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Forums - Politics Discussion - Is there anything tax cuts CAN'T fix?

I was under the impression that it has been argued that all that is needed is more tax cuts, and everything will turn around.  You have the liberal argument that you raise taxes, get money to do this service and that, or build this, and it will have a positive impact.  Well, the argument now is that government is too large, so shrink it, and everything will go away.  Well, the key to this is cutting taxes.  So, is there anything government can't fix? If you cut taxes... 

will this end up eliminating drug addiction?

will this end the threat of terror by political extremists?

will this raise literacy rates?

will this eliminate budget deficits and trade deficits with China?

will it reduce infant mortality rates?

will it end problems of teen pregnancy, and also the issues with abortion?

will it cause world peace?

will it cause divorce rates to drop, and increase the numbers of two parent households to raise kids in?

will it cause people to find Jesus?

will it eliminate the obesity epidemic in America?

will it result in a properly trained tax force?

will it cause multinational corporations to hire Americans, as opposed to people from India, China, and Eastern Europe?

will it cause an end of illegal immigration?

 



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To understand the answer to these questions you first must ask whether there is any evidence that government spending in these areas has ever been demonstrated to have any positive impact on these outcomes; and how this "positive impact" compares to the negative impact of the increased taxation, and the unintended consequences from government action.

In the vast majority of cases, there has been no demonstrated positive impact from government spending and significant negative consequences from government action and high taxation.



Cut taxes and stop spending will stop us from going deeper in dept and let some small businesses and big ones create the jobs. My city has a 18% unemployment and i think 30%+ in welfare(A guess since 2006 it was at 26%)! Not just that crime will go down like stealing, drug dealing and robbing banks that been dominating my city over the year.



Anyone who's breaking the law is obvious a criminal.

federal debt/spending has more than doubled since bush and obama. has a goverment accomplished twice as much since then, are we getting twice as much value.

we have also nearly tripled spending on education since the 80's (an area the government has no right getting involved in no less), are we 3x as smart, are we getting better grades, no test scores are flat.

its proven time and time again no amount of government spending solves problems, they can spend us into oblivion (which they are) and still not solve any problems.

goverment is wasteful and ineffective. let people keep their own money so they may do with it, what they deem fit. 99% of the time they will handle it better than the government becuase its their own money they are spending.

private charity is way more effective than goverment programs. because shockingly people in the private sector will stop giving money to wasteful ineffective charities/organizations, government on the other hand will say. "this program doesnt seem to be working, we've spent billions on it, lets triple that, surely it will work then".

its funny how people spend thier money more wisely than government isnt it?



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richardhutnik said:

will this end up eliminating drug addiction?

Eliminate? No. But some light drugs users might become heavier users after becoming unemployed (which, will also result in greater crime). Unemployment will go down as a result of tax cuts. Many libertarians, like myself, also want drug legalization... which has proven to result in lower drug addiction. The reduction in Government spending from ending the War on Drugs could also help facilitate the tax cut.

will this end the threat of terror by political extremists?

Many home-grown terrorists come from economically deprived areas. Reduce taxes, allow the local economies to grow, and you will see a reduction in home-grown terrorists. Many international terrorist organizations are also funded by the illegal drugs trade. Ending of the war on drugs reduces the war on terror

will this raise literacy rates?

Cutting taxes in themselves won't do much for the education system. However, reforming the system, taking it down to state and local levels, allowing for greater private education (through voucher systems, etc) will see a greater result from education for less money.

As for adult literacy... I'm going to go out on a whim, here, and say that adults that are illiterate are going to be in the bottom section of earners... therefore, they are the ones who are hit hardest by taxes, cutting taxes will give them greater opportunity to reduce their hours (and keep the same overall income) and attend adult education, if they so choose to do so.

will this eliminate budget deficits and trade deficits with China?

For budget deficits, certain tax cuts, if done right, can actually result in an increase in tax revenue... so, yes, it will help. However, it must be pointed out that deficits are a spending problem, not a tax problem.

Lower taxes reduce the cost of business in the country, and so firms will be able reduce the price of goods both domestically and internationally, reducing imports and increasing exports.

will it reduce infant mortality rates?

There's a strong link between low taxes and wealth, and an even stronger one between wealth and health. Do the math.

will it end problems of teen pregnancy, and also the issues with abortion?

Teen pregnancies are already WAY down, despite what the media is trying to portray. Greater number of abortions and teen pregnancies occur in economically deprived areas. Cut taxes, increase economic prosperity, reduce the number of abortions and teen pregnancies.

will it cause world peace?

Need I point to the Golden Arches, or Dell theory? Increased economic prosperity = increased world peace.

will it cause divorce rates to drop, and increase the numbers of two parent households to raise kids in?

One of the major causes of divorce is financial struggle. Lower the burden on families, increase the number of parents in households.

will it cause people to find Jesus?

No, there is no proven link between wealth and religion. While there is a correlation between wealth and athiesm, I don't think there has been any cause identified.

will it eliminate the obesity epidemic in America?

One of the major causes of American obesity is HFCS, which is used instead of sugar because it's cheap as corn is subsidized by the Government. End corn subsidies, reduce the burden on wallets and waists.

will it result in a properly trained tax force?

I'm going to assume you mean improvements in the IRS? Simply cutting taxes won't do this. Simplifying the tax code, however, will, as tax frauds will be easier to catch (not to mention, less likely to do it, anyway), and requires fewer workers to do all the calculations, and shiz. These savings in bureacracy, though, could facilitate further tax cuts.

will it cause multinational corporations to hire Americans, as opposed to people from India, China, and Eastern Europe?

Yes. Not only will the direct taxation burden of hiring Americans be reduced, lowering taxes mean that Americans will be able to buy more with their money, and accept lower wages, making them more competitive at an international level.

will it cause an end of illegal immigration?

No. It will increase immigration, whether or not that immigration is legal is down to what the Government's policy is.





High taxes by themselves do not cause problems. Only high taxes combined with incompetent or corrupt governance. The idea of tax and spend in itself isn't an evil idea, it just appears that the US kind of sucks at it.

Many of the most developed countries in the world (Denmark, Sweden, Belgium) have exceptionally high taxes and do exceptionally well for themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_as_percentage_of_GDP



Rath said:
High taxes by themselves do not cause problems. Only high taxes combined with incompetent or corrupt governance. The idea of tax and spend in itself isn't an evil idea, it just appears that the US kind of sucks at it.

Many of the most developed countries in the world (Denmark, Sweden, Belgium) have exceptionally high taxes and do exceptionally well for themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_as_percentage_of_GDP


I would actually say that it is the other way around ...

High taxes do cause problems, and tax and spend is implicitly a bad idea, but a few countries with low corruption and citizens who are not selfish can make it operate in a moderately successful fashion.



I don't think I even understand the OP. He makes a statement about taxes, then devolves into a cadre of issues that have less to do with taxes, and more to do with regulatory structure, and public policy which is revenue-neutral.





Back from the dead, I'm afraid.

HappySqurriel said:
Rath said:
High taxes by themselves do not cause problems. Only high taxes combined with incompetent or corrupt governance. The idea of tax and spend in itself isn't an evil idea, it just appears that the US kind of sucks at it.

Many of the most developed countries in the world (Denmark, Sweden, Belgium) have exceptionally high taxes and do exceptionally well for themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_as_percentage_of_GDP


I would actually say that it is the other way around ...

High taxes do cause problems, and tax and spend is implicitly a bad idea, but a few countries with low corruption and citizens who are not selfish can make it operate in a moderately successful fashion.

These countries aren't only operating in moderately succesfully - they have some of the highest qualities of life in the world. There is no reason for it to be intrinsically a bad idea - it simply relies on good governance to work.

There are arguments why it wouldn't work in America so well (as I said, it relies on good governance to work, plus America is has a much larger population than these countries) but the fact is that in the right country - a wealthy, small and highly developed state - it works exceptionally well.