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Presidential Elections 2008
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| Raise 'em | 27% | 16 votes | Total: 59 votes | |
| Cut 'em | 73% | 43 votes |
Raise 'em
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Add to FavoritesObviously, something must be done to allay our national debt. Due to wasteful spending by the government, and an expensive foreign conflict, our debt is rather excessive. There are few things that can help to alleviate such a problem, and one of the most effective would be raising taxes. Although raising taxes would cause further dissatisfaction among the majority of the population it makes sense to do. A simple tax hike would not, however, fix the problem all by itself. Many cut backs should also be made, a good medium should be found. With the recent rise of the minimum wage, and the current income taxes already in place, more government revenue will be generated. This in itself is somewhat of a tax raise, the percent of taxes paid may not change, but the amount paid will. Higher income inevitably causes higher income tax. Taxes may not be an enjoyable part of life, but they are necessary and they will most likely be around for the long hall, as will raises in them. The most effective thing for the people to do, would be to help decide what taxes will change, instead of resisting the inevitable. Higher taxes should also mean less cutbacks. As it stands, many of our programs are underfunded, poorly managed, or unneeded. If taxes were to be raised, frivolous programs discontinued and current programs managed more effectively, not only would more money be saved, it could be used more effectively. Simply cutting programs would contribute significantly, but would not be enough. The more quickly our debt is removed, the more quickly our economy can recover.
Very few people enjoy paying taxes, but most recognize the need. Simply raising taxes would enrage many people, and financially strain many others. An almost entire change in the economic system would be needed. Almost every tax we pay would need to be altered. Along with that standardizing taxation nationwide would likely be very helpful as well. If that were to take place, paying taxes would be simpler and more effective. Overall, nothing will solve all of our economic problems and many solutions may in fact worsen them. There is no simple answer, and none of the answers will make everyone happy. So instead of trying, the government should try and fix the problems first and worry about the happiness part afterward. After all, if taxes can be raised they can be lowered again. Much more easily than re-establishing a closed program.
Learn more about this author, Brandon Romines.
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Cut 'em
Unfortunately, the next President will find himself in the position of being forced to both raise taxes and cut programs in order to pay off the national debt. It has gotten so out of control that there are simply no other alternatives.
We cannot continue to spend money we do not have, as anyone who has ever had to balance a checkbook already knows. Unfortunately, as a country, we seem to have never learned this important lesson and have continued spending money that doesn't even exist, leaving us in an unfathomable amount of debt.
If this problem is to be addressed, the President will have to tackle it head on. This will mean a dual approach of both cutting programs to reduce current expenditures as well as raising taxes to pump up income.
Though we're all strapped for cash already, we have to realize that it is our tax dollars that provide the working capitol for our government. Without that money, many of the government programs we rely on would not exist. In order to avoid stumbling blindly into even more increasing debt, we may have to tighten our belts a little more and bite the bullet of increased taxes. Besides, did you really expect that the raise in the minimum wage wouldn't be taken away somehow?
The other option to help reduce the national debt is to cut some government programs. There are a variety of programs that, in my humble opinion, are useless in the first place. Do we really need to pay for a program to teach people how to stay married? Yes, it exists. Cut that out and let people go talk to their pastor or religious leader or their grandmother for free. We don't need to be a nation in debt providing glorified government funded marriage counseling. For more information on this program see the website at http://www.acf.hhs.g ov/healthymarriage and decide for yourself whether you think our tax dollars should be going toward these types of programs or if they might be better spent reducing our tremendous, overwhelming debt.
Tough economic times demand sacrifice. Hopefully we will get a President who understands this and we will be strong enough to support him in his efforts to reduce the national debt by whatever means necessary. It is clear that there are wasteful and even idiotic government programs that could very easily stand to be cut. We can also do our parts by coughing up a few more tax dollars. The best we can hope is that the President will find creative ways to cut expenses that don't impede any important or necessary programs and will be moderate and fair with any tax increases so that all people, even the rich, carry their fair share of the burden of keeping our country running smoothly and heading back toward the black.
Learn more about this author, Bruce W. Coffman.
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