You know if the Billiionaires paid their taxes we would have a budget surplus....we should raise the taxes on the rich, they benefit the most in this society, most countries with this disparity and they would be facing a mob with a mean disposition. DD
I agree with you. The only President in my lifetime that has really done anything about it was Bill Clinton. From what I remember Jimmy Carter wasn't terrible when it came to deficits - but the spending exploded under Reagan, and then GW, Obama, Biden and Trump. It feels very much like this is a huge grift for these men and all of those they own for getting them into a position to be President.
I agree with you. I just think there's no political will to do what it would take to balance the budget. And the higher the debt gets, the more the interest payments become, making it harder to balance.
Cut military budget by 10%. No increased budgets for any department for 3 years. Lower SS/Medicare tax, but make all income subject to it. Introduce additional 5% tax on all income in excess of $1M, another 5% at $10M. Eliminate itemized deductions. Raise corporate tax rate to 25%. Require reasonable compensation for C-Corp officers and remove deferred compensation.
And that projects to get us how much revenue? The only hard number I see in there is reduce the defense budget by $100 billion.
You know most large European countries are struggling massively under the weight of their welfare state too right?
Well, this isn't true. I am well aware of the economic situation in the USA, and the many issues that need to be addressed -- and the largest one is the income inequality in the USA. Addressing that will not solve everything, but it will greatly help. Who said anything about "tax your way out of a problem."? I don't have an issue with a balanced budget - what I have an issue with is cutting programs that help those that already are fighting income inequality, and also - at the same time, greatly cutting taxes for the ultra-wealthy. You didn't ask me to. Nope - I never have said this or anything remotely close to this. You want profound and deep cuts? They don't give the wealthiest Americans massive tax cuts and also increase military spending. Address wealth and income inequality and you will not need as many social programs - you also can address military spending and the ever increasing "discretionary spending", as a long way towards a balanced budget.
Elon is regretting his vote: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politic...ll-over-deficit-impact-disgusting-abomination
Just absolute smoke and mirrors. Vague nothings. Just gibberish. Not a concrete or tangible suggestion in here. "Address wealth and income equality" - now explain how to do that and how that leads to a balanced budget or meaningfully addresses the debt or deficit. 75% of the budget is social security, medicare, medicaid and interest on the debt. Social security, Medicare and interest on the debt aren't social programs that will be reduced in scope or scale even in this magical world where we "fix wealth inequality." There are two ways to balance a budget. Increase revenue or decrease spending. "Fix wealth inequality" isn't either of those two things. $1.8 trillion dollar deficit in 2024. $37 trillion debt. Now, where do you suggest we get more revenue from? How much revenue can those new sources reasonably provide? Where do you suggest we cut?
Sure, 5% of billionaire wealth won’t erase the entire deficit. But $350 billion isn’t nothing — it’s 5x the annual budget of the Department of Education. You’re acting like unless a single policy solves everything, it’s worthless. That’s a convenient excuse to do nothing. Also, a wealth tax isn’t about only the debt — it’s about justice. Billionaires hoard wealth generated by workers, infrastructure, and systems everyone pays into. If you’re telling me the richest people on Earth can’t be taxed more while the average person lives paycheck to paycheck, then the problem isn’t math — it’s political will. And please, spare me the “wealth tax failed in other countries” thing. Those countries didn’t have the IRS or the SEC’s tools. We’ve figured out how to audit and tax corporations across borders — we can figure out how to tax wealth if we want to. Bottom line: Saying “it’s not enough” is just a cover to protect billionaires. Start with this tax. Close loopholes. Reform capital gains. Cut military bloat. The money’s there — the courage isn’t.
that's what Trump 2.0 is trying to do with the tariffs according to this tax-to-GDP ratio data, US has been one of the lowest taxed nation in the world
What are the others policies? You've proposed a wealth tax on the ultra rich, something that has never really worked in any OECD country that has attempted it and even in your wildest dreams it would only produce something like $350 billion as a one off. The problem is MATH. Even with wealth tax on billionaires that works perfectly [ridiculous] that doesn't come close eliminating the $1.8 trillion deficit the Biden administration had in 2024. Why should we not look at how wealth taxes worked in other countries? You think those countries don't have agencies or departments equivalent to the IRS or treasury? Nonsense. Of course they do.
There are 190+ nations in the world. This information doesn't indicate the U.S. has been one of the lowest taxed nations in the world. It indicates its on the lower end of tax-to-GDP ratio of the OECD. The OECD is not the world. You're suggesting we raise a new $1 trillion a year in taxes? Who is going to pay this? How? You understand other large welfare states in Europe are all straining under the weight of their welfare systems right?
you're just being argumentative / pointless everyone, with the top 10% earners shouldering most of the tax increases you understand that US is the only country whose currency is the global currency reserve, no?
didn't you just posted that OECD is not the world? btw, in your claim, you can't even cite any of the OECD countries and their specifics absent the specifics, i can only conclude that you are just making it up
You want me to direct you to resources showing the historical ineffectiveness of wealth taxes in OECD countries? lol. Sure. Go ahead and argue wealth taxes have been a success.
