Thursday, September 23, 2004
you can link to things, too
some ideas
it's a big country. someone's got to pay for it.
one of my dreams in life is to know what things really cost. say, a gallon of gas. I know the price for 91 octane around the corner is $2.21/gallon (this is cali). But how do I figure in the boondoggle in Iraq, the support that goes to the Saudis, plus the government subsidies to energy producers. Something tells me that the gas around the corner really costs something a bit more than what's posted.
in a nutshell, government transfer of payments distort costs beyond all recognition.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some anti-tax nutjob. Government, at all levels, has a job to do and needs to money to deliver its services. But government doesn't need money beyond that. It certainly doesn't need to give subsidies, tax breaks, special deals, etc.
What I'd do:
one of my dreams in life is to know what things really cost. say, a gallon of gas. I know the price for 91 octane around the corner is $2.21/gallon (this is cali). But how do I figure in the boondoggle in Iraq, the support that goes to the Saudis, plus the government subsidies to energy producers. Something tells me that the gas around the corner really costs something a bit more than what's posted.
in a nutshell, government transfer of payments distort costs beyond all recognition.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some anti-tax nutjob. Government, at all levels, has a job to do and needs to money to deliver its services. But government doesn't need money beyond that. It certainly doesn't need to give subsidies, tax breaks, special deals, etc.
What I'd do:
- End all subsidies to farmers
- End all subsidies to corporations
- End all personal and business tax breaks. No more child credits, no more interest credits, no more R&D credits
- Replace current income tax with a flat tax. But that income tax won't hit until a pretty high threshold, like $50k
- Balance the budget every year. I don't care what programs the people want--they can have the sun, the moon, and the stars--they just have to pay for it.
funky
so this is blogging. I love Jen. Even though she's making me watch The Apprentice.
