Talking Point that Irks Me: Not a Revenue Problem

[AZhitman]

...and with your *, you're totally onto something.

Sometimes (and by sometimes, I mean, an awful lot of times), things work themselves out if you take a step back, quit d!ck with it, leave it alone for a few days/weeks/months, and come back to it with a clear head and the advantage of that many more days' experience in observing whatever it is that's the issue.

I'm VERY much a believer that the economy is one of those things.

Frantic, knee-jerk measures rarely accomplish anything good in the long run.

Your point about mil-spec waste is well-taken, and I agree. I'd be real excited to see a lot more GSA activity in the military's procurement divisions AND our 'feel-good' programs as well.

[heliochrome85]

hang on a sec. isnt that the whole idea behind waiting and seeing how bills work? isnt that the same issue you guys have been yelling about for months?

[AZhitman]

Uh, no.

You don't pass a bill to see if it'll work. Let's stay on-topic. Passing the bill IS the "frantic, knee-jerk measure".

[heliochrome85]

im geniuinely having an off day. excuse random brain queefs.

[IBCoupe]

Hey, so let's let all the tax cuts expire. Let's see how that works. We can always reinstitute them later, right?

I'm mostly serious. People aren't spending anyways with them in place, so what's to lose? The cost of extending them over ten years is $4 trillion. This might go a long way to closing our deficit.

[stebo0728]

Hey, so let's let all the tax cuts expire. Let's see how that works. We can always reinstitute them later, right?

Hey lets just see if gangrene sets in, we can always disinfect the wound later right?

[IBCoupe]

Right, so Stebo's in favor of stimulus. Got it.

[heliochrome85]

Hey, so let's let all the tax cuts expire. Let's see how that works. We can always reinstitute them later, right?

Hey lets just see if gangrene sets in, we can always disinfect the wound later right?

a practiced medical method.

tis true.

[IBCoupe]

Quick note: CNN reports that, based on Treasury estimates, letting all of the tax cuts expire would save us $500 billion next year. We'd still need cuts to get to a balance, but that would certainly help (the 2010 deficit was $1.3 trillion, remember), and it requires no additional legislative action!

A bargain at twice the price.

And I'm starting to like the sound of this, the more I think about it. We certainly can't afford to make them permanent, and the biggest argument for doing something right now is to create some certainty. Businesses are sitting on cash because they don't know what will happen next year, right? Well, wouldn't extending them for two years mean that we're just pushing out that uncertainty? It might just be better to rip this band-aid off.

[AZhitman]

Hey, so let's let all the tax cuts expire. Let's see how that works. We can always reinstitute them later, right?

I'm mostly serious. People aren't spending anyways with them in place, so what's to lose? The cost of extending them over ten years is $4 trillion. This might go a long way to closing our deficit.

I wasn't going there, but it stands to reason that if I'm in favor of leaving [the economy] the hell alone, taking a watch-and-see approach, then that would be included.

I support this level of consistency and fairness.

[IBCoupe]

I respect that.

[AZhitman]

I knew.

And here's the deal - While I may *rant* about taxes and whatnot, it's often one of those situations (like yours) where I'm arguing to hear my head rattle.

When my expenses go up, I find a way to either: cut back somewhere else, or make more money.

Whether that means doing a side job for a neighbor, calling in a favor on an upcoming expense, or eliminating a planned expenditure, it always happens - And I usually wind up to the good (while learning something in the meantime).

So, for me to really get aggro about something means I've not yet found a way to navigate around it.... Rare.

[IBCoupe]

But that's where the fun begins! It's like me working on my car. I get really frustrated when I'm driving and I hear a new noise. But then when I actually get the car out and lifted up, it's tons of fun to examine everything under there and try to imagine what could be making that kind of noise, given its current condition.

[stebo0728]

Thoughts on the Federal worker pay increase freeze?

[AZhitman]

I support it.

We've been operating under state employee pay freezes for over 6 years. I make LESS now than I did in 2004. Meanwhile, the Feds continued to climb.

[heliochrome85]

itll be interesting to see how congress votes since its a freeze that must be passed by the house and senate.

[AZhitman]

Yep. Very telling.