Posted on 07/08/2012 1:02:22 PM PDT by bestintxas
A former Democratic senator and presidential candidate is proposing a controversial fix to the nation's economic woes: raise taxes, and not just on millionaires.
"No one is saying that right now, and someone has to say it," Bill Bradley said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"If we're going to succeed, we have to face our problems squarely. The deficit is one problem, and that requires taxes on a lot of people, not just the wealthy," Mr. Bradley said.
The former NBA star, who mounted a 2000 presidential bid but ultimately lost to Al Gore, appeared on CNN on Sunday morning to promote his new book, "We Can All Do Better."
In it, he lays out controversial steps the federal government should take to turn around a stalled economy. In addition to hiking taxes on many Americans, he proposes a massive $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would fund 50 projects across the nation.
Mr. Bradley also supports significant federal intervention into workplace hiring, floating an idea that would include government paying 30 percent of the salaries for new workers hired in the private sector, provided the companies involved did not lay anyone off. The program would be capped at $50 billion, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Well he turned out to be one dumb sumbitch.
Oh, sure...I have a sister with two kids....she doesn’t “work”...hasn’t for years....single....lives in Section 8 housing...I do know she got a bit of child support...other than that...NO INCOME...but her two kids have cell phones, and they live quite well (if you judged them by their size, you’d say lived QUITE well.) She probably is on a “disability” for all I know....So...how do we get HER to pay any taxes???
I would say that the money she receives from ANY source (including the Feds) counts as income. But the truth of the matter is that the issue you describe is a SPENDING problem, as opposed to a tax COLLECTION problem.
I do agree that if income taxes are levied, then every citizen should pay some. When people get a free ride (or even rebates) as they do now, then those people have no incentive to rein in Government. That istuation become downright dangerous when the latter applies to a majority of the population (as it nearly does today).
“I do agree that if income taxes are levied, then every citizen should pay some. When people get a free ride (or even rebates) as they do now, then those people have no incentive to rein in Government. That istuation become downright dangerous when the latter applies to a majority of the population (as it nearly does today).”
For sure. That was probably the biggest mistake Bush made with his tax cuts was making them too bottom-heavy. That just wrecks things. If anything, lower rates at the top - or don’t bother doing anything. This is a mess that we have now.
That was the least well thought out post I’ve ever seen you put up. - Fact is you can tax everyone, everywhere, every time, for everything made, sold, bought, and manufactured at 100%, and we STILL can’t cover that level of spending, plus the interest on our staggering debt, nor can we now stop the degradation of our monetary valuations.
He didn’t say one damn word about defunding, cutting back, or downsizing expenditures at all - just more taxes that will be thrown into an endless rathole.
SS is a straw man argument - we pay our entire lives into it and should get some of our money back unless it’s simply government theft writ large.
- Now if you want to debate ENDING SS & Medicare, then I’m all ears, but you notice, I’m sure, that he spoke of no such thing. - In fact the sentiment that you ascribed to him wasn’t said by him at all.
Just pay more taxes - and thats not worthy of you running interference for him in the manner that the MSM does for every other dem.
But by all means - pay more taxes.
Have to agree with the man...the 48% who pay no taxes should pay up...do not raise taxes on the other 52%
Reminds me of the Bob the Angry Flower comic, Brainstorming At Zombie City Hall.
http://www.angryflower.com/brains.gif
Did he specify if the proposal should include the 50% who do not pay any taxes?
“- Now if you want to debate ENDING SS & Medicare, then I’m all ears, but you notice, I’m sure, that he spoke of no such thing. - In fact the sentiment that you ascribed to him wasn’t said by him at all.”
Actually Bradley has talked about that in the past - more than just about any other Dem has:
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/04/bill-bradley-on-social-security.html
I think he’s just reached the point where he sees that spending will never get cut (for reasons mentioned earlier) - so now it’s time to pay up. we can talk about all you wish, but until you can line up the seniors JUST ON THIS SITE to agree that Social Security and Medicare need serious reform or elimination - how the heck do you expect to get the rest of the country on board?
“SS is a straw man argument “
I wish it were, but the National Endowment for the Arts is a Strawman, as it won’t make a dime’s worth of difference. Even food stamps, EIC, Ag, and Education, and other things like that only help at the margins. Social Security and Medicare are EATING US ALIVE - and I know that you understand that.
“Fact is you can tax everyone, everywhere, every time, for everything made, sold, bought, and manufactured at 100%, and we STILL can’t cover that level of spending,”
That simply isn’t true if you do the math. What you say is true if you try that just for the wealthy, but as long as you hit the middle and lower classes with serious taxes, the money is there. They may not like it, but they will pay it, and with the amount of income they control, it will pretty much cover our needs.
An example - we could raise the federal gas tax from 18.4 cents to $3.68 (i.e., 20 times) and people will continue to drive, and they will still pay significantly less for gas than they do in Europe. We collect about $25B now from the gas tax. Would that increase to $500B - nope, of course. People will adjust - but they still need gas. The government might only collect $350B to $400B per year at the much higher rate - but that is real money and it WILL cut the deficit by about $350B per year, and that is real money - as it’s only one tax. Collect the same from a VAT, from income taxes (when the AMT and Bush’s cuts expire) and you’re close to a balanced budget. Will people be happy - of course not. Will they slow down activity - of course. Will they pay it - yep, unless they have another country to move to.
You may not like paying $7.00 for gas - but if you want your precious Social Security protected, you better plan on it, because $1.6T deficits simply cannot be sustained any better than housing prices in Florida or Las Vegas.
This from the numbskull whose 1986 Tax Act single handedly brought down the Savings and Loans business in America.
A massive Fed bailout was needed and we had a recession from 1989-1992 until the Resolution Trust Company cleared the mess.
Bill Bradley is one of stupidest people to ever walk the halls of Congress—and that is saying something!
Did he say raise the basket 2 feet?
Jackass, he didn’t learn a thing at Princeton.
“Did he specify if the proposal should include the 50% who do not pay any taxes?”
You know that cannot happen as it is like trying to get juice out of a turnip.
Obama would say “It is not fair that they have to pay anything” in spite of them having cell phones, cable and multiple cars.
"No one is saying that right now, and someone has to say it... If we're going to succeed, we have to face our problems squarely. The deficit is one problem, and that requires taxes on a lot of people, not just the wealthy," Mr. Bradley said... appeared on CNN on Sunday morning to promote his new book, "We Can All Do Better." In it, he lays out controversial steps... hiking taxes on many Americans... a massive $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would fund 50 projects... significant federal intervention into... hiring... paying 30 percent of the salaries for new workers hired in the private sector, provided the companies involved did not lay anyone off. The program would be capped at $50 billion...IOW, he's got his head stuck up his ass. May as well -- he's clearly not using it for anything.
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