AP: Poll: Spend more, tax less, legalize pot

[Omaha Steve]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLL_AMERICAN_TRENDS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-03-20-20-48-42

BY EMILY SWANSON

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans want lower taxes and more government spending both at once, although their support for spending more tax dollars on health care has dropped dramatically. They're likelier than ever to not feel connected to any particular religion, but no less likely to believe in God. And for the first time, most want to legalize marijuana.

Those are among findings from the 2014 General Social Survey, which has been measuring trends in American opinion and behavior since 1972.

The survey, which is conducted by the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago, puts wide-ranging and long-running questions about a large array of issues to the public. Data from the 2014 survey was released earlier this month, and an analysis of its findings was conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the General Social Survey.

Five things to know about the survey's findings:

LOWER TAXES, MORE SPENDING

It's no wonder Washington is tied in knots trying to please the people. The people want more spent on many government programs, yet lower taxes for themselves..

FULL story at link.

[hadrons]

1. They can do this....

by taxing assholes like the Kochs and the Phil Mickelsons more; the trick is for these people to stop this dumb shit that taxing them more means taxing them too (as if they're in the same tax bracket.) It's not punishment for success, but them paying back more to the system for all they got.

[Politicalboi]

2. They can't spend more if they don't tax

And everything isn't going to get paid for if they legalize pot. Yes less taxes for the poor, but it doesn't always go that way. And the poor don't pay too much tax. I should know, I've been poor my whole life. I get taxes taken out of my work checks when I worked, but I got most of it back at the end of the year. I would think 75% of those polled are the same as me. Lower taxes mean less for the poor.

[Fozzledick]

3. Sure they can, it's textbook Keynesian economics.

Use deficit spending to increase employment, overall demand, and real production, and repair fundamental economic infrastructure when the private sector is stuck in a hole.

After the economy is restored to normal activity, raise taxes as needed on top of the increased revenue from full production to pay off the debt incurred. Bill Clinton was doing a pretty good job of it before George Bush blew everything to hell.

Restoring some progressivity to the upper end of the tax system would help too, but that's another matter.

[MADem]

4. Taxing the pot would help--so long as they hit the sweet spot, where the convenience

and variety are worth the tax plus cost. If they tax usuriously, people will grow their own.