How can we expect our government to continue functioning if we they don't increase taxes?

Question

Each year the deficits get bigger, and we are now spending 54% of our tax money on the military. How can this possibly continue without either reducing military expenditures or increasing taxes?

Answer 1

Is it so hard to understand that an increase in taxes reduces revenue?

--less money in my pocket means less purchases, fewer purchases means less manufacturing/business taxable income and fewer jobs = more loss of income to tax.

--higher taxes make investment less wise for you and me and the filthy rich guy who pays most of the individual income taxes ( if one can make 3% interest in FDIC savings or make 10% on investments but have to give the government 20,30,40, or 50% of that investment income, why would investors, taking the chance of loosing money in the market, make sense?)

We are not filthy rich, but we will pull out all of our investment in the market and move it to safe savings should the tax increase become emanate. As will any wise person who has a 401k or the like. And, the big players will cut investments according to risk/return ratio. Taxes play a part in that risk/return ratio.

--Taxes imposed (and any other cost) on business will result in higher cost to the consumer ( or bankruptcy for some small businesses: no payment for goods and services, no income, no tax to collect). Higher cost means less spending, less spending fewer sales, fewer sales equals fewer jobs.....and the beat goes on.

Answer 2

Ever get a job from a poor person ? LOWERING taxes stimulates economic growth (proven fact), and expansion of companies, which in turn INCREASES jobs. Feeding the govt. monster more money does NO good, as govt. doesn't produce anything. WE DO. Its OUR money that they continually waste. RAISING taxes forces cutbacks in economic growth of industry, as they have less money for expansion, just as raising your taxes directly causes you to spend less money.

Answer 3

We're a democracy– governed by consent of the people. The People as a whole will come up with any kind of rationale they can imagine so that the ultimate conclusion is "give me more money." People start feeling better about taxes when we start running out of money.

The good news is that the government WON'T continue functioning. All our civic services will collapse when we can't borrow any more. Then the rationales will start to change, and people will start wondering why the government isn't offering basic services any more. Then you can start making arguments in support of taxes, and people will start listening.

Answer 4

A country has never in the history of the world taxed itself to prosperity.

Answer 5

Before they get another cent out of me I demand to see elimination of pork spending.

Answer 6

They need more tax money only to waste & spend on pork barrel projects like a "tea pot museum".

Answer 7

"we are now spending 54% of our tax money on the military"

Nowhere near true.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stat...

As you can see, Social Security is the highest by percentage.  Military is a mere 14 percent.

Of course, the Military task is authorized in the Constitution.  What else is? Do you know?

** Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of government overspending.  I'm just questioning the figures, which may not be above question given the source being the "war resister's league".  Notice that 80% of the interest on the Debt is lumped into "Past Military"? There's no valid justification for this.

The fact is that even if you lump the expense for Defense, VA benefits, and that interest together, it is still less than a third of the overall budget, and smaller than "community and regional development".  Know what THAT is? That's transfer payments from taxes collected in fifty states sent to benefit ONE state, often one specific recipient, also known as "pork".

There's a problem alright, but your source isn't reliable.

Answer 8

lets see

reduce the spending

cut pork barrel spending

remove the over 800 bases in over 150 countries

why do we close bases here and ruin communities here

just so we can open bases overseas

Answer 9

The best way to increase tax revenus is to lower tax rates.  The best way to increase innovation and growth of small business and thus the economy is to decrease taxes and decrease regulations.  We need to have and pay for less government.  In my opinion the 16th amendment is unconstitutional and was never properly ratified.  Everyone wants to be "green" (an inaccurate euphomism) but no one is willing to conserve in a meaningful manner  Switching from an income tax based system to a consumption tax system is the only way to solve our governmental problems.

Answer 10

IT'S CALLED CUT BACK ON THE SPENDING. Let's see the Federal government collects about 3 trillion $ and out of that only 10% is spent on the military not 54%. d**k weed. Cut back on all the other programs

Answer 11

20% of 300'000'000 people's money isnt enough?!

If those 300'000'000 people are making 20000$ a year then thats 4000$ from each person.

4000x300'000'000 = 1'200'000'000'000.

1.2 trillion dollars in taxes isn't enough?!!?

Answer 12

As stated in the Declaration of Independence.  "To secure these rights governments are instituted amongst men."  The rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Not a free education for our children, free health care, a tax financed retirement program, subsidies for the production of ethanol, or various handout schemes used for buying votes.

Cut the size and scope of government back down to just what is necessary to handle the legitimate functions of government and you could cut taxes.

Continue raising taxes and increasing spending for social programs and you can be assured that the cost of government will soon exceed the GDP.  At that point it won't matter if taxes are at 100% the govenment will not be able to function.  

The other guy is right.  The military has not been the majority of the budget in over a decade.  Spending on social programs, Social security, medicade etc is now the majority of the budget and growing at a rate faster than the GDP.

Answer 13

They can manage with what they currently collect if the only cut down their own salaries. They already take too much