And paying the deficit back isn't that hard. We're going to have to raise taxes to the same level that everyone else in the world pays. The U.S. presently has a effective taxation rate of about 27% of GDP. Most other countries are around 35 -37%. We can't go on trying to keep up with the other countries of the industrialized world on the cheap. We have inferior health care, we have an inferior education system, an inferior transportation system. Our pension system is in near ruin. And for what? To keep taxes low for the wealthy few. That's ridiculous and short sighted. Originally Posted by TexTushHogAnd the point you miss is that those other countries with 35-37% of GDP tax systems have a) slow growing static economies that lock people into roles without the ability to advance and b) tax systems that are funded by the masses through VAT's -- not by getting more taxes from the rich.
Krugman wasn't proposing "massive" increases in the deficit. He wanted the stimulus to be $1.2 -1.4B, up from $700M. Just an extra $500 - 700M in spending. And it's not the deficit that creates the jobs, it's the spending. Originally Posted by TexTushHog
What is a half trillion or so among friends.Since when is $500-$700M a half trillion. My elementary school math teach called it a half billion.Originally Posted by pjorourke
And the point you miss is that those other countries with 35-37% of GDP tax systems have a) slow growing static economies that lock people into roles without the ability to advance and b) tax systems that are funded by the masses through VAT's -- not by getting more taxes from the rich. Originally Posted by pjorourkeI disagree that they are growing slower than we are. The UK is getting out of the recession faster than we are and is generally growing as fast as we are. We can't under-invest in infrastructure forever and pay no price. Frankly, we've been coasting for a long time in our investment in education a couple of generations ago. In the past 30 years, we've been falling further and further behind in education and that will is catching up to us.
And the point you miss is that those other countries with 35-37% of GDP tax systems have a) slow growing static economies that lock people into roles without the ability to advance and b) tax systems that are funded by the masses through VAT's -- not by getting more taxes from the rich. Originally Posted by pjorourkeAnd our growth was built on a housing bubble.
Just imagine how they would be doing without the Al Gore fees. Originally Posted by Marcus AureliusI does depend where a country is on Maslow's hierarchy of needs scale. China can not afford to tax energy. Other countries can....after they of course trashed certain parts of their environment bringing their citizens out of object poverty.
I disagree that they are growing slower than we are. Originally Posted by TexTushHogThere are short term blips, but when you look over long periods of time, the US economy is clearly growing faster that the major European countries as shown in the chart below -- the difference in compound growth rates over that period is about .7% a year -- that is huge.
There are short term blips, but when you look over long periods of time, the US economy is clearly growing faster that the major European countries as shown in the chart below -- the median difference in growth is over 1% a year -- that is huge. Originally Posted by pjorourkeNow don't confuse people with facts.
So you and TTH want to fix this bubble with one based on out of control government debt -- a public spending bubble. Fricken brilliant! Originally Posted by pjorourke
