Congress to discuss stopping some of the 2011 tax hikes (dollar, economy, money)

[Lakewooder]

Congress to extend middle-class tax cuts: Dems | Reuters

[Calvinist]

I still think a better "stimulus" would have been to just not collect taxes last year, rather than borrow and hand out $750 B.

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Congress to extend middle-class tax cuts: Dems | Reuters

That may make some voters feel good, but that's not the way to go about spurring an economic recovery.

The top 5% pay 60% of the federal income tax revenue. What happens when all of that money is taxed out of the economy and then spent by the government? Harvard University's Robert Barro has found that for each dollar that has been taxed out of the economy and subsequently spent by the government, the effect of that government spending is a destruction of $1.10 of economic growth.
http://mercatus.org/sites/default/files/publication/Macroeconomic%20effects%20from%20government%20purc hases%20and%20taxes.pdf

If you want further destruction of the economy, keep taxing...

[Memphis1979]

Discussion is a good thing. I'd also like to see a discussion about raising taxes even higher, upgrading the tax code, flat tax, and budget cuts.

[Lakewooder]

Eliminating most of the tax code would be the best medicine...