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Seth Meyers: Robert Mueller Zeroes in on Jared Kushner

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Rightwingconspirator11/23/2017 7:27:41 am PST

re: #164 dangerman

this is unarguably the wrong question
its the cart before the horse question

first question has to be how much money does the government need. - ie what does it have to pay for. these are the real policy debates. arguing about what is and is not the fed gov’ts role(s). you cant discuss how much to tax until you know how much tax the govt needs to raise. you dont spend what you raise, you raise what you need to spend.

the second question is what’s the number the rate will be based on - ie what is taxed. some definition of gross income, an “adjusted” income, wealth, or something else?

the third question is who pays how much - is it flat, progressive, proportional, fair, reasonable etc?

the “rate” question must be last because it is isolated and meaningless without the context of the first three. after you know the answers to the other 3, the rate or rates are whatever amount covers the first question.

any rate too low causes deficits - a separate, reasonable, discussion. any rate too high leads to surpluses. also not a bad idea - sometimes you save money for future needs - think infrastructure, fema, and other unanticipated disasters

We have utterly lost the most basic consensus we once enjoyed as a nation about what the federal government is expected to do in general. Defend, infrastructure, and regulate. Then there was what some thought it should do. Or should not, in a far more mild manner than these days.

Now we have a fight, us v them. We must fight to tell them what the government will not be permitted to do. Rolling back enviro, discrimination and biz regulations to put corporations in charge of those very things. Engage in compromises like putting a pedophile over a qualified democrat for high office.