« on: October 23, 2010, 12:06:20 PM »
I wish the Republicans would make this argument.
U.S. Debt Is Child Abuse: Laurence Kotlikoff, Richard Munroe
By Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Richard Munroe - Oct 21, 2010 9:00 PM ET
Bloomberg Opinion
We don’t want to think about it, let alone read about it, but higher taxes are on the way.
Two tax hikes were passed this year and another is likely. These new taxes are supposedly being levied just on the rich. But over time, they will hit most of our kids. And they are just the beginning of our children’s and grandchildren’s tax trauma, given Congress’s inability to curb spending.
The two increases are for Medicare. They were buried inside the 2,000-page health-care bill and take effect in 2013. Earn more than $250,000 ($200,000 if single) and you’ll face an extra 0.9 percentage-point FICA tax for Social Security. And once your income passes this level, you’ll pay a 3.4 percent tax on your asset income.
These thresholds aren’t indexed for inflation, let alone growth in real incomes. So these taxes on “the rich†will eventually hit everyone as nominal incomes rise with inflation and productivity. Within 20 years most earners will be paying these new Medicare taxes.
The Alternative Minimum Tax also has thresholds that aren’t indexed for inflation. Congress has raised these levels to keep the share of taxpayers affected constant. But there is no guarantee it will continue to do so.
The rest is here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-22/u-s-debt-is-child-abuse-laurence-j-kotlikoff-richard-munroe.html
Logged
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
"All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk!" -Ayn Rand
"Those that trust God with their safety must yet use proper means for their safety, otherwise they tempt Him, and do not trust Him. God will provide, but so must we also." - Matthew Henry, Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32, from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
"These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to liberty than street criminals or foreign spies."--Theodore Haas, Dachau Survivor
Chase her.
Chase her even when she's yours.
That's the only way you'll be assured to never lose her.
