What Are You Willing to Give Up?

[cowboy]

PAC echoed an observation that I have noted as well, that we all want to solve the deficit problem by making the other guy pay. This is your chance to put your money where your mouth is, and tell us what you are willing to do to solve the deficit. Here are the rules.

1) You have to find a way to give the government 1.5 times what you are giving now. That's roughly what it will take to balance the budget.

2) Your contribution can be through tax revenues or savings.

3) Your contribution must come from you. In other words, it must directly affect you by 1.5 times what you are giving to or taking from the government.

I'll start first.

My contribution will come from a combination of tax increases and cost savings, and it entails three things:

1) FICA tax increase. I'm willing to increase the FICA I pay back up to 15.5%

2) Farm subsidies. I'm willing to eliminate the subsidy I receive as a DCP every year.

3) Operation expansion. I will expand my operation by 10%, which will put me in a higher tax bracket. I know this may be what you were thinking, but the rules are that you have to increase what you pay to the government, not that you have to increase the proportion you pay.


Your turn.

[Uncle Ted]

I'll trade all of the social security entitlement I have coming for some federal government land that they took away from Utah and other states and pretty much declared worthless in value. The government's unfunded liability would be reduced. I plan on living to 100 so they will be paying out a lot of money to me when I retire.

[Clark Addison]

I am willing to modify SS Retirement. Specifically:

1. Delaying when I receive benefits until 70 years old
2. Reducing the growth rate of payments
3. Raising the wage base up to $120K. Very reluctantly on this one. I really like the time of year when my paycheck suddenly increases by a few hundred dollars because social security is no longer withheld. But I am all about sacrifice.

[jay santos]

I am willing to modify SS Retirement. Specifically:

1. Delaying when I receive benefits until 70 years old
2. Reducing the growth rate of payments
3. Raising the wage base up to $120K. Very reluctantly on this one. I really like the time of year when my paycheck suddenly increases by a few hundred dollars because social security is no longer withheld. But I am all about sacrifice.

That hits you what about April/May?

[venkman]

I'm not sure what there is for me to give up. I'm not ultra rich, super poor, nor do I belong to a public employee union, so I'm not getting a whole lot in the way of government benefits. I guess I'd support raising the SS retirement age and means testing. A similar approach to Medicare. But that's more selfish on my part, if they don't do something like that, there's no way I'll get anything. Maybe a flatter tax rate with no deductions which could result in a higher effective tax rate for me. But again, in the long run that would help the economy and create jobs and higher pay, so again, selfish on my part.

I'm all about sacrifice myself, but I didn't have anything to do with nor did I support the policies that got us into this mess. I don't see why I (and pretty much everyone on this board) should have to sacrifice a whole hell of a lot. Those that got the most benefits should bear the brunt of the sacrifice, though it will be just the opposite. Just being honest.

[wuapinmon]

I'm willing to do the following:

1. Forego my Social Security benefits. I do not plan on having anything from them when I retire. I don't mind paying the taxes so that little old widows without children wind up in group homes because they can't afford to live. Folks with money should forego theirs too. Austerity should hit everyone. I would be willing to do this until age 60, so 23 years from now.

2. Increase medicare taxes by 1% so that children under 18 can have basic medical care.

3. Raise income taxes by 4%. I can give a little more.

4. Raise the federal gasoline tax by $.25 a gallon for the express purpose of eliminating the national debt.

[il Padrino Ute]

The problem is that no matter what any of us are willing to do, the government will find a way to spend the money on something other than bringing down the debt. It has proven time and again that it is fiscally irresponsible.

[jay santos]

It's hard to talk about what you would give up when you see stuff like this Utah roads project. And see that they're redoing a lot of work in various stages of the project that was already done at huge costs within the last five years. Why? The money was available. Use it or lose it.

[venkman]

The problem is that no matter what any of us are willing to do, the government will find a way to spend the money on something other than bringing down the debt. It has proven time and again that it is fiscally irresponsible.

Exactly.

[Moliere]

I'll give up the Additional Child Tax Credit. That would increase my taxes 100%.

[PaloAltoCougar]

The problem is that no matter what any of us are willing to do, the government will find a way to spend the money on something other than bringing down the debt. It has proven time and again that it is fiscally irresponsible.

This will sound like an odd analogy, but the water systems throughout the United States lose around 17% of their water through leakage and inefficient delivery systems. In Europe, due in part the age of their systems, the number is well over 22%. It's regrettable but unavoidable given the age of the systems and other inefficiencies.

Similarly, although the notion that government wastes money and is inefficient is hardly a newsflash, unless one does away with government altogether (save the jokes--anarchists are either evil or morons), there will always be waste, fraud, corruption, leakage. But those facts shouldn't discourage us from trying to reduce the leakage. It's been done in the past, and it can be done now.

Back on topic, and it's an interesting one, I'd favor the immediate elimination of the Bush tax cuts, while keeping capital gains unchanged (although take away cap gains altogether for hedge fund managers), while working toward a simplified tax system in the years ahead. Push the SS eligibility age to 70 or so, and raise the earnings cap. And I'd be okay with an element of means testing.

[Tim]

I'd accept a drastic reduction or outright elimination of my future social security benefits, eliminate the deduction for paying tithing, and remove the Bush tax cuts. I'd also bring all the soldiers home, drastically reduce military/contract spending, and remove the corporate tax loopholes.

[jay santos]

I'll give up the Additional Child Tax Credit. That would increase my taxes 100%.

Never.

[Moliere]

Never.

Hey, I'm only talking about the additional credit, not the child tax credit. It's disgusting that removing that one credit would double my tax bill.

[Uncle Ted]

Back on topic, and it's an interesting one, I'd favor the immediate elimination of the Bush tax cuts, while keeping capital gains unchanged (although take away cap gains altogether for hedge fund managers), while working toward a simplified tax system in the years ahead. Push the SS eligibility age to 70 or so, and raise the earnings cap. And I'd be okay with an element of means testing.

Yes, I agree about the elimination of the Bush tax cuts while keeping long term capital gains at 15% or less (too late given that Obama already raised them, effective 2013, as part of the health care bill, etc.) Encouraging folks to invest will help the economy. Also, when Bush lowered them capital gains tax revenue went up. As for hedge fund managers they usually tend to trade on the short term and, therefore, pay at the ordinary income tax rate.

I still like the idea of trading my SS entitlement away for a nice piece of federal property. I'll take something in the middle of the Uinta national forest or something of the like that I could put up a small cabin for me, my wife, the dogs, and my stock pile of guns/ammo.