Especially sanquine were Lindsey Graham’s observations. He’s pushing for across the board cuts in all non defense spending, period.

What I don’t see, and don’t understand, is any support on the right for holding back on making all those tax cuts permanent.

When asked how we can afford to rebuild the Gulf Coast and fight two wars abroad, Bush said we can do both.

We can cut spending and expect some sacrifice from the nation’s wealthiest too. We can do both.

1. I’d eliminate corporate income tax in it’s entirety, which has a neutral if not negitive impact on the general economy by being passed on to consumers, never to shareholders. CPI will go down and GNP will go up dramatically

2. Reinstate the Federal luxury tax for goods and services above, say, $50 Grand, which when coupled elimination of corporate income tax should have a relatively neutral impact on sensitive industries like yacht building.

3. Find the progressive curve. I’m no economist, but there is an incremental curve representing a range of the percentages of income taxed which, at its zenith for the highest income bracket, will result in diminished returns/revenue. You can maximize revenue either to the point where current expenditures are met and/or revenue begins to diminish.

The actual numbers are merely a hunch on my part, but if my guess is right, the curve should be steeper than it is now, with the middle class rates remaining substantially where they are or only slightly higher, but with higher income groups — who not only are better able to pay a larger “fair share,” but also have more investment vehicles to shelter additional income — paying at either Clinton era if not Reagan era rates with no decrease either to revenue or national productivity.

Its a pro-growth prpgressive system which should also attract foreign investment in more American companies instead of buying our debt in the form of treasury notes. I’d rather have the Chinese having a financial impact on GE instead of USA, wouldn’t you?

Sure, this sounds like the usual “eat the rich” stuff from the left, but there are a lot more of us than them. If you’ve been lucky enough and worked hard enough to reaped the benefits of our system, you have a greater responsibility to make sure the system contuinues to work well and in a socially responsible manner.

Just because we are capitalists does not mean we must act like we live in the jungle. I’ve seen enough “trickle down” supply-side voodoo resulting in greater class disparity, increased poverty rates, wage stagnation and uninsured, to know it’s crap. GNP is no real measure of a nation’s sucess, rather you must look to quality of live which only increases for the top tier and remains flat or diminishes for the middle and lower classes in the current economic model.

The real elephant in the room, however, is health care. Without a dramatic, bold, top to bottom restructureing of the way we handle the medical industry, it will remain a drag on the economy. a black hole for tax dollars, and demonstrably ineffective for so many and completely unavailable for 41 million Americans.

You don’t fix that, then tax policy is just playing games.

What’s wrong with a flat tax. Let’s “slash” the tax code; I’ll bring the machete. Isn’t paying the same rate fair. It always seemed to me that those who say that higher incomes paying a higher rate is “fair” seems to feel guilty for those who do not make as much. Merriam-Webster defines fair as ”marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism.” Please tell me how a flat tax rate is not fair.

AS A WHITE MAN IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY (wanted everyone to know I was qualified to comment) I have never been so tempted to Federalize something in all my life. It only takes about 30 seconds every time I think about it to remember how BAD of an idea that is, BUT…

We can all argue how and which direction to go to fix the problem. Keeping the government OUT of the health care business, but standardizing (and simplifying) some of the requirements that State regulators require of underwriters…coupled with a little tort reform (two purposes there…making it a lot harder to convict, but also making the penalties of being convicted a lot tougher) which will allow costs to go down. You get the health insurance premiums down to a reasonable level then Companies won’t NEED a tax break.

If we don’t do this…then within 5 years companies will not being offering health insurance to their employees….period.

I guess one could make that argument, Bonnie…

However, it just goes to show you…that breasts in and of themselves…don’t sell.