Re:Raise the capital gains tax and treat investment earnings...
by ch4s3 on Monday January 28, 2019 @06:38PM
(#19022238)
Yeah, we live on cheap debt for now, but interest rates will rise eventually, there will eventually be another downturn, and the interest payments are stacking up. If we end up in a position where all discretionary spend is displaced by servicing the debt, we’ll be in real trouble.
We’ve never been able to pull in more than 18% of GDP in tax receipts for more than a short time period. We’re currently collecting ~17%, so we have a tiny bit of head room based on historical precedents. Beyond that, I don’t know what we can do other than cut some spending. Auditing the DoD and means testing Medicare might pick up some low hanging fruit. Hard to say what’s most likely to work, IMO.
We’ve never been able to pull in more than 18% of GDP in tax receipts for more than a short time period. We’re currently collecting ~17%, so we have a tiny bit of head room based on historical precedents. Beyond that, I don’t know what we can do other than cut some spending. Auditing the DoD and means testing Medicare might pick up some low hanging fruit. Hard to say what’s most likely to work, IMO.