first of all, quoting greenspan on ANYTHING related to economics is not a good choice of a source. the man is clueless. yes, i said it. however, i do believe that tax cuts work when properly applied and i also agree that tax cuts should have been passed - AS LONG AS SPENDING CUTS ACCOMPANIED THEM. to cut taxes and not cut spending is plain stupid. to pass tax cuts WITH a bill to expand unemployment benefits is beyond stupid. its fucking asinine. apparently, no one in office was listening on November 2nd.
Indeed. This whole tax debate is retarded because of all the cherry picking of information that gets done to frame the debate. Cut taxes, cut spending. If my income goes up because I get to keep more of my paycheck and I also cut my personal monthly expenses, I have a more money left at the end of the month. Imagine that!
I am no fan of Greenspan either, and have criticized him repeatedly. The only reason I mentioned Greenspan is because he is an ardent Ayn Rander. For a guy like that to admit that tax cuts don't pay for themselves, is really saying something. Tax cuts do not pay for themselves. That, in turn, means that supply-side, trickle-down "economics" is a farce.
Great post!! Sadly, you're in the minority is the US. As Stockman alluded to -- we've had a 20-30 year "party" and the day of reckoning is not far away. Many in the US have chosen to live well beyond their means. They feel they're entitled to it. They don't want to have to make tough choices and downsize, cut back on expenses, buy a less expensive car, etc. And then they moan and groan they're being foreclosed on. But lawyers will tell them to quit paying the mortgage and they'll get another 12-15 months in their house as "squatters" -- no payments yet they have a place to stay. I'm in my 50's and my parents in their 80's. They, through living during part of the depression, learned about sacrifice and buying what you could afford. I learned from them. Buy what you can afford. All this ranting that we were near a 2nd depression recently is garbage -- people sure didn't act like it and now are resuming their spending as their savings starts to drop again. When there are no consequences there is little motivation to change. The government spends more than it takes in and people emulate that behavior. Not only do we need tax increases but we need spending cuts as well. Start with a gas tax, say 25 cents. Eventually all these SUV and F250 truck people will see that driving their gas guzzlers isn't so cost effective and they'll buy a car that they can afford after taking fuel costs into account. Government employees, at all levels, need to work more than 20-25 years before they can qualify for retirement. The list goes on and on on ways to cut costs. Glad you had the backbone to make a hard (and costly $$) decision that will be in your best interests long term.
gabfly, i try to have my own opinion. i try to do my own research and learn on my own and make my own judgment based on the info i get. i dont like quoting folks all that much, especially "prominent experts" like greenspan. i dont like him at all, even if he says something that supports what i believe in because the guy is a fool. a fool who led to the greatest bubble in the history of mankind (though bernanke is trying to trump that). therefore, i could care less what he says or who he supports. he's a fraud.
thank you for the compliment. it was not an easy decision. i make a good six figure salary (close to 200k) but i drive an old jeep wrangler (paid for in 2002) and my wife drives a nice saturn i bought in cash in 2008. we live in a townhouse that is one third the size of our previous big house, and one fourth the mortgage payment, less taxes, and much lower utility bills. we are comfortable. i could go out tomorrow and buy some zippy 100k sports car. but why on earth would i? what angers me is that everywhere i read about the fiscally irresponsible getting away with it. bailouts. no one gives me shit.
Or More!! This is the worst economy since the Great Depression. It sure is not the right time to increase taxes or eliminate unemployment benefits to millions of families who are unemployed for reasons beyond their control. Both of the these recent decisions by the government will increase the deficit but in a recession, the government is the last the resort for spending to boost the economy. The private sector, both consumers and businesses, are not going to increase spending. The deficit reduction committee might as well bury their report. It will not see the light of day until the economy improves and then no one will care.
Groovy. Based on your own research, have you been able to identify any point in time when tax cuts have, in fact, paid for themselves? Please be sure to not overlook the liability side of the balance sheet in connection with any point of reference you may wish to raise.
Another good post! I volunteer (when not trading) at a school that's 99% on free/reduced lunch with that same percent under poverty level. You feel for those people as some really try. Then I had to deal with a next door neighbor. Bought the house for $640K, put another $260K into it remodeling. Retired Air Force working a job in management. In his early 60's with $900K housing debt. He gets laid off from job and quits paying mortgage. The typical "strategic" foreclosure. He and his wife stayed in the house 15 months after they quit paying. Then -- get this -- they go and rent a house that was on the market earlier this year at $1.625 million. He also walked away from credit card debt (thanks to public records all this is verifiable). So I don't feel sorry for this worthless trash who has continued to live "large".
Really? Are the millionaires hurting that badly? The poor dears. I think Obama should have proposed a $1 million cut off point rather than the $250k level, at least until the economy stabilizes, after which time the $250 level should be revisited. Then there would be even less justification for all the brouhaha from the Right.