The Watering Hole

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-10/deficit-panel-s-plan-would-seek-to-cut-social-security-mortgage-deduction.html

What do you think?

Lowering across the board of tax rates, but elimination of all those tax breaks we used to get.  Big cuts to medicare and social security.  Will the pres try to enact it? Will the Repubs try to help? What will the reaction be?

More, from Politico:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44945.html

Deficit Plan Gets Tepid Response

Military spending and farm subsidies are some of the largest proposed cuts under the plan. But it also calls for linking Social Security benefits to income, raising the retirement age to 69 by 2050 and raising payroll taxes to fund the retirement program, thus keeping it solvent for 75 years. The proposal also calls for curbing Medicare growth

Meanwhile, by limiting spending and raising taxes through  comprehensive tax reform, the proposal would cut the near-record $1.3 trillion budget deficit by an average of $500 billion a year for the next nine years, stabilizing the rising national debt at about 65 percent of GDP by 2015 and lowering it to a long-run average of 40 percent of GDP by 2024.

Looks like a proposal Hook could really get behind.  Cuts the deficit, chops the budget, cuts everywhere: farm subsidies, defense, medicare and social security.  I think you'll be surprised who refuses to cut "entitlements" though.  We'll see if Republicans come through on their new exciting mandate for spending cuts and deficit reduction, or if they flinch on the tough issues to protect their seats...

The Journal breaks it down:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703805004575606643067587042.html


In political terms, this puts the ball in the Pubs' court.

We'll see if they make the spicy or mild sausage.

I just wanna see if these new deficit cutters are for real, or if they are all bark and no bite.  One thing's for sure, it's going to be incredibly painful and a lot of Americans are going to be extremely unhappy if we actually embark on a deficit reduction path.  But everyone's saying they want it right now.

No Hookbender, after a whole day on this.  Man, I thought he would be more excited.

I'll stand in for Hook in his absence as I have good grasp of Hook theory.

I am Hook

1. Just stop the spending.
2. We need some vague contradictory spending on small business.
3. stop the spending.
4. Reduce unemployment
5. Stop political pork barrel corruption.
6. Make payments to buy Senator favours tax deductible
7. Reduce the deficit
8. By tax cuts
9. But not dirty Obama tax cuts - just shows what a MacDaddy he is.
10. Why isn't it fixed already
11. Sarah Palin is a nice piece of ass - let's get her in while whe is still MILF - it will fade fast  :P
12 Stop the spending it's crazy
13 I never noticed this debt stuff in the last 30 years before, but it needs to be reversed now
14 What's up with housing market - prop it up
15 Stop intervening in capitalism you fucking socialist
16 GOTO 1

It is a  nuanced position on these grave political/economic matters.

Sorry Hook - but you have to laugh as it is true  ;D

We voted for Obama to stop spending!
(says the person who, I could swear, actually read his plaftorm, and therefore should have some idea that he's stuck pretty closely to it)

charger — Nov 10, 2010http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-10/deficit-panel-s-plan-would-seek-to-cut-social-security-mortgage-deduction.html

What do you think?

Lowering across the board of tax rates, but elimination of all those tax breaks we used to get.  Big cuts to medicare and social security.  Will the pres try to enact it? Will the Repubs try to help? What will the reaction be?

This is interesting. The thing I would be against, especially right now, is the loss of mortgage interest deductions. That would probably kill any hope of the housing market recovering. I would positively rent a home before buying if this were to happen. If their going to kill the mortgage interest deduction, they should kill property taxes to offset that loss of deduction.

(Just read the second article. It said scrap the mortgage interest deduction on mortgages over 500k. Thats cool with me. Kinda a tax on rich folk. I dig it.)

fingers — Nov 11, 2010I'll stand in for Hook in his absence as I have good grasp of Hook theory.

I am Hook

1. Just stop the spending.
2. We need some vague contradictory spending on small business.
3. stop the spending.
4. Reduce unemployment
5. Stop political pork barrel corruption.
6. Make payments to buy Senator favours tax deductible
7. Reduce the deficit
8. By tax cuts
9. But not dirty Obama tax cuts - just shows what a MacDaddy he is.
10. Why isn't it fixed already
11. Sarah Palin is a nice piece of ass - let's get her in while whe is still MILF - it will fade fast  :P
12 Stop the spending it's crazy
13 I never noticed this debt stuff in the last 30 years before, but it needs to be reversed now
14 What's up with housing market - prop it up
15 Stop intervening in capitalism you fucking socialist
16 GOTO 1

It is a  nuanced position on these grave political/economic matters.

Sorry Hook - but you have to laugh as it is true  ;D

You really don't get me man.