CATO: Please raise taxes

[David S]

Congress needs to cut spending but congress has proven that it does not have even the slightest discipline in spending. At a time when we are running deficits of $400 billion, Congress  cannot even eliminate the pork projects like bridges to nowhere. The only way to fix this is to throw them all out and replace them with third party candidates who advocate fiscal responsibility. But that's not going to happen so get used to the deficits.

BTW for those who claim Clinton created budget surpluses please note that the federal debt went up every single year that he was in office.

[David S]

No . . . cut the pork.

Niskanen's argument is interesting. He says that you must cut pork, but the pressure to cut pork comes from voters feeling the pinch of taxes.  Some modest tax burden encourages greater responsibility for the programs funded by those taxes. If the tax burden were zero, there would be zero incentive to cut any programs - ie, because you are spending some else's money.

Excellent comment. That's why I feel that a fair tax system should be one that causes equal agony to everyone.

There is an old saying; "The government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul." As long as the politicians arrange taxes so that there are more Pauls than Peters they keep getting re-elected. The unfairness to Peter is of no concern to them.

[David S]

Raise taxes and cut pork. Also start subsidizing states based on how much tax revenue. No more letting places like utah or west virginia leech money from states like new york.

True. It's interesting that overall the Republican states tend to benefit more from federal spending than they contribute in taxes, while the Democratic states obviously are thus the opposite.

Why don't the Democrats wise up and stop giving the money to government so it can be redistributed to Republicans?