Americans don't hate taxes as much as Republicans
On Thursday, Charlie Rangel (D-NY) introduced a bill that calls for the most significant overhaul to the tax system in decades. In general, the taxes paid by people making more than $200,000 would go up, and would go down or stay the same for everyone else. Republicans are going bonkers, and it's unlikely to pass before President Bush is out of office.
But people with functioning brains realize that you can't solve the country's problems with tax cuts. And most Americans recognize that. According to a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times survey:
Republicans seem to be losing the anti-tax card that has helped them win elections over more than a quarter- century. A majority of poll respondents oppose leading Republican presidential candidates' plans to cut taxes on corporate profits and maintain lower rates on investment income such as capital gains and dividends.A majority of Americans also say they would tolerate higher taxes to help pay for universal health care, an idea that all the leading Democratic hopefuls have championed. And about two in three say they haven't benefited from the tax cuts President George W. Bush pushed through Congress during his first term.
Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy will have to go, too.
Comments
"But people with functioning brains realize that you can't solve the country's problems with tax cuts."
Nor with tax increases--don't forget this.
Posted by: barabajagal | October 29, 2007 9:29 AM
The real Republican plan is to spend like crazy without raising taxes accordingly. Then, when Democrats are in office, they will have no choice to raise some taxes to cover the bills left by the Republicans. The average citizen will not see an appreciable return on his taxes because the new taxes aren't providing any new services, they're paying for current debt. Then the Republicans campaign against the Democrats by accusing them of taxing the public and having nothing to show for it. They've been doing this for decades.
Posted by: Jude | October 29, 2007 11:55 AM
B, nobody (myself included) trots out tax increases for the solution to everything, but it's what the Republicans do with tax cuts - according to them, more tax cuts will fix everything.
However, I will say that tax increases are definitely the way to solve one of the country's problems: Spending outpacing revenue. If we took in enough money to cover expenses, that problem would be solved. It's a cut and dry solution to the problem.
Posted by: Mike | October 29, 2007 12:26 PM
Jude is absolutely right; big spending is the ultimate duplicity of Republicans. It's exactly why that otherwise remarkably unified party winds up in disarray.
Problem with raising taxes is, once they're raised, it's almost impossible to bring them back down. But democrats will insist that they be raised nonetheless, if only to pay for Republican prolifigacy, of course.
It's a fine line to walk, obviously. There's nobody that doesn't think the government, specifically, the federal government, is out of control. But we insist on feeding it because we insist on believing that just a little more government will begin to address this or that problem. And even if it does actually effectively address one problem, you can be certain it creates another, and you can be sure we'll be paying for that one, too.
Posted by: barabajagal | October 29, 2007 2:09 PM
Democrats favor tax increases because they know nothing about economics. If taxes go up, prices go up and the average American's buying power goes down. Unemployment goes up and voila, bread lines and soup kitchens.
Posted by: pete5668 | December 19, 2007 5:37 PM
Pete,
This isn't economics 101, you know. And a statement like "Democrats favor tax increases because they know nothing about economics" doesn't really enlighten the conversation.
Please try again.
Posted by: Derek Phillips | December 20, 2007 2:59 PM