$34 TRILLION ( Joe Biden )
https://x.com/MattAttack009_/status/1742631856057540859?s=20
shareThe national debt always seemed like a hopelessly impossible issue to solve & maybe it is but I recently came across this opinion piece by Fareed Zacharia (who I'm usually neutral towards) which suggests a potential solution. From an Oct '23 WaPo article (behind a paywall so I c/p'd from a freebie):
"Fortunately, there is a simple solution staring us in the face — however, both parties refuse to accept it: Adopt a national sales tax, like every other advanced economy in the world. (Most countries call it a value-added tax, or VAT, because it is collected at each stage along the chain of production, rather than just once at the point of final sale.) According to the Congressional Budget Office, a broad 5 percent tax of this kind could raise $3 trillion over the next decade, massively reducing the United States’ fiscal hole. On average, European Union countries get roughly 20 percent of their tax revenue from a VAT; the United States is getting zero."
I'm a total novice on this subject so could be way off but assume the VAT would only work if we stopped adding to the debt first. I think one time in the 90's we had a balanced federal budget so idk how you prevent yearly deficits from increasing the debt with that track record. We'd probably have to cut from defense, healthcare & entitlements too. Waiting 10 yrs to take only $3 trillion off the debt seems like a lot of pain for little gain. But if we combine the VAT with say $7 trillion in cuts over 10 yrs, we might kick the debt in 30 yrs.
Good read, thx
shareWhy the fuck should the citizens pay for the bills the government racks up?
Screw that, how about we cap any personal gain acquired by the privilege of the position? ...start with Nancy Pelosi and her insider trading nonsense.
I feel like ppl would object to the government seizing one's wealth. Personally I'd have no problem if Nancy or anyone worth over $100 million was forced to give up half (or more) of their net worth. It would never happen in the US but even if it did, doubtful it'd make a meaningful impact on the $34 trillion.
You bring up a good point about the fairness of making us pay for it. It's not fair. Unfortunately we're all in this together otherwise it will never get solved. Those flawed citizens we elected to represent us put us in this mess. So there is some collective guilt. It sucks. But putting our heads in the sand bc it's not fair, even if correct, does not get us anywhere.