Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Missing the point about the fiscal cliff

Taking a nice stroll off the fiscal cliff
Since the election, the news has turned to the ongoing negotiations regarding the so-called "fiscal cliff," and the potential compromises that the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate may make.

There are many questions being debated on the editorial pages and talk radio programs and cable television news shows:

Will the Bush tax cuts be allowed to expire?

Will the Democrats' rhetoric demonizing all those "millionaires and billionaires" actually be persuasive in getting Republicans to sign on to tax increases?

If so, will it just be "millionaires and billionaires" who are affected? Or will people making $500,000 see their taxes go up? What about those making $250,000? What if it's a small business owner supporting a family of 5 and 20 employees? Where will the cut off for higher taxes be set?

Will Republicans who previously signed Americans for Tax Reform's pledge not to raise taxes violate that promise?

What taxes will be raised? Income? Capital gains?

What will...

Hold on just a second. Every darn one of these questions is missing the point, the main point.

They are missing the reason we are having these debates, these problems hitting "debt ceilings" and the reason we are worried about going over "fiscal cliffs" and whatever the heck "sequestration" is (sounds painful, right?)...

WE NEED TO STOP SPENDING SO DARN MUCH.

STOP SPENDING.

STOP SPENDING.

STOP SPENDING!

It really doesn't matter one spit at what level we set the tax rates, who we tax, what taxes we revoke, raise, lower, enact, repeal, amend...

As long as we continue to spend at this insane rate, we are in trouble. We will keep hitting "debt ceilings." We will keep worrying about falling off of fiscal cliffs.

WE NEED TO STOP SPENDING. 

Congress, start the discussion with SPENDING and I'll start listening. Otherwise, I can only assume you aren't really taking your job seriously.


Follow me on Twitter at @rumpfshaker

1 comment:

  1. Cut spending to 18% of the GDP, cut the top rate to 25%, eliminate corporate, death, dividends, and capital taxes. Prosecute and jail Wall Street fraud, there is so much, where do you even begin?

    Let banks fail, let the economy fail and readjust. Stop printing money Ben Bernanke. Raise the Fed Funds rate to 5% immediately. Watch it crash and burn, 6 to 18 months, then out of the ashes a new economy will emerge.

    ReplyDelete

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