CBO to Obama: Your budget deficit numbers are off by 1.2 trillion

[Torie]

Yes, CBO says that the budget deficit under Obama's proposals would be with us for the rest of my lifetime, and 1.2 trillion higher over the next 10 years than Obama estimates. And that is before the CBO double count in scoring the health care bill, and assuming that 500 billion in medicare cuts comes to pass, which if it does, will cause me to suspend my disbelief in miracles.

All of this just isn't sustainable folks. Something is going to snap. It is just a matter of what, and when, and how.

[Torie]

All of this just isn't sustainable folks. Something is going to snap. It is just a matter of what, and when, and how.

Yes, they need to triple your taxes.  (I believe many of us have suggested this solution before on this forum)

That would get my average (yes average, not marginal) tax rate, above 100%.  

[Torie]

-Raise taxes
-Cut military spending
-Institute strict medical price controls

Problem solved.

Lief, do you think price controls will have any impact on the services provided over time?  I emphasize over time, because price controls take time to cause the economic actors involved, or who would have considered becoming involved, to change their behavior, if you get my drift.

Same with taxes, although the tipping points are subject to some disagreement of course. It would be nice if one could get more in your party interested in shutting  down a slew of more military bases, but pork is pork. The problem with the modern military, and cost,  is that all those high tech toys that help to keep the body count down, are hideously expensive. It is sort of like all those new medical technologies that keep being invented, that everyone of course wants, that are also astronomically expensive in so many instances.

[Torie]

All of this just isn't sustainable folks. Something is going to snap. It is just a matter of what, and when, and how.

Yes, they need to triple your taxes.  (I believe many of us have suggested this solution before on this forum)

That would get my average (yes average, not marginal) tax rate, above 100%.  

Well, I said 'triple your taxes', not triple your tax rate.

I'm wondering why you pay such an enormously high rate?  You do realize that the federal government can only increase your federal taxes, not state or local (to which I was not referring).  Anyway the top tax rate is only 35%, which I'm sure anyone with an understanding of economics would agree is extremely low.

You forgot 1) fica taxes, including the 2.9% bit that goes on forever, and 2) the phase out of itemized deductions.  Anyway, after opening up my 2008 return on turbo tax, I see that I paid 31% of my adjusted gross income in federal taxes, so if you triple that, the total take would be 93% of AGI. For 2009 the percentage will be higher.

[Torie]

Muon2, why do you consider the feds (as opposed to the states) micro managing costs (aka in my view in large part cannibalizing medical infrastructure assets unless a system is put in place to make consumers more cost conscious, but that is another matter), as violating some law of well, to pick an analogy at random, say physics? 

[Torie]

You forgot 1) fica taxes, including the 2.9% bit that goes on forever, and 2) the phase out of itemized deductions.  Anyway, after opening up my 2008 return on turbo tax, I see that I paid 31% of my adjusted gross income in federal taxes, so if you triple that, the total take would be 93% of AGI. For 2009 the percentage will be higher.

Well, 93% would be a pleasing top rate, but certainly not reasonable as an overall percentage.

Its funny you pay such high rates though - you must have an truly enormous income.  As and old lady I used to know used to say when we talked about capital gains tax rates - 'you should be so lucky'.

My income is not out of line for a small firm lawyer in a high cost zone in California, who is in his peak earning years, and considered a very competent lawyer, and I guess I have "fooled" enough clients into believing that. Well actually, starting this year, I have been cutting my practice back to about half time, so my peak years are essentially over. I will be effectively Obama proof, at least until he goes after the more prosperous half of the middle class (as opposed to the top end of the upper middle class and the rich) with higher taxes, which may be inevitable perhaps. Timing is everything I guess.

[Torie]

Medical subsidies need to be rationed (and rationalized), medical consumers need to be made more cost conscious through encouraging catastrophic health insurance backed up by HSA accounts, druggies emptied out of prisons, public employees, and contractors via Davis Bacon, need to stop being overpaid, Social Security benefit increases tied to the CPI rather than wage increases, federal educational subsidies tied to performance along with vouchers, many more military bases closed, and certain tax loopholes closed, like the deferral of taxation of foreign subsidiary profits, ethanol and all other agricultural subsidies ended, and student loan subsidies means tested. We also need to stop subsidizing home mortgages and failed big corporations, like GM. Banks need to be better capitalized and regulated to avoid another bailout of them, via direct dollars, or via allowing them to charge 7% for loans to uber high credit borrowers, or get 3% for buying treasury bills, while obtaining funds for a tenth of one percent.

How is that for a start? I had a longer list in another post.