taxes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31krugman.html?_r=1&hp
As this last Snowstorm in NYC proved..the people that complain the loudest are people that have that tax/finance the goverment disconnect.

Less revenue = Less Services.

Everytime.

I have an idea. We can start the saving by cutting salaries for politicians. They should be compensated only for reasonable expenses, and given a wage that is no higher than the poverty level of their community. They only way they get a raise is if everyone they work for gets the same raise first.

See, we can cut revenue without cutting services. There are other things that can be cut first.

:lol:
 
I don't get the disconnect between government revenues and taxes. That..is how government funds itself..mainly through taxation. Cut taxes and there were be less money to spend. And we've been spending money like crazy lately; two wars, a brand new agency, a brand new entitlement, bailing out corporate fuck ups and saving our banking, financial and insurance institutions. And this year..more butter. An extention of the Bush taxs cuts..yay!

Drying up the government, as Grover Norquist suggests, is going to make this country look like Guatemala..without the charm.

Krugman's take:

Op-Ed Columnist
The New Voodoo
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 30, 2010

Hypocrisy never goes out of style, but, even so, 2010 was something special. For it was the year of budget doubletalk — the year of arsonists posing as firemen, of people railing against deficits while doing everything they could to make those deficits bigger.

And I don’t just mean politicians. Did you notice the U-turn many political commentators and other Serious People made when the Obama-McConnell tax-cut deal was announced? One day deficits were the great evil and we needed fiscal austerity now now now, never mind the state of the economy. The next day $800 billion in debt-financed tax cuts, with the prospect of more to come, was the greatest thing since sliced bread, a triumph of bipartisanship

<-snip-<

How will this all end? I have seen the future, and it’s on Long Island, where I grew up.

Nassau County — the part of Long Island that directly abuts New York City — is one of the wealthiest counties in America and has an unemployment rate well below the national average. So it should be weathering the economic storm better than most places.

But a year ago, in one of the first major Tea Party victories, the county elected a new executive who railed against budget deficits and promised both to cut taxes and to balance the budget. The tax cuts happened; the promised spending cuts didn’t. And now the county is in fiscal crisis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31krugman.html?_r=1&hp
As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out, the incoming House majority plans to make changes in the “pay-as-you-go” rules — rules that are supposed to enforce responsible budgeting — that effectively implement Mr. Kyl’s principle. Spending increases will have to be offset, but revenue losses from tax cuts won’t. Oh, and revenue increases, even if they come from the elimination of tax loopholes, won’t count either: any spending increase must be offset by spending cuts elsewhere; it can’t be paid for with additional taxes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31krugman.html?_r=1&hp
As this last Snowstorm in NYC proved..the people that complain the loudest are people that have that tax/finance the goverment disconnect.

Less revenue = Less Services.

Everytime.

I have an idea. We can start the saving by cutting salaries for politicians. They should be compensated only for reasonable expenses, and given a wage that is no higher than the poverty level of their community. They only way they get a raise is if everyone they work for gets the same raise first.

See, we can cut revenue without cutting services. There are other things that can be cut first.

Put all City Service Employee's on Salary, no Overtime. Start looking into the overtime pension schemes and scams too. ;) Same should apply to the Suits. Eat the Suits I say!!! :lol:
 
Simple minds love simple concepts. Simpletons like Sallow believe that if we raise taxes we'll raise revenue. But it doesn't work that way in the real world.

Since World War II, federal revenue as a percentage of GDP hasn't budged much from a bit shy of 19 percent. Regardless of tax rates and what have you, that's the amount the feds have been able to collect. There have been more than 30 major changes in the tax code including personal income tax rates, corporate tax rates, capital gains taxes, dividend taxes, investment tax credits, depreciation schedules, Social Security taxes, etc... Yet during this period, federal government tax collections as a share of GDP have moved within a narrow band of just under 19% of GDP.

Why? When tax rates are raised, taxpayers are encouraged to shift, hide and under report income. Taxpayers divert their effort from pro-growth productive investments to seeking tax shelters, tax havens and tax exempt investments. This behavior tends to dampen economic growth and job creation. Lower taxes increase the incentives to work, produce, save and invest, thereby encouraging capital formation and jobs. Taxpayers have less incentive to shelter and shift income.

That's all horseshit. Tax revenue as a % of GDP are currently at 14%, the lowest they've been since 1950.

That's visible Taxes, not Hidden Taxes and Surcharges, Right? Does your assessment reflect all Government Charges, every step, every level?

Probably not. It also doesn't reflect the value of tax dollars being put back into the economy, such as a policeman's salary, and the economic activity AND tax revenues THAT generates...

...I mean, if you want to have that complicated a conversation.
 

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