Shouldn't tax reform be a major issue in this election?
When we have a candidate for President that is making millions and millions of dollars on his investments, almost all of it in tax shelters, and only paying 14% tax rate, shouldn't we consider this a priority?
We have reached a point in this country where both Parties are scared to death to mention tax reform or tax fairness, even as we sink in the quicksand of debt. Our problem is not so much with spending as it is with priorities and tax loopholes. Why should there be a quid pro quo in order to close these obvious unfair and harmful loopholes? Just close them!
We are not an over-taxed country. We have the lowest tax rates of any industrialized nation.
However, we cannot continue to spend a trillion dollars per year defending corporate interests around the world. The Defense budget could easily be cut in half and we would still be outspending every other nation in the world on armaments.
Should we ask? How can a person get around the law and put $100 million dollars into an IRA account? There is a helluva loophole or someone is doing something illegal. There are no two ways about it.
Maybe all the voters that go to the polls will get a gift this election - a jar of Vaseline? The ones that refuse to look at the facts or know anything about recent history, will get to use the Vaseline.
The Social Security Program is the most successful program ever created by this government. It is not in trouble and 15%, shared by employee and employer, is a very small amount to ask to keep this program afloat. Perhaps if each employer and employee were asked to contribute 15% to cover the Pentagon spending, we could begin to get the budget under control?
Medicare is too good of a program to dispose of simply because some politicians want to cut government spending even more. Whatever problems Medicare has can be fixed. It would take a little courage and imagination from our politicians in Washington, but it would be money well-spent.
Closing the loopholes, cutting the Defense budget, raising the capital gains rate, letting the Bush taxcuts expire, raising the limit on payroll taxes to at least $250,000, and outlawing tax havens for every politician, would go a long way into fixing our screwed-up tax system.
