Of course taxes are just some of the components, and, as your remark explioans, it is foolish to talk about taxes as if they were "the only variables in the equation" (sorry if that sounds geeeky, that's the way I talk). I think there is a good argument to be made that higher taxes do not reduce the deficit unless the govt. spends money responsibly, and chances of that happening before everything falls apart? At least there is some relationship between "payroll taxes" and entitlement programs that already exist.
I have no confidence that raising income tax rates would lower deficits and borrowing. Hell, they are even spending the TARP money that some of the banks repaid. Irresponsible spending is poison whether taxes are high or low.
I agree that GOP characters have made statements that make "taxes" sound like a single entity. I don't know if that is what they really believed, but it does seem to give Obama and company a weapon.
You want to pay your "fair share" don't you?
Even cutting spending like the Pauls want to do, can’t make a dent against the kind of spending we are seeing now. My God, ONE TRILLION DOLLARS spent the other night. Just like that. I can’t believe anyone in our Government got a chance to read it all. What the hell was it ....a stop gap to plug the last stop gap? It waSN’T a budget. Oh believe me I wish it were.
I would be so happy to see a tiny one trillion dollar FY 2012 budget.
If the Congress continues to spend money like this, you may be picked up and detained by the Army for just saying the word “budget”..... INDEFINITLY.