tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005038831999639346.post864238277080063695..comments2023-08-04T04:31:39.771-07:00Comments on My Life and Hard Times: If the government were a family, how would its budget look?James Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005038831999639346.post-33464471990521492002011-06-15T08:50:09.528-07:002011-06-15T08:50:09.528-07:00The tax rate discussion could definitely be more d...The tax rate discussion could definitely be more developed here. Republicans are fond of saying are problem is not with revenue but with spending: I hope my figures demonstrate that the problem is big enough for both. <br /><br />The debt does come with a low interest rate, and it has traditionally played an important role in world trade as about the lowest-risk place for private investors to put money. That said, housing interest rates are nearly as low in the current economy--and that doesn't make me think that a $300,000 house is a good investment on my income. <br /><br />The U.S. Government doesn't need to eliminate the national debt entirely, be we do need to get the deficit under control and come up with a plan to reduce the debt back into a more reasonable relationship to our tax revenue.James Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005038831999639346.post-21019540660978105362011-06-15T08:44:30.631-07:002011-06-15T08:44:30.631-07:00Unfortunately, cutting politicians' pay would ...Unfortunately, cutting politicians' pay would not make a noticeable dent. If my calculations are correct, eliminating the salaries of Congress members and the President entirely would save about a scale 15 cents. Cutting them to $45,000 would save about a scale 11 cents. <br /><br />I'm also not sure it would make us feel better, because the cynic in me figures that Congress members would probably just start embezzling more campaign funds if we gave them drastic pay cuts. Or, worse yet, they might try to set themselves up to make more money after their terms as cable news celebrities instead.James Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005038831999639346.post-5876800686042439382011-06-15T05:48:00.273-07:002011-06-15T05:48:00.273-07:00I think asking the politicians (who are deciding w...I think asking the politicians (who are deciding what to spend) to live on that average salary and have only average benefits would make a nice dent. Even if it doesn't, it would make the rest of us feel better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005038831999639346.post-70086747499053118582011-06-13T20:12:47.309-07:002011-06-13T20:12:47.309-07:00Interesting. It is missing a few important bits: 1...Interesting. It is missing a few important bits: 1) scale figure for how much of a voluntary pay cut the govt took versus Clinton-era tax rates, 2) scale figure for how much of a voluntary pay cut the govt took versus Eisenhower-era tax rates, and 3) mention of how much lower the borrowing costs are for the govt.<br /><br />On 3) at present, Treasury rates are hovering around 3%. So where we might pay an average non-rewards interest rate of 15% (or for some of us 9.9%) for our credit card borrowing, the govt is able to borrow at far less expensive rates -- the sort of rates where it is fairly easy to use the money in a way that gets more return than the cost of borrowing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com