http://www.frumforum.com/looking-north-for-ideas Building a conservatism that can win again Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:50:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.frumforum.com/looking-north-for-ideas/comment-page-1#comment-43528 sinz54 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:59:48 +0000 #comment-43528 I would suggest the following tax cuts: 1. Massive cut in the Social Security payroll tax. That's the most regressive tax we have, and this tax cut will immediately put more spending money in the hands of the working class and middle class. 2. Generous tax credit, up to half the down payment, for anyone who purchases a home that has remained unsold for more than a year. This effectively reduces the after-tax down payment, making it easier to purchase a home, now that the credit markets have clamped down on low-money-down financing. 3. A dollar-for-dollar tax credit, with NO LIMIT, for donations to charity. This replaces the traditional charitable deduction on Schedule A. This will encourage a massive infusion of money into private charities, to cope with the unemployed, the sick, and the disabled. If you are already wealthy enough to donate your entire year's income to charity, go ahead, and pay no income tax this year! I would suggest the following tax cuts: 1. Massive cut in the Social Security payroll tax. That’s the most regressive tax we have, and this tax cut will immediately put more spending money in the hands of the working class and middle class. 2. Generous tax credit, up to half the down payment, for anyone who purchases a home that has remained unsold for more than a year. This effectively reduces the after-tax down payment, making it easier to purchase a home, now that the credit markets have clamped down on low-money-down financing. 3. A dollar-for-dollar tax credit, with NO LIMIT, for donations to charity. This replaces the traditional charitable deduction on Schedule A. This will encourage a massive infusion of money into private charities, to cope with the unemployed, the sick, and the disabled. If you are already wealthy enough to donate your entire year’s income to charity, go ahead, and pay no income tax this year!

]]> http://www.frumforum.com/looking-north-for-ideas/comment-page-1#comment-42748 sinz54 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:53:59 +0000 #comment-42748 I wouldn't cut taxes across the board. This is an old supply-side economics idea, first proposed back when the marginal tax rate in the U.S. was 70%, and the depreciation schedules weren't keeping up with double-digit inflation. We don't have a supply-side problem right now--look at the millions of unsold homes, and all the unsold cars at every dealer's lot. We have a demand-side problem--people feel poorer because the value of their homes and 401(k)s has collapsed, and so they've cut back on spending and investment. Somebody needs to tell Larry Kudlow to stop waving around the "supply-side" mantra for the U.S.--it's out of date. I also think that cutting corporate taxes is politically unsellable and possibly immoral, unless you specifically exempt all those Wall Street banking and securitization firms. Their antics have helped drag America into a major recession, and they currently have their tongues out for TARP bailout money too; why on earth should we reward them with a tax cut on top of TARP? I have some ideas about demand-side tax cuts, which I will propose in another post. I wouldn’t cut taxes across the board. This is an old supply-side economics idea, first proposed back when the marginal tax rate in the U.S. was 70%, and the depreciation schedules weren’t keeping up with double-digit inflation. We don’t have a supply-side problem right now–look at the millions of unsold homes, and all the unsold cars at every dealer’s lot. We have a demand-side problem–people feel poorer because the value of their homes and 401(k)s has collapsed, and so they’ve cut back on spending and investment. Somebody needs to tell Larry Kudlow to stop waving around the “supply-side” mantra for the U.S.–it’s out of date. I also think that cutting corporate taxes is politically unsellable and possibly immoral, unless you specifically exempt all those Wall Street banking and securitization firms. Their antics have helped drag America into a major recession, and they currently have their tongues out for TARP bailout money too; why on earth should we reward them with a tax cut on top of TARP? I have some ideas about demand-side tax cuts, which I will propose in another post.

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