The Debt Solution: Tax Hollywood and Volvos?

[CanadaCorporateTax]

We need to create a deficit arbitration committee to arrive at the best solution for the country

[wolfengheist]

Tax Hollywood!

[pkarmybrat]

whatever your political views, this seems, to me, to be a balanced, rational look at the possibilities and dangers of current Washington politicians, their constituencies, and debt. Urging our reps to take a middle road and stay away from either extreme is good advice, and it comes....da da da DUM...from a woman! Love it!

[hennypenny247]

Nobody on the Republican side is saying we should default. That is the Big Lie of the left to get their way. They are so desperate to keep their crack, and their Gestapo in our lives, they can see it slipping away and they are sweating big-time.

There's a better way. Go down to the wire, pass enough debt increase to cover seniors and soldiers, let Obama prioritize. Have the shutdown, then we'll see what's important enough to keep. Obamacare? Dead. Obama does NOT want to have that discussion.

[hennypenny247]

Obama's definition of "tax loopholes": deductions of mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and state sales tax.

We can raise revenue without picking anyone's pocket by selling off some federal land. The US govt. owns about 1/3 of all the land in the country, most of it mineral-rich land in the western states that the Statists are hell-bent on locking up. G-d forbid we should produce our own energy, on our own land.

[MrConservative608]

Someone please send Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to congress if you can waste $100. I reject the idea under Clinton, we had a surplus if we had trillions in debt. That is like someone who is $64k in debt saying there was a little left over this month after I paid the bills but I still owe $63,987.45.

[666sigma]

Obama and the Democrats have to undo his annual $1 trilllion in extra spending. That MUST come before they talk about any tax increase.

The first tax increase should be to take away Wall Street's sweetheart deal. I am stunned no one is talking about why the hedge fund gamblers are only paying 15%.

[XCritonX]

Yep, we cant do the right thing because somebody might not like it.

[truckdawg43]

When or unemp rate was 4.9% or debt was very low why ? people were able to pay their taxes .Dems came in jobs go out why ? They knew taxes were going up .You dont have to be a brainiac to see that just look at election cycles and job cycles

[wiz9496]

Holy shit! That's one ugly broad!

[MrConservative608]

@wiz9496 So what? Her brain is hot!

[wiz9496]

@MrConservative608 Well, I've never fucked a chick in the brain, but it might be good to try.? I don't know.

[scepticsteve]

If the argument has to be "we nedd to make a compromise because the American people are already corrupted" it's over. Then you don't need to cut a deal. It's over, you only run for office for personal gains, not to improve the system. If you cannot explain to a majority of voters what needs to be done, what the constitution demands, and what the proper role of gvnmt is and isn't it's over as well. Obama needs to decide cuts without budget, so let him make his first real decision as a politician.

[oilhammer04]

All federal gov't workers and gov't dependents need to take a pay cut to keep the gov't running. Forget tax increases. The gov't already takes far too much out of the economy for their Leftist programs.

[MrConservative608]

Thank God some pundits are actually talking about Dave Ramsey's financial ideas in regard to household debt as it is analogous to government debt. I want my ideal politician to have graduated from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University whether they needed to or not. Once someone reads Dave Ramsey, it changes your life forever and you most likely will not be a liberal afterwards because it teaches financial responsibility is your responsibility & your's alone!

[RealVikingsWearKilts]

@MrConservative608 My wife and I are both graduates of FPU and we both drive paid-for Volvos. Mine has over 420,000 miles on it and my wife's only has 160,000.

[MrConservative608]

@RealVikingsWearKilts I would most likely vote for you over others if either you or your wife ran for office because I know that because Dave Ramsey's plan works for families, it can work for the government. Though after Baby Step 3, it would get weird for the government. Imagine paying Medicare and Social Security budgets debt free. Using a mutual fund (like the car mutual fund Dave recommends) to fund wars. Or eliminating some useless departments and putting 15% of the budget in a RothIRA?

[leeuniverse]

She keeps saying "pledge to not raise revenue"...... She sounds like a liberal with that double speak, and actually a false statement. Any conservative knows that revenue is created not by taxes, but by more money being in people hands and them spending it. Sure, Federal Income Tax does bring in revenue, but all other other Federal/State taxes ALSO brings in revenue, and is the true revenue source.

[elharbingero]

@leeuniverse What she's referencing is a debate over things like using the tax code to subsidize ethanol. There's a debate among conservstives over whether it's okay to raise revenue by eliminating those sorts of tax loopholes, which benefit special interested at the expense of everyone else. But Megan is taking one side of the debate and saying that it applies to EVERYONE on the right, which is wrong.

[Winky395]

The budget choices are simple. Return to the Constitution.

But that will never happen they will continue to run us all down

the road to socialist ruin.

[StopFear]

Wow, I am sort of surprised how lightly this is presented. First of all who exactly is she and why is she talking? She sounds really unprofessional, especially when she ends affirmative sentences with questioning tone like "whatever?" the guy says "raise taxes on entertainment" ,"raise taxes on volvos?" I hope there was no hidden point he is trying to imply. Anyway, my point is this episode didn't sound very libertarian.

[Winky395]

@StopFear

She's a dingbat.

[ElectricAfroMan]

@StopFear She's a blogger so I think it's fine the way it was presented and I'm pretty sure the Taxes on volvos thing was a jab at liberals.

[robm425]

Wait I drive a Volvo why the hell should I be taxed more? I am for a slight tax increase across the board and drastic spending cuts... We spend way too much in this country.

[ElectricAfroMan]

@robm425 Here in California the taxes are much too high and we just got the rate lowered slightly. Any increase is bad news. I am for cutting spending and tax cuts for companies IF THEY HIRE PEOPLE. Otherwise they will just pocket the money like they are now...

[robm425]

@ElectricAfroMan MOVE! The public sector unions have a death grip on California! I would love to see what you want happen but it can't happen

[TangoCharlie3]

I know a way to keep them from dipping into 401ks, The 2nd Amendment!

[maskedphrogg]

Did I hear that right? Megan McArdle is the Business and Economics editor at The Atlantic and has no idea what her ROI is?

I like much of what she said but she doesn't come off as a reliable source for economic advice when she doesn't keep up on her own economic position.

[skippythebold]

Megan, you keep saying "tax revenue", and how the Tea Party people don't want it raised. Raising REVENUE is fine, just not by increasing tax RATES. As Marco Rubio said the other day, we don't need more taxes, we need more tax PAYERS. Reduce restrictions on business, give business owners some predictability, & we will put people to work, who will then be able to pay taxes. Your whole argument is based on calling Tea Party people crazy & saying tax revenue instead of tax rates.

[ABGAN100]

they shouldn't raising taxes at all they need to lower taxes and drastically cut spending they need to change our tax system to the fair tax act eliminating all other taxes, they need to grow the economy and raising taxes will stunt growth and destroy American industry's! I would however agree to heavily taxing the liberal Hollywood elite's. perhaps 80% to 90% of their income along with anyone claiming that the rich should pay more