They say that ignorance is bliss which would explain your laughter. Apparently, you never learned about curves in mathematics. To present the other side of your laughable analogy, why don’t we raise tax rates to 100% if increasing taxes increases tax revenue?

The tax revenue as a function of tax rate occurs on a curve where at the optimal rate any increase would lower tax revenue just as any decrease would lower tax revenue. This the Laffer Curve and it is not in dispute. Where there is great disagreement is knowing our exact location on the curve. Are taxes too low or too high? Given Obama’s increase in tax rates (both direct and indirect) and his desire to let the Bush tax cuts lapse, we are about to find out.

Would you be in favor of increasing tax rates if you knew it would lower tax revenue?

#11 – I agree. Cut Eurinal loose. We’ve been carrying them for decades. As has been said, the biggest problem with socialism is eventually you run out of someone else’s money. It’s a lot easier to create a socialist hellhole when you don’t have to pay for your own defense.

The Fair Tax is probably too much for most people to gt their heads around probably too difficult to implement in an abuse-proof way so the next best option is a flat tax. Scrap the entire tax system and go with a 10% flat tax on all income. No deductions or loopholes. For example: you have kids? Tough, it was your choice and your tax is not reduced. Investment gains are simply considered more “income” and taxed at 10% as well. Can’t bitch about “fariness” since everyone is taxed the same, no exceptions for anything.

States, counties, cities etc. can do what they want with their own taxes knowing they’re in competition with each other to provide an environment people want to live in. Overtax and people move out.

Taxes hurt the middle and lowest earners much more than the high earners (who can afford to pay them). Yet, the highest earners are helped most by the benefits of being Americans – and they wail the loudest against paying taxes.

Lottery Republicans: Low wage earners who don’t owe much tax; but IF they hit the lottery, they don’t want to pay taxes on it.

You live here, shut up and pay your way.

“Eisenhower kept the national debt low and inflation near zero”

Kill the tax cuts. They have not worked, we need money to fix all the problems we have and rebuild our aging and crumbling infrastructure.

We have more “I-35W” bridges waiting to happen.

Take care of the USA now, don’t put it off.

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From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_history_of_the_United_States

“Congress enacted an income tax in October 1913 as part of the Revenue Act of 1913, levying a 1% tax on net personal incomes above $3,000, with a 6% surtax on incomes above $500,000. By 1918, the top rate of the income tax was increased to 77% (on income over $1,000,000) to finance World War I. The top marginal tax rate was reduced to 58% in 1922, to 25% in 1925 and finally to 24% in 1929. In 1932 the top marginal tax rate was increased to 63% during the Great Depression and steadily increased, reaching 94% (on all income over $200,000) in 1945. Top marginal tax rates stayed near or above 90% until 1964 when the top marginal tax rate was lowered to 70%. The top marginal tax rate was lowered to 50% in 1982 and eventually to 28% in 1988.”

Chart of the highest income tax brackets in the U.S. in the last 95 years at

http://portfolio.com/interactive-features/2008/03/Tax-Brackets/

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It amazes me how many people want to live in a weak country. Want to see what it’s like living in a weak country? Try a vacation in Somalia, Liberia, the Balkans, the ‘stans, Haiti. Then imagine what it would be like in your state if there were no U.S. government.

And the Laffer curve is still as laughable as ever. If collections go up as rates go down, we should lower the rates to ZERO and get INFINITE collections! Why, negative rates should provide TRANS-INFINITE amounts! We’ll rule the UNIVERSE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA!!!

Let the tax cuts die!

more taxes = less jobs
less taxes = more jobs = more taxes (eventually)

“There are not longer any small businesses in the USA”

You’re dumb.

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” – FDR

Sell your stocks and take the capital gains before the tax cuts expire, of course. And probably sooner is better than later because there will be a lot of “profit taking” as we get further in to next year.