They need to tax things like car loans (to be paid on pickup of the car) and junk food. Bad decision making. I know cigarettes and alcohol are already taxed but tax them more. Basically make people pay more to make bad decisions, since the rest of us need to bail them out in some way or another for that.

And stop the government wasting so much damn money. There should be a requirement for a balanced budget every single year unless they get every single representative to agree to spend more (i.e. wartime).

There is a reason national debt is high and taxes for billionaires have been cut. So, no, taxes are not going to increase. We will continue to cut social programs like Medicaid, SNAP, etc. as well as scientific research.

I have been hearing about a debt crisis since I was 18 years old. I am not 46. Where is the crisis?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a minimum we should stop cutting taxes for billionaires.

I am in favor of abolishing loopholes. However, that alone is insufficient.

There needs to be a serious check on resources on mandatory spending. Cut the fraud and waste, stop wasting money on stupid programs, make hospitals more responsible for uninsured healthcare costs, etc.

The problem people don't see is that government and healthcare (followed by education) are the top employers in our country in vast majority of states. Our entire economy is taxpayer subsidized where we pay each other to do work for a government, or government adjacent (contract work), or industries that are partially subsidized (which profits are subsidized) by the government rule and regulations. Our healthcare is not private industry market based anything. There is massive fraud and corruption in every single program (from infrastructure projects, to security and safety, healthcare and child/elder care, housing development, etc). Bloated levels of bureaucracy don't just exist in government but also in private corporations that have to abide by certain standards and follow certain rules (rules create jobs).

We are being deluded that we have some capitalist growth oriented economy, while we actually have vastly "socialized" economy, except with the open cronyism greatly enriching people with right connections and massively growing welfare dependent class.

So well written and accurate. Unfortunately politicians who make this argument that you are making can't get elected because the middle class has been gutted and the rent seekers (aka politicians) are incentivized to cater to the poor and rich class. The poor want more help and the rich want to leave the last cent untaxed to their generation in 2100.

We are at the point of no return already. Take social security for instance. As a reminder SS is a pay as you go system.In other words those working are the ones floating the bill for those who are retired. A lot of people forget this critical point.

Our population is aging. Fertility rate will soon plummet.

Who is going for pay for your kids' social security?

I am a.Democrat. while the Republicans will only pursue policy that make.aure the rich don't pay any taxes, Democrats love taxation. Every single issue we already have a solution tax more.

So since Democrats are likely to be in power when the debt crisis truly hits, they will cripple us with extremely painful taxes at the federal, state and local level.

If you live in a state like New York, you will likely leave. Then it creates another issue when migration accelerates from high tax states in the northeast and California to lower tax states in the South. The local residents in those states will be displaced and experience accelerated poverty due to the higher purchasing power of the new arrivees and the non exist ance of safety nets in those states.

So no matter what, in about 10 years or so we will take home less money than we do now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a minimum we should stop cutting taxes for billionaires.

I am in favor of abolishing loopholes. However, that alone is insufficient.

There needs to be a serious check on resources on mandatory spending. Cut the fraud and waste, stop wasting money on stupid programs, make hospitals more responsible for uninsured healthcare costs, etc.

The problem people don't see is that government and healthcare (followed by education) are the top employers in our country in vast majority of states. Our entire economy is taxpayer subsidized where we pay each other to do work for a government, or government adjacent (contract work), or industries that are partially subsidized (which profits are subsidized) by the government rule and regulations. Our healthcare is not private industry market based anything. There is massive fraud and corruption in every single program (from infrastructure projects, to security and safety, healthcare and child/elder care, housing development, etc). Bloated levels of bureaucracy don't just exist in government but also in private corporations that have to abide by certain standards and follow certain rules (rules create jobs).

We are being deluded that we have some capitalist growth oriented economy, while we actually have vastly "socialized" economy, except with the open cronyism greatly enriching people with right connections and massively growing welfare dependent class.

I mean, we are already well down the path of no return. Unless the US were growing at 10 million people per year there is simply no way to come back from this debt.

I would like to see the “carried interest” loophole closed.
Also somehow stopping the “Buy, Borrow, and Die” strategy that very wealthy people with hundreds of millions/billions in stock value use to avoid paying taxes on the loans they take out on their stock to fund their lifestyles.

Anonymous wrote:I think we will have to spend more for our security. If our parents never feared for their lives or their assets being forcebly stolen/taken, our grandkids may have to worry about that. Solving the debt crisis means increasing poverty.

It will be interesting to see how White people will behave once poverty starts hitting them harder and harder.

They won't stop b**g against the system. They are already doing a lot of it. It will only get worse from here. It's ironic we always blame those who never any resources to begin, but it's the one who have resources NOW worrying about their lineage 5:generations down the line.

I'm sure Trump will take over the Fed and tell everyone inflation is a great thing to pay down debt.

No, other nations will pick up the tab as part of a preferred nations deal with the US.

I think to effectively deal with the debt, we would have had to significantly raise taxes AND significantly cut spending a generation ago. Instead, politicians on both sides have blindly pushed the problem down the road, and they’ve gotten away with it because with the dollar as the international currency we were kept afloat by foreign investment.

Trump’s actions have weakened international support and raised questions about our fiscal policy. I fear there is a very real chance our currency could collapse, in which case higher taxes will be the least of our worries. We could be facing a mountain of an economic crisis that makes the Great Depression look like a pebble on a molehill. Add to that the economic upheaval that may accompany AI, the toll of climate change, and political instability both domestically and internationally, and I don’t think taxes matter all that much.

Anonymous wrote:A flat income tax would solve the problem. Everyone pays 25%. No credits, no deductions, no loopholes, no anything. Disadvantaged groups already make out on the receiving end, so things are still skewed to helping those in need. Easy peasy.

You do that for poor folks or take Govt benefits away. It is a wash.

Also, do you think rent would continue to go up in big cities if Section 8 is not covering market rent. A lower rent is good for economy, poor folks, and also on Govt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a minimum we should stop cutting taxes for billionaires.

I am in favor of abolishing loopholes. However, that alone is insufficient.

There needs to be a serious check on resources on mandatory spending. Cut the fraud and waste, stop wasting money on stupid programs, make hospitals more responsible for uninsured healthcare costs, etc.

I think we will have to spend more for our security. If our parents never feared for their lives or their assets being forcebly stolen/taken, our grandkids may have to worry about that. Solving the debt crisis means increasing poverty.

It will be interesting to see how White people will behave once poverty starts hitting them harder and harder.

I think we already know the answer to that. We saw it in the 2016 and 2024 elections.