effective tax rates, this argument has happened a dozen times on here. Plus there are many MORE taxes now than there were throughout most of our history. and spending is not moderate by any measure, you must be referring to WWII but that was truly emergency DEFENSE spending. At present we are essentially in peace time, we have no major conflicts with real world powers, our spending is mostly on domestic programs/entitlements now, what's gonna happen if a major war erupts?
Yes, we've had this argument, and it's effective rates that are being compared. After all, some here claim only half the population even pays taxes, right? How can we sort through this? How about tax receipts as a percentage of GDP by year?
They bring up All the taxes when it fits their argument, they then say 47% don't pay any taxes when that fits their argument. And now they have a candidate who is the Messiah of self serving convenient facts, distortions, and outright flip flops and lies. People get what they deserve I guess.
How are tax receipts as a % of GDP an accurate measure when about 'half the pop' presently doesn't pay federal income taxes. The field isn't level and not in the way that your side prefers to slant it. The 'rich' are ALREADY paying more than their fair share (this includes business). Every American should pay the same %, that is fair. This argument could go on forever, because of all the changes I really don't know how we could compare the TOTAL cost of federal taxation per individual or business over time. I will tell you this, small business is overburdened by taxes and regulations, and they are gonna get hammered by obamacare in 2 years. Also, just think as the tax code gets more complex, the cost of prepping taxes goes up, you need to pay auditors etc. When regs get more strict, you need to pay someone for compliance, it's the same shit, it all costs business more money and takes away from what they actually do. It hurts the economy.
I know all this back and forth is pointless, but when I hear people saying "Romney lied" or "obama promised Iran would not get a bomb", I have to laugh. Other than Bill clinton, Obama is the biggest fucking liar I 've ever seen in the White House. He has lied through his teeth repeatedly in the debates about pretty much every subject. He actually said he was for coal and tried to increase employment in coal mining. If the guy who has waged a war on coal for four years can say that, he will say anything. He said oil and gas production had surged and implied his administration was responsible. In truth, they have opposed it at every turn, and are poised to cripple drilling and exploration through the EPA after the election. He said he "saved" the auto industry. The truth is he used massive amounts of taxpayer money to pay off the UAW and stave off the inevitable for a few years. He has claimed all the bailout funds have or will be repaid. Nonsense. We will lose trillions on GM and FNM/FRE alone. He claims his investments in green jobs are the wave of the future. More lies. Most of them are payoffs to contributors or cronies like Al Gore. Any success stories out there? No. He claims to have reformed Wall Street and banking. More lies. Nothing done to date would prevent another financial crisis, too big to fail is still official policy, no one has been prosecuted except some small fry, and Jon Corzine has apparently managed to make disappear billions and escape justice. He said he had a close relationship with Israel and its leaders. In truth they despise him and he has snubbed them repeatedly, not to mention putting their very existence at risk. He promised to close Gitmo four years ago. Whatever. He and his entire administration have lied repeatedly about the Libyan disaster. They hung out a group of brave Americans to die, then tried to cover it up. Mov eon, nothing to see here folks. He claims his middle eastern policy, particularly in Egypt, was a big success. In reality, he put terrorists who had been locked up back into power. No doubt in his second term he will release the Blind Sheik, architect of the first World trade Center attack, to them as a sign of good faith. So when he says "Iran will not get a bomb" excuse me for laughing. They might not, but it will be because of Israel, not him.