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Unsustainable model: Economist says 'balanced budget' adage doesn't work
The Montana Standard ^ | January 22, 2017 | Tom Lutey

Posted on 01/22/2017 7:13:32 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I have no mortgage and have lived for 20 years in a rented apartment that is (still) cheaper than my last mortgage. I have no car loan and have never had one - before buying my first (second-hand) car I saved every month for 3 years. And, of course, I have no credit card.

And along the way discovered that to be debt free is to be happy, and wake up every morning thanking God for His gift of prudence.

21 posted on 01/22/2017 10:07:29 PM PST by John Locke
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To: marktwain

Re: “We have managed to stay ahead of the costs of debt for two reasons.”

You forgot to mention an imperative third reason.

Record low interest rates.


22 posted on 01/23/2017 12:45:45 AM PST by zeestephen
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To: Fiddlstix

Precisely


23 posted on 01/23/2017 12:52:03 AM PST by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: Nifster
Keynes was wrong is more like Keynes was misinterpreted and ignored.

You spend in periods of recessions and cut in periods of growth. The first part comes easy to a politician wishing to secure votes, the second part is not so easy, hence the spending orgies in "good times" and "bad times." Problem is, this will eventually have ramifications when true growth can't sustain the "fake growth".
24 posted on 01/23/2017 3:09:05 AM PST by rollo tomasi (Working hard to pay for deadbeats and corrupt politicians.)
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To: Taxman

The Fair Tax can’t be worse than the current tax system, that is for sure!
Though I am sure Congress will work very hard to screw it up.


25 posted on 01/23/2017 5:49:01 AM PST by Little Ray (Freedom Before Security!)
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To: Little Ray; Man50D; Principled; EternalVigilance; phil_will1; kevkrom; Bigun; PeteB570; FBD; ...

We all should, as I am in the process of doing, write a letter to President Trump extolling the virtues of the FairTax.

We could also send a letter to Vice President Pence, who was a co-sponsor of the FairTax when he was in the House of Representatives.


26 posted on 01/23/2017 9:47:01 AM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: Eccl 10:2

Care to share the reason you jump to that conclusion?


27 posted on 01/23/2017 9:54:58 AM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: central_va

Please read the FairTax legislation.

The effective rate on imported goods will be the FairTax rate! There WILL BE NO CORPORATE INCOME TAX under the FairTax.

There is no need to have both a National Retail Sales Tax (nee FairTax) AND a tariff. Tariff combined with the FairTax will kill import market — surely you don’t want to do that!

I would propose that ALL tariffs be abolished in favor of the FairTax!


28 posted on 01/23/2017 10:01:29 AM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: Taxman

Your plan tax Congressional action. We have tariffs on the books now. All Mr. Trump needs to do is increase the rates.


29 posted on 01/23/2017 10:04:28 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

All that is owed is only dollars.

The classic way to eliminate the debt is to print the money.

That is pretty much what we have been doing with quantitative easing.

We do not have the problem of the Weimar republic because we are the big dogs. We did not just lose a war and have the big dogs take nearly everything of industrial value from us.


30 posted on 01/23/2017 1:33:15 PM PST by marktwain
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To: Taxman

Once Govco controls the size of the check that every household automatically gets every month, they control every household. That’s not good. At first that will seem great, but eventually Govco will leverage that against you.


31 posted on 01/23/2017 2:23:06 PM PST by Eccl 10:2 (Prov 3:5 --- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding")
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To: Taxman

Somewhere someone was bemoaning the fact that churches pay no taxes. I made the comment that the Fair Tax would fix that as well. They all seem to buy lots of stuff.


32 posted on 01/23/2017 3:15:30 PM PST by scottteng (Why fight it out lets split up the country peacefully now)
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To: scottteng

Corporations/businesses will not pay the FairTax on materiel/services purchased in pursuit of their business ventures.

Churches will be treated as business enterprises and thus, materiel/services purchased by churches will not be taxed.

Donations to churches will be tax FRee.

FairTax will be beneficial to churches and non-profits. HST, we have had a difficult time convincing churches and non-profits of that FACT.

When President Trump gets the Johnson amendment repealed, perhaps we’ll get more support for the FairTax FRom the non-profit community.


33 posted on 01/23/2017 3:37:47 PM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: Eccl 10:2

You have a VERY cynical and suspicious mind!

What if the prebate was added to the FairTax to make it more progressive as a marketing tool, and that it could be eliminated?

If the prebate were eliminated, the rate would go down 4 or 5%.

How would that work for you?


34 posted on 01/23/2017 3:41:38 PM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: central_va

It is true that FairTax requires legislative action. I am not sure that the President can set tariff rates, and I haven’t the time to look it up right now. Do you have a link to a site that can clarify that situation?

HST, I am not in favor of protective tariffs. I am, however, in favor of fair tariffs; i.e., if country A has a 15% tariff on US goods, then we certainly should have a 15% tariff on country A’s goods.

HST, since virtually all of our trading partners have both tariffs AND a VAT, matching tariffs WILL NOT solve the problem.

We need the FairTax and matching tariffs to establish FRee and fair trade with our trading partners.

Which should, over the long run, cause tariffs to be reduced.


35 posted on 01/23/2017 3:57:11 PM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: Taxman

That is counter-intuitive one would think that products consumed would be taxable no matter what. I can see where raw materials could be not taxed to encourage production.


36 posted on 01/23/2017 6:26:12 PM PST by scottteng (Why fight it out lets split up the country peacefully now)
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To: Taxman

Ah but that would eliminate the appeal to the free loader portion of our society. Think of how many welfare and entitlement programs the prebate could replace. Even to the point of calling it the guaranteed minimum income and the official poverty line of the USA. Thus poverty would be forever eliminated, social justice officially established, retirement schemes no longer needed, and the people that wish to be productive unchained to work their magic.


37 posted on 01/23/2017 6:35:37 PM PST by scottteng (Why fight it out lets split up the country peacefully now)
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To: scottteng

So, you are opposed to the FairTax. I get that.

If you were King for a Day, what would you do to revise the tax code?


38 posted on 01/23/2017 8:24:45 PM PST by Taxman ((H. L. Mencken correctly observed: Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man.))
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To: Taxman

Actually I love the Fair Tax just do not think it needs exemptions every purchase should be taxed whether by a church, business, wage slave, government entity making exceptions is the road back to a 70,000 page tax code. I am not opposed to using it to revise our current welfare state. Take the $10,000 per citizen the government spends on it and give it directly back to the individual. This eliminates all the programs and also the excessive government overhead to administer the programs.


39 posted on 01/24/2017 3:42:44 AM PST by scottteng (Why fight it out lets split up the country peacefully now)
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To: Taxman

If I were King for a day
1) Fair tax across the board applies to everything
2) Eliminate Social Security, food stamps, HUD, Medicaid, Medicare, Government pensions, sell off the post office, all entitlement programs for both business and people gone with the stroke of a pen.
3) Fire all federal government employees contract out and privatize everything but a small military force.
4) Return the job of electing senators to the state legislatures all of the senate sessions could be conducted virtually. there would be no federal benefits or salary.
5) Eliminate elections for congress. Reps to be chosen by lottery from the population of the district all meetings would be virtual. The rep would have to accessible to his neighbors that he was chosen to represent. In 2 years a new rep is chosen by lottery. Non-paid position rep would still need to make a living on his/her own.
6)All bills before congress would be limited to one page in length and deal with only one subject, written in plain, clear English.
7) Lawyers are expressly forbidden from serving in any elective or legislative position.
8) Mandatory service for all youth beginning at age 13 through age 21. They will be engaged in improvement projects, some military activities, virtual learning, communal living. Basically universal military academy.
9) The Federal government will immediately dispose of all lands including parks by auctioning all to the highest bidder the proceeds of which to be used to pay off the current national debt. The federal government will no longer be permitted to own land only to lease from private owners.
10) The federal government will be prohibited from issuing any debt instruments or creating any fiat money.
11) Any and all public sector unions are disbanded and eliminated.

The people of the US are the Kings of our society but we have sold our birthrights to con men from Washington DC for a mess of porridge. I don’t know if it can be undone.


40 posted on 01/24/2017 4:16:25 AM PST by scottteng (Why fight it out lets split up the country peacefully now)
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