Preliminary Proposal by Debt Commission

[RIJIMMY]

I dont know Scott, I think there is some momentum right now. People are listening. We cant keep going on this path.

[scottw]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

I dont know Scott, I think there is some momentum right now. People are listening. We cant keep going on this path.

I like the proposal to raise the retirement age to 68 by 2050 and 69 by 2075...that should help right away

[Fishpart]

Originally Posted by scottw

I like the proposal to raise the retirement age to 68 by 2050 and 69 by 2075...that should help right away

The thing that is really killing us is the retirement age for Public Employees, we need to move that from 38 to 68 like the rest of the world.....

[scottw]

Originally Posted by Fishpart

The thing that is really killing us is the retirement age for Public Employees, we need to move that from 38 to 68 like the rest of the world.....

in parts of Europe, New Jersey, Texas the people have recognized the urgency of the problem and elected executives that will immediately address the problem which is the size of and spending by government at every level despite the backlash and mobs in the streets , elsewhere you have electorates that are esssentially crack addicts who will elect only those that will continue to give them a little crack once in a while and who, as elected public servants will also continue to grow the crack addict base in every way possible to keep them in elected office (RI, Mass, California, NY). Taking the house may help in choking some of the spending, as Jimmy said, there seems to be momentum....but momentum shifts quickly when all of a sudden it's your crack dealer that they are putting out of business. The Crack Dealer in Chief is the biggest pusher of them all, this is a panel "bi-partisan" panel put together by our Nation's worst offender when it comes to government growth spending and defense of every bloated social program...we might make some strides with this new Congress but I think the collapse is coming long before any implemented solution occurs...if great strides are made in the New Jersey's and Texas' they will only be off-set by the rampant crack abuse in California and RI....those that are trying to acutually make changes that will matter will be under relentless assault from the addicts, the pimps in the media and the dealers at the state and federal level and most of all, from Obama who has no intention of reducing government...he's "making government cool again"...remember?

Federal government workers have notoriously earned more than — in many cases more than double — their private sector counterparts for a while. But a new analysis from USA Today sheds light on the shocking size and scope of pay increases for federal workers, most notably in recent years. According to USA Today, the number of federal workers earning salaries of $150,000 or more has increased tenfold over the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office in January 2009.


Graph: USA Today
While the rest of the U.S. economy remains stagnant, the fast-growing pay of federal employees has raised eyebrows

...............................

"In the end, the president is going to have to decide whether to incorporate some of this into the 2012 budget," said David Walker, a former U.S. comptroller general and an advocate for deficit reduction. "He's going to have to lead, because if the president doesn't lead on this, it goes nowhere fast."Mr. Obama avoided any comment on the specifics, as did Congressional leaders. Both said they'd wait for a final product.

Lawmaker reaction was mixed, suggesting any final plan will be weaker than the one released Wednesday. Sen. Judd Gregg (R., N.H.), the top Republican on the Budget Committee and a panel member, called it "a genuine product that deserves very serious attention."

But liberal panel members were less enthusiastic. Sen. Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) said he wouldn't vote for it, saying that "there are things in there that I hate like the devil hates holy water." he'd know
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Associated Press

Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of the deficit commission, outlined proposals Wednesday.
.Some important interest groups were sharply critical, particularly over curbs on entitlement spending. The plans authors "just told working Americans to 'Drop Dead,"' said AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka. "Especially in these tough economic times, it is unconscionable to be proposing cuts to the critical economic lifelines for working people, Social Security and Medicare."

The conservative Americans for Tax Reform also blasted the plan. "It confirms what everyone has known—this commission is merely an excuse to raise net taxes on the American people," the group said in a written statement. Supporting the plan would violate the group's no-new-taxes pledge, which many Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have signed, it warned.

[Jim in CT]

I cannot believe they are seriously considering eliminating the deduction for mortgage interest. That would cause housing values to plummet...

I also agree on unions. Don't get me started on municipal employee unions. They are absolutely disgusting, they are literally a bunch of parasites who have no bounds on the burden they are willing to place on our shoulders.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

I cannot believe they are seriously considering eliminating the deduction for mortgage interest. That would cause housing values to plummet...

I also agree on unions. Don't get me started on municipal employee unions. They are absolutely disgusting, they are literally a bunch of parasites who have no bounds on the burden they are willing to place on our shoulders.

Jim - allow me to play devils advocate. Why is it the govt. business if you buy a house? Why should homeowners get a benfit others do not? Isnt the mortage deductions just a payoff from the govt to the banks? You dont really "benefit", tax money in the form of a deduction gets funneled to the banks to pay for outrageous interest. If housing prices plummet, wont they reflect the real market value and not an inflated price due to government intervention. I know it would be painful, but I'm for across the board cuts. Maybe if there is no deduction, people will save up for for down payment, borrow less and in the long run, provide a more stable housing market?
I think there has to be some pain spread across the board.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

Jim - allow me to play devils advocate. Why is it the govt. business if you buy a house? Why should homeowners get a benfit others do not? Isnt the mortage deductions just a payoff from the govt to the banks? You dont really "benefit", tax money in the form of a deduction gets funneled to the banks to pay for outrageous interest. If housing prices plummet, wont they reflect the real market value and not an inflated price due to government intervention. I know it would be painful, but I'm for across the board cuts. Maybe if there is no deduction, people will save up for for down payment, borrow less and in the long run, provide a more stable housing market?
I think there has to be some pain spread across the board.

RIJIMMY, you definitely raise some good and interesting points...

"Why is it the govt. business if you buy a house?"

A few things come to mind. First, at least here in CT, town governments (and schools, police, etc) are funded by property taxes, so the more people who own homes, the larger the tax base, which is a good thing.

Second, the government has a keen interest in keeping the economy from genuinely collapsing. Eliminating this deduction will (1) immediately reduce the net income of millions of folks, and (2) it will have a catastrophic effect on housing values, which impacts many other things like ability to retire, ability to pay for kids' education, etc... Just the shock value of eliminating a long-standing deduction bothers me.

"Why should homeowners get a benfit others do not?"

Because I pay property taxes, and renters do not. Government, particularly municipal government, benefits from increased homeownership. Renters use the same services i do (send their kids to public school, etc) but pay no taxes to fund those things. Maybe that entitles me to some relief?

"You dont really "benefit", tax money in the form of a deduction gets funneled to the banks "

I believe I do benefit, as I realize some real, tangible tax savings. The tax savings from that deduction goes right in my pocket. If that deduction is eliminated, I pay more taxes, that's a "real" impact. My current mortgage is 3.75%, hardly outrageous.

"If housing prices plummet, wont they reflect the real market value and not an inflated price due to government intervention."

If housing prices drop, they will reflect the value of the house, EXCLUDING the benefit of the tax break. Problem is, when I bought my house, like most people, the value at that time reflected the tax benefit.

It would sort of be like buying a house in a nice area, and 5 years later the town decides to put a landfill adjacent to my property. I get hurt because of something I could not have foreseen.

"I'm for across the board cuts"

I know my taxes are going up (unless I move to New Hampshire). But as someone else pointed out, the number of federal employees making over $150k has DOUBLED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS. There are a lot of places where there is an awful lot of fat. Let's cut the fat before we cut a vital organ.

"I think there has to be some pain spread across the board"

OK, when ALL municipal employees have 401 (k)s instead of pensions (like the rest of us), if we still need more tax revenue, I'll pony up.