Felonius Monkey asked:


I believe the key to solving our debt & deficit problem is to raise taxes and cut spending. But half the country would never support spending cuts (libs) and the other half would never support tax increases (cons).

So – If you were offered a deal to pay less in taxes, what government services or programs would you give up?

susn asked:


Can obama raise taxes on the upper class and lower them for the middle and lower classes or do we need to cut taxes for everybody?

ComeeeeBama asked:


They throw a hissy-fit whenever anyone tries to remove income, estate, and capital gains tax yet don’t mind if import taxes are lowered or sales taxes are lowered. This might be a coincidence but didn’t Karl Marx say that these taxes are one of the things needed to bring about a communist society?

trans- formed asked:


Isn’t it the middle and upper-middle classes who get hurt? The rich simply hedge their wealth, relocate it, and cease corporate / job creation ventures when further taxed. And yet people side themselves with tax raising candidates. Do we not know the facts that lowering taxes (including on the wealthy) ALWAYS results in economic stimulation for all. We’ll always have bums and lazy folk. Citizens should NEVER be forced to provide for them.

marbehraglaim asked:


It’s true that nobody likes high taxes, and so promises of lowering them are a great selling point for politicians.

On the other hand, many services provided by the government are quite popular, and politicians who reduce or eliminate them are unlikely to satisfy the public.

In both cases–tax cuts and government programs–the politicians are spending money to please the public. Yet in political discussions, tax cuts tend to get lumped together with frugal spending under the mantle of “fiscal conservatism.”

When did this rhetorical practice start, and what is its justification? I’d like to hear different viewpoints on this topic.

Rex Feral asked:


If you add up all the taxes you pay now, Fed. Income tax, FICA, Social Security, State tax, City tax, Local tax, Property tax, Sales tax, Gas tax, etc., already most of your income goes toward paying taxes.

What percentage will be too much. Will you work when every penny you earn goes to pay your taxes or will you just say to hell with it all?