tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post6415325307973176919..comments2024-03-19T02:45:37.685-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: The great debate: more taxes vs. less spendingScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-76368315021807952572011-07-25T07:36:31.634-07:002011-07-25T07:36:31.634-07:00It seems almost inconceivable that the debt limit ...It seems almost inconceivable that the debt limit will not be raised. The good thing about all this posturing in Washington is that the debt limit is forcing us to focus on the fact that we have a big problem. I think the problem is spending, not taxes, but the Dems think it's spending and taxes, and they appear to be out of synch with the mood of the country. <br /><br />Even if the US is Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-40057659502702672102011-07-25T06:24:16.255-07:002011-07-25T06:24:16.255-07:00Scott, I'm curious about your position on the ...Scott, I'm curious about your position on the debt ceiling. Do you think that the conventional wisdom is right that we're poised for a cataclysm if a deal isn't reached this week? Will we have similar trouble if US credit is downgraded from AAA?Mike Eliasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15035227065407574760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-75155998990242870242011-07-25T06:22:34.604-07:002011-07-25T06:22:34.604-07:00Scott, while your analysis is correct in that the ...Scott, while your analysis is correct in that the wealthiest pay the bulk of all taxes, it remains that America's wealthiest control a bigger share of the economy. <br /><br />Of course America's richest 10% pay the most taxes, they also own more than 50% of the economy, and their share has been growing dramatically over the past 30 years.Frozen in the Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04901959687094626879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-84064171921207325452011-07-24T03:41:19.009-07:002011-07-24T03:41:19.009-07:00Get a Republican president elected
But don't s...Get a Republican president elected<br />But don't screw with the capital<br />markets...insanity....broderohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12296214283216386700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-23033141610122340292011-07-23T20:57:46.411-07:002011-07-23T20:57:46.411-07:00Failed liberal programs?
42 percent of the stimulu...Failed liberal programs?<br />42 percent of the stimulus was tax cuts. Much of the rest of the stimulus was paid to corporations for ARRA projects. Much was paid to states to cover unemployment costs.<br /><br />Do Republicans propose to end unemployment insurance? What exactly are the "failed liberal programs?" The Afghan war? Please be specific.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-75882353373534898362011-07-23T18:38:00.704-07:002011-07-23T18:38:00.704-07:00John,
"Republicans have never demanded from ...John,<br /><br />"Republicans have never demanded from a Republican president the kind of austerity they are demanding from Obama."<br /><br />They would have if a Republican president had spent as mindlessly on failed liberal programs as Obama.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843411100678811292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-20586216186779107112011-07-23T16:43:12.323-07:002011-07-23T16:43:12.323-07:00Interesting read:
"21st-Century Slaves: How ...Interesting read:<br /><br />"21st-Century Slaves: How Corporations Exploit Prison Labor<br />by Rania Khalek<br /><br />In the eyes of the corporation, inmate labor is a brilliant strategy in the eternal quest to maximize profit." <br /><br /><br />This is a classic business-government partnership. Like I said before, business and government are two sides of the same coin. The debate Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-19959713528397025412011-07-23T16:23:13.317-07:002011-07-23T16:23:13.317-07:00If one calls attention to Honeywell using prison l...If one calls attention to Honeywell using prison labor to fix its copiers for less than $1 per hour, or a Honda parts supplier in Ohio using prison labor at similar cost, is that demonizing business?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-54167554808211563412011-07-23T12:26:58.478-07:002011-07-23T12:26:58.478-07:00John-
I am no Democrat. I think they are crazy w...John-<br /><br />I am no Democrat. I think they are crazy when they demonize business. That is bad government, and bad for the economy. <br /><br />That said, the GOP has gone bananas, braying about gold, the need for tight money (which they never talked about in the Bush years), and cutting spending (they also forgot about spending during Bush jr. ).<br /><br />In fact, we need a Fed that Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-84569431113965129932011-07-23T10:29:42.060-07:002011-07-23T10:29:42.060-07:00Republicans have never demanded from a Republican ...Republicans have never demanded from a Republican president the kind of austerity they are demanding from Obama.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-87656203518130265012011-07-23T07:12:56.516-07:002011-07-23T07:12:56.516-07:00Note that debating "spending less" versu...Note that debating "spending less" versus "taxing more" is really the flip sides of the same coin called "austerity" -- the fact that this debate has ended in an impasse (in Europe, the US, and even California) highlights why austerity fails, which is the chronic lack of a public mandate -- said another way, austerity measures are failing, which leaves only two otherMcKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-19165470758549400962011-07-23T05:44:21.177-07:002011-07-23T05:44:21.177-07:00As Barry Ritholtz points out, Reagan never signed ...As Barry Ritholtz points out, Reagan never signed a budget that was below 21 percent of GDP. <br /><br />The Wikipedia claims the recent jump in federal spending as a percent of GDP is due to previously unaccounted for war spending.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-14177059002403401012011-07-22T18:45:02.457-07:002011-07-22T18:45:02.457-07:00“As Milton Friedman taught us, the burden of gover...“As Milton Friedman taught us, the burden of government is not measured by taxes, but by spending. Whether a deficit is financed by raising taxes or by borrowing more, in the end, resources are taken from the private sector and spent by the public sector. That transfer imposes a burden on the economy since the public sector almost always spends money less efficiently than the private sector“. - W.E. Heasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368333904571061995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-56660885656664787152011-07-22T15:04:39.585-07:002011-07-22T15:04:39.585-07:00OT but interesting:
Ray Dalio runs the largest he...OT but interesting:<br /><br />Ray Dalio runs the largest hedge fund in the world.<br /><br />Basically, he says the USA has to deleverage. He says that will take 10 years. It could happen more quickly if we print more money, and deleverage that way through some inflation, and attendant boosted economic growth. <br /><br />So the question becomes this: Is maintaining low inflation worth 10 years Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-45504814274886767422011-07-22T10:51:13.792-07:002011-07-22T10:51:13.792-07:00John--
Worse, they say let's cut entitlement ...John--<br /><br />Worse, they say let's cut entitlement outlays, but not federal agency spending. <br /><br />Federal agencies, civilian and military, are 80 percent coprolite. <br /><br />Taxes? As the late, great Senator Russell Long, D-LA, Finance Committee Chair used to say, "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that man behind that tree!" <br /><br />As for me, I just want Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-56678261149721998622011-07-22T10:38:27.366-07:002011-07-22T10:38:27.366-07:00Benjamin: Exactly. What do we want to cut?
Like J...Benjamin: Exactly. What do we want to cut?<br /><br />Like Jerry Brown said recently, "people around here don't want to cut, they don't want to tax, they don't want to do anything."Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365403570563730880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-23159747353495802852011-07-22T09:42:57.036-07:002011-07-22T09:42:57.036-07:00BTW, here is a table of federal employment by agen...BTW, here is a table of federal employment by agency.<br /><br />Tell me where to cut. <br /><br /><br />Department of Defense 3,000,000<br />Veterans Affairs 275,000<br />Homeland Security 250,000<br />Treasury 115,000<br />Justice 112,000<br />Energy 109,000<br />Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-20570984348539796512011-07-22T09:09:47.644-07:002011-07-22T09:09:47.644-07:00The chart Scott Grannis has posted is of federal i...The chart Scott Grannis has posted is of federal income taxes (it excludes payroll taxes).<br /><br />Okay, fair enough. For this discussion, let's leave Social Security/Medicare payroll taxes off the table, and the programs financed by such taxes.<br /><br />That leaves us federal spending financed by federal income taxes. That is what this chart is about. <br /><br />More than one-half of Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-75045295726186150812011-07-22T09:07:43.576-07:002011-07-22T09:07:43.576-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.com