New York Times' Deficit Reduction Challenge

[^_^ 5,021]

You'd never make it as a Republican candidate. They'd eat you alive.

If he is what passes for right wing on VJ I think danno was right all along... this really is a lefty forum!

[Ban Hammer 13,514]

I cut those contractors too. Since I have no clue what any of them do, it obviously can't be very important. :devil:

in my case, i'm doing pretty much the same job i did when i was in the military, for a bit more money. on the bright side, that means the military doesn't have a rotation of workers for the job.

I left the. contractors alone. Most of them are middle class people trying to make a living. I'd rather hit the rich with the mortgage deduction changing into a credit instead.

that would also affect the middle class too wouldn't it?

You'd never make it as a Republican candidate. They'd eat you alive.

even if i support the 2nd amendment?

i guess being pro choice doesn't help either.

[^_^ 5,021]

that would also affect the middle class too wouldn't it?

Depends on how you define middle class. If they replace the deduction with a credit, it will hurt you only if the amount of the credit is less than the amount the deduction currently shaves off your tax liability. Of course, the Times survey doesn't say how much the credit will be so I leave that to my imagination. I imagine anything less than 85% of the largest possible non jumbo would be covered.

Edited November 15, 2010 by \

[scandal 951]

even if i support the 2nd amendment?

i guess being pro choice doesn't help either.

You're the sort of Republican I could see myself voting for. In fact, the sort that I HAVE voted for.

Hence my comment earlier about "are you running for office". Maybe I shouldn't have put a smiley after that.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

even if i support the 2nd amendment?

i guess being pro choice doesn't help either.

Come join the dark side - we'll give you all the free pizza you can eat.

[^_^ 5,021]

Come join the dark side - we'll give you all the free pizza you can eat.

Whole wheat crust, goat cheese, yes?

[scandal 951]

Come join the dark side - we'll give you all the free pizza you can eat.

Oh, but I'd like a Bridge to Nowhere. Please.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Whole wheat crust, goat cheese, yes?

Smoked with hemp.

[Ban Hammer 13,514]

Come join the dark side - we'll give you all the free pizza you can eat.

teaser!

[^_^ 5,021]

Smoked with hemp.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Oh, but I'd like a Bridge to Nowhere. Please.

Silence! You're already under the Emporer's spell.

[scandal 951]

Depends on how you define middle class. If they replace the deduction with a credit, it will hurt you only if the amount of the credit is less than the amount the deduction currently shaves off your tax liability. Of course, the Times survey doesn't say how much the credit will be so I leave that to my imagination. I imagine anything less than 85% of the largest possible non jumbo would be covered.

Don't you DARE touch the mortgage deduction :angry:

That's our birthright as homeowners. It's the only thing that sets us apart from those Canadian scum north of the border who don't have such a precious gift from the gods. The US policy to encourage home ownership through a mortgage subsidy is the most ingenious form of Socialistic doctrine yet devised in the USA (United Socialist America). LEAVE IT BE.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Here's my results:

52% Tax increases and 48% spending cuts.

Eliminate farm subsidies

Reduce nuclear arsenal and space spending

Reduce military to pre-Iraq War size and further reduce troops in Asia and Europe

Reduce Navy and Air Force fleets

Cancel or delay some weapons programs

Reduce the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to 30,000 by 2013

Increase the Medicare eligibility age to 70

Raise the Social Security retirement age to 70

Return the estate tax to Clinton-era levels

Allow expiration for income above $250,000 a year

Millionaire's tax on income above $1 million

Eliminate loopholes, but keep taxes slightly higher

[^_^ 5,021]

Don't you DARE touch the mortgage deduction :angry:

That's our birthright as homeowners. It's the only thing that sets us apart from those Canadian scum north of the border who don't have such a precious gift from the gods. The US policy to encourage home ownership through a mortgage subsidy is the most ingenious form of Socialistic doctrine yet devised in the USA (United Socialist America). LEAVE IT BE.

Some interesting reading:

... tax policy experts say that for all its popularity, the value of the deduction in public policy is debatable. It was intended to encourage homeownership, but housing economists point out that countries like Canada and Australia, which do not allow mortgage interest deductions, have homeownership rates similar to those of the United States.

“What the subsidy is doing is driving up prices by encouraging well-off people to take out bigger loans, to buy bigger houses,” said Roberton Williams, a fellow at the Tax Policy Center. “So I think there’s a question about whether that is something the government should be doing with tax money.”

Critics of the subsidy also argue that, despite its broad support, the benefits from the mortgage interest deduction flow disproportionately to the wealthy.

Calvin Johnson, a tax professor at the University of Texas, said that only those in the top third of wage earners even itemized their deductions, meaning that two-thirds of taxpayers weren’t eligible for the break.

Although I can't say I have ever heard of a home owner who did not itemize.

Here's my results:

52% Tax increases and 48% spending cuts.

Eliminate farm subsidies

Reduce nuclear arsenal and space spending

Reduce military to pre-Iraq War size and further reduce troops in Asia and Europe

Reduce Navy and Air Force fleets

Cancel or delay some weapons programs

Reduce the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to 30,000 by 2013

Increase the Medicare eligibility age to 70

Raise the Social Security retirement age to 70

Return the estate tax to Clinton-era levels

Allow expiration for income above $250,000 a year

Millionaire's tax on income above $1 million

Eliminate loopholes, but keep taxes slightly higher

I find the idea of reducing space spending unconscionable. And raising retirement age to 70 too.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I find the idea of reducing space spending unconscionable. And raising retirement age to 70 too.

70 is the new 60.