Why Taxes Will Rise in the End

New York Times ^ | July 12, 2011 | DAVID LEONHARDT

[Vintage Freeper]

Do Democrats and the NYT live in a parallel universe?

Medicare, Medicaid, government provided unemployment benefits are going away. The questions are how? And how soon? Raising the debt ceiling and/or raising taxes may prolong the agony, but the pain will be far worse when it finally has to be borne. And the price tag then could include the existence of the United States.

[Huskrrrr]

Taxpayers always take it “in the end.”

[EQAndyBuzz]

I wouldn’t call 67% “slightly”

[Vintage Freeper]

LEONHARDT, The Times, and Democrats refuse to recognize that taxpayers are paying two to five times their fair share.

Nor will they admit that it is the entitlement beneficiaries who are getting the free lunches of which LEONHARDT complains.

[EGPWS]

A refusal to raise taxes, no matter how principled, cannot take us back to the good old days. It would instead lead to a very different American society.

Uhm, raising taxes will make the USA unrecongnizable as to what we know it as.

No New Taxes!

[abb]

I suggest any “default” of US debt instruments or any hint of such action would absolve taxpayers of the moral obligation to pay taxes at all.

[paul51]

the first things to hit the chopping block should be whole departments and agencies of gov’t with the layoffs of 100 of thousands of bureacrats. Lets start with the BATFE. A classic example of a gov’t agency whose purpose has become to serve itself

[kabar]

Free lunchism is ultimately the problem

Yeah, it's called the welfare state. We have run out of other people's money.

[cranked]

Let me see, not raising taxes further will result in a far different American society then today? You mean the half of American society that is dependent upon big government?

Here’s a thought: The Repubs had better NOT agree to ANYTHING that raises taxes cause I, for one, am seriously looking for that different American society. =.=

[TheOldLady]

Boop His Nose! You Know You Want To.

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[Tzimisce]

I don’t think you understand: WE LIBERALS SPENT YOU SUCKERS INTO A QUAGMIRE.

Now you have to pay for it.

You can thank us now. :)

/sarc(?)

[riri]

Or why smart people will just leave the country.

[blackdog]

Just try collecting social security taxes to enjoy the revenue, yet turn around and cut social security benefits...............While remembering the good o'l days when social security took in $3.00 for every $1 it disbursed. While also questioning what they did with all that money which does exist in the form of bonds?

Go back in time and whoever voted yes on the unified budget act, which combined social security into general revenues, and dump their butts in the high desert to have their bones picked clean.

[GeronL]

“Free lunchism” refers to those robbed by the IRS who want to keep what they worked hard for. Not to those getting goodies from big government.

wow.

[GeronL]

How long will it take and what will it take before a large portion of this country just decides that the federal government or any government no longer has any legitimacy whatsoever?

[combat_boots]

http://olbroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/clean-up.jpg From 5 of 2010.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

This article isn’t that bad. He is liberal but points out the problem clearly — Americans want a free lunch. His solution is a tax hike. He says the Republicans won’t be able to force a spending cut through because Middle America won’t stand for entitlement cuts. He sees a general tax increase with a pretty severe tax increase for the “rich.” Quite frankly, as much as I hate it and as much as I’d fight it, he may be right. Way too many Americans want a free ride paid for by “the rich.” We can’t get around that. Its depressing but true.

[grumpygresh]

We have the inflation tax from devalued currency.

[central_va]

Quite frankly, as much as I hate it and as much as I’d fight it, he may be right. Way too many Americans want a free ride paid for by “the rich.” We can’t get around that. Its depressing but true.

WRONG!

This thinking is dangerous and plays right into the statist hand, increasing taxes never increases revenue until you are on the left side of the laffer curve inflection point.. What idiot thinks we are there?

[greeneyes]

Ever notice how liberals and their LSM sycophants always start with services to the people and the military first? What about cutting the things that people object to most? Start with Obamacare, and all the other extra spending, new bureaucracy, and Czars which skirt the constitutional advise and consent of the senate for cabinet members.

Then reduce all government by 10-25%. The states have been reducing their employees, and adjusting retirement benefits, and combining departments to shrink the number of high paid employees at the top.

Roll all spending back to 2008 levels this year then to 2004 levels next year, then 2000 levels the year after that.

All of that stuff should be done, before they start to impact programs that old people have been stuck with due to government mandate. Some way must be found to help young people too.

There should be more choices than Social Security, and Medicare, but there should be an orderly phase-in and transition period. Those age 55 and older are pretty much stuck with the ponzi scheme, but that is no reason to doom younger workers to the same.

If Congress Critters can't figure out how to do this with out unduly harming the current recipients, then doom lies ahead. It will all come crashing down sooner or later.