Opinion -Would you vote for an actual honest politician

[Ramirez]

So a question, the potential leader of your country says he will do the following to deal with the debt and deficit
1) Cut spending

2) raise taxes

3) cut corporate taxes to attract business and make up for it with personal taxes

4) heavily regulate the financial sector

5) implement a national sales tax

6) devalue your currency, reducing your quality of life by making foreign goods more expensive but it will keep domestic spending in country and attract foreign investments and increase exports.

What's more all this is going to go on for at least a decade.

Would you vote for him/her, basically they have screwed you over in 6 ways, he has incensed both the right and left wing with these policies.


Just wondering because that is what every country needs to do now, it is what the British PM is doing, modelling it on what the Canadian government did in the 1990s.

The reason is that the low debt and deficit left Canada as one of the few economies in the Northern hemisphere doing relatively well.


Also Ronald Reagan brought the finances of California under control doing just the same thing, except of course devaluing the currency.

Reagan tax policies in CA

[David Craik]

Are we talking about raising taxes across the board? And by how much? When I receive parts that probably cost $100 to produce yet the government pays $2000 for them I wonder how much of a tax increase is necessary. I look at BS wars and foreign aid to countries that are of no value to us and from which we receive no return. I see legions of agencies that we could do without, and a "drug war" which is an utter failure.

I don't know, I'm not a financial guru like you are Mark. But cutting the waste would be a far higher priority for me than raising taxes. I don't see the return on the taxes I am paying now, and the considerable monies I've paid into Social Security is likely lost. I vote we just start annexing other countries and plundering their treasuries. Worked for Genghis Khan and the British Empire...

[Ramirez]

Yep it is going to be painful, the only taxes being cut are corporate taxes, spending on health care, education etc. are being cut. Corporations are the only ones who will like this new regime. Those imports at Walmart from China are going up in price because the green back is devalued,.


The extra tax revenue is going to reduce the national debt. I forgot to add, massive government lay offs so the govt waste is also being cut.

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[torbjork]

Worked for Genghis Khan and the British Empire...

Yeah, but look at Mongolia and Britain now!

[Ramirez]

Yeah, but look at Mongolia and Britain now!

lol....not only that, the conquered emigrated to Britain and took over, now their national dish is the takeaway curry, not the fish and chips.

[TonyU]

Isn't an "honest politician" an oxymoron? Sorry, I don't believe that there are any left.

[Ramirez]

Isn't an "honest politician" an oxymoron? Sorry, I don't believe that there are any left.

That is because they can't get elected telling the bald truth, the left won't vote for anyone cutting spending or cutting corporate taxes, the right won't vote for anyone increasing personal taxes and regulating the financial sector.

The only reason the Canadian PM in the 90s managed it was that his opposition was split three ways, the far left and far right parties split enough of the votes allowing him to garner majorities by being centrist.

[Jonathan Randall]

Are we talking about raising taxes across the board? And by how much? When I receive parts that probably cost $100 to produce yet the government pays $2000 for them I wonder how much of a tax increase is necessary. I look at BS wars and foreign aid to countries that are of no value to us and from which we receive no return. I see legions of agencies that we could do without, and a "drug war" which is an utter failure.

So true; but could you imagine a candidate getting the nomination without first assuring his or her backers that the spigot of money to defence contractors, drug war agencies, the financial sector, etc. would NOT be turned off?

As to foreign aid - you probably already know this, but much of it is simply a subsidy of defence contractors. We give money to countries such as Egypt and they turn around and purchase weapons from us with the money we gave them. It is a corrupt system that does not benefit the U.S. at all.

[Mekugi]

I might as well vote for the tooth fairy. Seriously, no such thing.