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Post by jklinders on Nov 18, 2011 3:41:32 GMT 1
I'm going to get flogged on this.....but here goes. The goverment needs to get involved or at least pay attention to it, or else we're having a repeat of the Wall Street crash. Free market doesn't work because folks are to damn greedy. I do believe the rich need to be taxed more, because they have the money and i think if you made it to the top you better help the guys down below as well. Bad idea, taxing the rich more. Many honest business owners (yes, they do exist) pay around 50% for their taxes when all is said and done. Tax them more, and they'll just say "fuck it" and shut down when they make X amount of dollars, or move off shore since the tariffs on imports would be cheaper than doing business in the US. I have never once gotten a paying job from someone who is poor. Also, right now the number of people who actually pay taxes (as in their "refund" is less than they paid in) is less than 50% according to many reports and a significant number of people get MORE for their refund than they paid in. It's rediculous. In my estimation, the ideal course of action would be to lower the percentage tax rate to something that isn't batshit insane and eliminate all loopholes while cutting on entitlement spending (which is where the majority of the money is going; some 30-40+% IIRC, compared to the defense budget they want to slash which is less than 5%.). This would increase overall revenue and start us getting the hell out of debt. Lastly, here's a fun fact for those of you across the pond. According to many of the protestors," Europeans enjoy paying taxes and routinely ask to be taxed more because [you're] such good citizens." That's actually tax reform I can get behind. But the multi hundred millionaires in DC would never allow it because they would lose out. It is a great idea though. Maybe less popular on your side would be to bring some tariffs back to encourage more jobs to come back home. Right now we have seafood caught and frozen locally sent to asia for processing and then being sold back here. That is the very definition of madness.
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Post by CAPT Issac R. Madden on Nov 18, 2011 4:07:09 GMT 1
Bad idea, taxing the rich more. Many honest business owners (yes, they do exist) pay around 50% for their taxes when all is said and done. Tax them more, and they'll just say "fuck it" and shut down when they make X amount of dollars, or move off shore since the tariffs on imports would be cheaper than doing business in the US. I have never once gotten a paying job from someone who is poor. Also, right now the number of people who actually pay taxes (as in their "refund" is less than they paid in) is less than 50% according to many reports and a significant number of people get MORE for their refund than they paid in. It's rediculous. In my estimation, the ideal course of action would be to lower the percentage tax rate to something that isn't batshit insane and eliminate all loopholes while cutting on entitlement spending (which is where the majority of the money is going; some 30-40+% IIRC, compared to the defense budget they want to slash which is less than 5%.). This would increase overall revenue and start us getting the hell out of debt. Lastly, here's a fun fact for those of you across the pond. According to many of the protestors," Europeans enjoy paying taxes and routinely ask to be taxed more because [you're] such good citizens." That's actually tax reform I can get behind. But the multi hundred millionaires in DC would never allow it because they would lose out. It is a great idea though. Maybe less popular on your side would be to bring some tariffs back to encourage more jobs to come back home. Right now we have seafood caught and frozen locally sent to asia for processing and then being sold back here. That is the very definition of madness. One thing I'd like (and this would be highly beneficial to both of our countries, methinks) would be to see NAFTA dissolved. Right now, since the US, Canada, and Mexico don't tax cross-boarder commerce, there's been a massive trade imbalance that has ultimately hurt our economies. Bring back the tariffs, increase the price on imports, and people will buy local (or at least national) products. And if someone prefers something imported (Nova Scotia-caught salmon compared to New England, for example) then they are more than welcome to buy it. It'll just be at more of a premium. Lightening up on business restrictions and taxes would also make it more lucrative for business owners to try to keep everything in-country. Another fun idea would be to take a country's import laws/practices (China's for example), mirror image them, and use them with respect to that individual country. That would be an economic kick in the balls that would grab their attention.
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Post by jklinders on Nov 18, 2011 4:40:06 GMT 1
Hallelujah!! We have a consensus!!
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Nov 18, 2011 15:53:47 GMT 1
Hallelujah!! We have a consensus!!
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Post by jklinders on Nov 18, 2011 16:14:31 GMT 1
There was a hole...
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Post by CAPT Issac R. Madden on Nov 19, 2011 0:04:18 GMT 1
Added bonus of my idea for the flat tax with no loopholes: since you have a system that is simple to understand and there are no obscure laws to enforce, the IRS (don't know what Canada's counterpart is) can be seriously downsized if not eliminated entirely along with all the tax attorneys and such who gobble up so many taxpayer dollars and have the taxes be collected by the Department of the Treasury. Since we're not spending the money on trying to enforce laws that are leakier than RMS Titanic and/or are so complex you'd need to be able to N-dimensional geometry in your head to understand them, there would be palpable savings.
Other things we can trim the fat from would be consolidating gov agencies that have redundant functions. For example, the US Department of Homeland Security. Many of the functions they do could easily be replicated by simply allowing the FBI, CIA, and NSA to cooperate on certain ventures. Maybe liason officers/agents or dedicated teams of members from each agency. It would be logical to assume that such cooperation would allow for more efficient use of money and resources.
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Nov 19, 2011 22:28:21 GMT 1
Why do I think by discussions like these we could do a better job then everyone else?
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Post by CAPT Issac R. Madden on Nov 19, 2011 23:12:08 GMT 1
Why do I think by discussions like these we could do a better job then everyone else? Mainly because we don't have anyone paying us under the table for pet projects. Also, many politicians haven't had to work in the real world, going straight from college into some office or another. Pretty much academics who don't know what it's like to have to actually produce something viable. Finally, the realm of politics is distasteful to the majority of people who would be capable of doing the most good and those who want to be there are generally the sleazeballs of a given community. Some exceptions to this rule, but they vary wildly.
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Post by jklinders on Nov 20, 2011 3:46:34 GMT 1
In Canada, taxes are handled directly by a branch of the government called Revenue Canada. It handles all provincial and Federal taxes so it is actually pretty streamlined already believe it or not. there are way too many loopholes though.
As for having good ideas...we are not politicians. We are not in the system, we don't have the inertia of the system working against us. Talk is cheap, all politicians do it, but when faced by the overwhelming power of the unelected civil service on both sides of the border...politicians are all but powerless.
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Post by Cali on Dec 28, 2011 21:50:23 GMT 1
Something I made.
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Dec 28, 2011 22:27:19 GMT 1
I KNEW IT! To be honest I always imagined Tywinter Lanister to be more like the Patrician from Disc World....
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Post by Mister Buch on Dec 29, 2011 12:14:58 GMT 1
That's brilliant.
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Post by jklinders on Dec 29, 2011 17:29:28 GMT 1
It's uncannily accurate. I'm a morsel creeped out by that.
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