Comments on: FDL Book Salon Welcomes Bruce Bartlett, The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward

By: PacificCoastRon

PacificCoastRon — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:50:21 +0000

Skipping ahead from 44 to reply, may have missed other good comments on VAT — VAT works very well in Europe, though it is — as an ‘invisible’ tax levied at wholesale levels — partially responsible for the ‘sticker shock’ Americans perceive when they visit or hear of European price levels.

For America, the transition problem — given our scattered 50 state panoply of sales tax systems, the Republicans fixation on never increasing taxes, and our shallow media acting on poorly-educated citizens — makes it impossible to see, in the present politico-social environment, how it could ever come into law.

As a small-time manufacturer & businessperson I’d hate the extra paperwork, but as a citizen I would hope that VAT could bring a little rationality to public finance, assuming it ever somehow came to pass. VAT could make it administratively easier to get to the greenhouse-gas price penalties we’ll need to actually prevent us from killing all our grandchildren with our neglect of Global Warming issues.

By: booyah

booyah — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:13:11 +0000

What a voice of fresh air you are!

Where can I read more of your writings (sorry Bruce…)

By: greenharper

greenharper — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:57:58 +0000

My understanding is that when the rate of Social Security contributions was raised in about 1983, Alan Greenspan (with help, obviously) siphoned the Social Security trust fund off for immediate use by the general Treasury. In other words, this was not in fact an overfunding of Social Security.

Can someone please correct me if this is wrong?

By: fuckno

fuckno — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:47:13 +0000

Let’s agree that he raised them on the 90% of working stiffs.

By: dmargoliss

dmargoliss — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:37:25 +0000

This is a good conversation, but we should definetely have a payroll tax cut long term or short term. Middle Class Americans will spend that money and stimulate the economy. I disagree with Bartlett’s Forbes article on this subject, but agree with him when he says that Reagan raised taxes, did not, contrary to popular belief, cut them.

By: perris

perris — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:34:46 +0000

do you consider the raised local taxes in gdp?

By: booyah

booyah — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:10:11 +0000

Yet conservatives have no qualms whatsoever about tax cuts for the top 1% and financing unnecessary war at the expense of the middle class.

By: DWBartoo

DWBartoo — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:09:59 +0000

We certainly missed you, Hugh, and your well-considered and well-spoken commentary.

By: db11

db11 — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:09:52 +0000

That makes some sense, i.e. to shift the argument from whether welfare state, to how extensive, in what areas… and especially how to pay for it (to make it sustainable.)

Might be able to learn a thing or two from the Scandinavians on that front.

Thanks very much Bruce for a very interesting and lively exchange, and thanks to James for hosting and engaging as well (I’m a big fan!).

By: eCAHNomics

eCAHNomics — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:07:54 +0000

Off to dinner.