Well, it's happened again.
A news story comes out. One or two little lines say something that sounds bad and in the tradition of shooting first and asking questions after the burial, a mass panic attack infects this site faster than flies go to shit.
I posted a comment way down the list about this on the front page story, Clyburn: No new higher tax rates from Super Congress, but it was probably so far down with all the insane screaming and yelling about the end of civilization as we know it, I figured a diary might be better.
Maybe this will help talk some people away from the edge.
So, Mr. Clyburn says that he is not looking for new tax rates to be part of any deal on the SuperCommittee, but he does want to deal with various loopholes, deductions, and I would imagine subsidies.
Some reasonable thought about what else can be done to the tax code- both personal and especially corporate- without creating higher rates would make most people believe, "okay, fine...let's see what can be done. Not here. Here, a whole slew of people have to go off without even thinking about what else might be done to mitigate horrendous budget cuts.
So, what could Mr. Clyburn be seeking... Here's my comment from the other thread.
As my Grandmother would have said, "Oy."
Now, let's breathe and take a second look.
Okay, no new tax rates. Fine.
If just the Bush rates expire in 16 months for just the top two rates, those aren't new rates, they are old ones, and they begin to bring in something north of $60 billion a year.
Then, Cong. Clyburn metioned loopholes.
Okay, if we eliminated every single loophole and deduction for corporate taxes, including taxing profits made overseas, the government brings in about a trillion more a year. A trillion a year.
Then what about deductions and loopholes on personal taxes? Get rid of the carried interest thing; limit deductions on upper income taxpayers, etc... a couple of hundred billion more a year.
In other words, this is quite doable. Stop screaming and think first, then type. Stop screaming for 91% rates like under Ike. I doubt if anyone even actually paid 91% on any income.
Put the tax system in balance- without even touching most of the rate, without creating new ones, and believe it or not, probably lowering the corporate one (without the loopholes and deductions- a 20% rate would bring in more money then the alleged 35% rate does now).
Do that, and we chop at least a trillion dollars off the deficit. Take money being cut from Defense and fund infrastructure programs to create jobs and the economy gets going again. Get employment moving up and more of the deficit goes away.
Cong. Clyburn may have used the wrong phrase or choice of words for some of you here, but what he said is not a cave or anything else. It actually can be a very workable policy.
The worst part of this whole mess is 1) There are good solutions to the problems but the insane politics of the day stand in the way; 2) a Republican party that has gone completely over the edge and either really doesn't understand basic finance anymore or really does want to destroy the country in order to win next year.
Finally, we too can too often be part of the problem. It is one thing to criticize the President and try to push him leftward, it is another thing to berate, write him off, call him names (like a "Republican"), constantly accuse him of caving and other things. We just contribute to weakening his hand and I really think is depresses people around here.
That last part is really important. We are the ones who, no matter what, must be completely charged up for 2012- because no matter how much we might not like some of the things this President is doing or has done, you all know that would be a disaster beyond all descriptions if we were to wake up on January 20, 2013 to the inauguration of President Perry, or Bachmann, or Romney.