Posted by Tina
We can all agree that U.S. debt is a big problem but we don’t always agree about what should be done to fix it. Here’s your chance to see how well you would perform if you had the power to do something about it!
The following webpage allows the participant to choose between certain budget items. Unfortunately, it leaves out many options that conservatives would choose but it was fun and I still managed to come pretty close to meeting the goal without too much regret…can you meet, or beat, the challenge? After you click on the link just choose “Stabilize the Debt” and then click on “Begin the Simulator”.
Here’s the challenge followed by the link:
YOUR CHALLENGE: Stabilize the U.S. Debt at 60% of GDP by 2018
“Stabilize the U.S. Debt – An Online Exercise in Hard Choices – crfb.org
I have some strong reservations about the assumptions made by those who put this challenge together. They assume that a cut in tax rates for wealth builders would lower revenues to government. AHHHNNNNT! That outcome was discredited during the Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton and Bush presidencies. The reverse notion, that raising tax rates on wealth builders increases revenues has also been discredited…under Carter, Bush I, and Clinton (at the beginning of his first term). You may recall him saying, “Probably there are people in this room still mad at me at that budget because you think I raised your taxes too much. It might surprise you to know that I think I raised them too much, too.” Ah well, yes, we keep trying to tell them about the power behing the Laffer Curve but I’m getting ahead of myself.
I double dog dare ya to take the debt challenge now! Once you’ve completed that task come on back and watch the following videos on the Laffer Curve, brought to you by the
CATO INSTITUTE…then we’ll chat.
Some of you might also be interested in some background on the Laffer Curve available through THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION.