Obama's Plan to Tax the Rich

[Eddie_T]

Originally Posted by rivalarrival

Homeowners regularly take out 30 year loans for amounts 5 to 10 times their annual income, so when you tell me the debt is a little over our annual GDP, I find it pretty difficult to give a flying ****.

Trying to solve the debt and deficit right now is like spending your 6-months-of-expenses-worth of savings toward your mortgage - right after you've been laid off. It's stupid. You pay extra on your mortgage when you have the money, not when your income is cut.

What you should be worrying about right now is improving the economy, not solving the debt.

Poor analog, 30 year mortgages are paid down per a schedule or were before the housing bubble burst. I say there is no serious intent to eliminate the deficit and the debt can never be paid (just do the math). We do hope to improve the economy by firing Obama.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

Poor analog, 30 year mortgages are paid down per a schedule or were before the housing bubble burst.

False. Each and every loan the government takes on is paid down per a schedule.

You're forgetting that mortgages can be - and regularly are - refinanced. You can pay on a mortgage for 5 years, then refinance the remaining 25 years worth of principal into a new 30-year mortgage. Or, you can re-mortgage the entire, appreciated value of the property, often called an "equity loan", You can do this every year, every other year, ever 5 years, or however often you want. (although origination fees tend to discourage frequent churn like this)

The analogy isn't perfect, but it's quite apt.

I say there is no serious intent to eliminate the deficit and the debt can never be paid (just do the math).

I'm trying not to rise to your debt-bait anymore, but I will ask a rhetorical question: If you can get a 5% return on your investment, and the cost to borrow is 1%, how much money should you borrow?

I would argue that your inability to conceive of any way in which the deficit can be eliminated and/or the debt be repaid says more about your math skills and shortsightedness than it does about the deficit or the debt.


Will you tell us what welfare, unemployment, and other poverty benefits will do to the deficit if the republicans were actually serious about the "let it burn" approach?

The economy is the real issue. The deficit and debt are a symptom of that issue. The cure to the economy is consumer confidence. Fix that, and everything else falls into place. A large majority of the people have indicated they want higher taxes on the rich. A large majority of the rich have said "Tax us; we'll benefit more from consumers being happy and buying more of our products and services than we will lose in the additional taxes assessed against us."

Why is this so difficult a concept to understand?

[Eddie_T]

The debt concern was discussed on our local ABC News outlet tonight. The anchor used bowls of starlight mints representing revenue, deficits and the national debt to illustrate the growing problem. People on the street were asked if they had any concept of what 16 trillion dollars was, of course they didn't. Then James F. Smith a national economist with Parsec Financial Management was interviewed. Smith says we may have a three to five year window to get a handle on the problem before confidence in the government's ability to manage debt is lost. He says Washington knows the problem but just isn't doing anything to deal with it. Unfortunately this is but a confirmation of my concerns that I have been harping on for so long.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

The debt concern was discussed on our local ABC News outlet tonight. The anchor used bowls of starlight mints representing revenue, deficits and the national debt to illustrate the growing problem. People on the street were asked if they had any concept of what 16 trillion dollars was, of course they didn't. Then James F. Smith a national economist with Parsec Financial Management was interviewed. Smith says we may have a three to five year window to get a handle on the problem before confidence in the government's ability to manage debt is lost. He says Washington knows the problem but just isn't doing anything to deal with it. Unfortunately this is but a confirmation of my concerns that I have been harping on for so long.

Again, I'm not rising to your debt-bait, Eddie. The topic of this thread is Obama's plan to tax the rich, which is very important for economic growth.

[Eddie_T]

Originally Posted by rivalarrival

Again, I'm not rising to your debt-bait, Eddie. The topic of this thread is Obama's plan to tax the rich, which is very important for economic growth.

Since economic growth cannot solve the deficit/debt problem it's a bit like arranging the deck chairs before colliding with the iceberg.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

Since economic growth cannot solve the deficit/debt problem

That's probably the most patently absurd, blantantly false thing you've ever tried to foist on us, Eddie.

[Eddie_T]

Originally Posted by rivalarrival

That's probably the most patently absurd, blantantly false thing you've ever tried to foist on us, Eddie.

I must have struck a nerve! Remember a million millionaires being taxed a million dollars each wouldn't even cover the 2012 deficit and no one has a plan for touching the debt. Meanwhile Obama makes it sound as if the rich have to only pay a little, and the fed is poised to purchase more bonds.

[rivalarrival]

Nothing you just mentioned has anything to do with economic growth.

[Eddie_T]

Originally Posted by rivalarrival

Nothing you just mentioned has anything to do with economic growth.

Your economic growth is much like the kid that lost five cents on every cup of lemonade but hoped to make it up in volume.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

Your economic growth is much like the kid that lost five cents on every cup of lemonade but hoped to make it up in volume.

Excellent, Eddie. That analogy is practically perfect! You've opened my eyes! I'll sign up for the Tea Party in the morning!