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Are you willing to pay higher taxes, and if so, for what?

Are you willing to pay higher taxes, and if so, for what?

  • Yes, across the board.

    Votes: 10 15.4%
  • Yes, for infrastructure.

    Votes: 27 41.5%
  • Yes, for education. (K-12)

    Votes: 18 27.7%
  • Yes, for job creation.

    Votes: 16 24.6%
  • Yes, for social programs.

    Votes: 15 23.1%
  • Yes, for medical care.

    Votes: 21 32.3%
  • Yes, for the environment.

    Votes: 16 24.6%
  • Yes, but... not for some particular programs (please elaborate).

    Votes: 8 12.3%
  • No. None. Not for anything at all.

    Votes: 23 35.4%
  • Undecided. Convince me either way.

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Total voters
    65
deficit reduction
 
I am willing to pay higher taxes. I am willing to allow my democratically elected representatives in government to do the job they were elected to do.
 
I am willing to allow my democratically elected representatives in government to do the job they were elected to do.

Not me... not that I have any choice. My democratically elected representatives have proven to me that they will spend the treasury broke to keep themselves in office.
 
Not me... not that I have any choice. My democratically elected representatives have proven to me that they will spend the treasury broke to keep themselves in office.

You should run Maggie. Show em who is boss.
 
I'd be willing to pay higher taxes in return for a balanced budget and those making more than me not being able to game the system.
 
I am willing to pay more for infrastructure, because I think we so desperately need updating, but with a couple caveats... 1) that the extra money actually goes as extra money to infrastructure, and doesn't get offset by taking other general fund money originally meant for infrastructure and spend it elsewhere, and 2) that it be at the state level (or lower), not the federal level.
 
You must mean "Run like hell." :rofl

thats pretty funny Maggie.

True story: average folks can run and can win and can make a difference. Right after Obama got elected a former student of mine in high school back from the class of 1990 called me and said he wanted to run for State Representative. He had kept in touch with me over the years and I had urged him to do such things a few times in the past but he was never ready. So 20 years later he is ready to dive into the pool and says he wants me to run his campaign for him - be the campaign manager - and advise him to to get elected. I was retired and believed in the guy so I did. And in a nine person primary we won. We both worked like dogs and on most days it was only the two of us putting in ten to fifteen hour days for months and months but we won. We even beat the hand picked designated heir of the outgoing state rep.

And now he is in the state capitol doing great things and making a difference.

You should think about running and showing them who the real boss is. I may even know somebody who can give you some campaign advice. ;)
 
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thats pretty funny Maggie.

True story: average folks can run and can win and can make a difference. Right after Obama got elected a former student of mine in high school back from the class of 1990 called me and said he wanted to run for State Representative. He had kept in touch with me over the years and I had urged him to do such things a few times in the past but he was never ready. So 20 years later he is ready to dive into the pool and says he wants me to run his campaign for him - be the campaign manager - and advise him to to get elected. I was retired and believed in the guy so I did. And in a nine person primary we won. We both worked like dogs and on most days it was only the two of us putting in ten to fifteen hour days for months and months but we won. We even beat the hand picked designated heir of the outgoing state rep.

And now he is in the state capitol doing great things and making a difference.

You should think about running and showing them who the real boss is. I may even know somebody who can give you some campaign advice. ;)

That story, Haymarket, is the United States of America at its very best. Good. For. You. Maybe there is still room for Mr. Smith. ;)
 
The poll's a little tough to vote in because you don't know the amounts. For example, if we could solve an environmental problem and it would cost everyone 10 cents a year in extra taxes, a lot of people would probably go for it. If it were to cost half of everyone's income, they probably wouldn't.
 
That story, Haymarket, is the United States of America at its very best. Good. For. You. Maybe there is still room for Mr. Smith. ;)

Oh there is Maggie. And a Ms. Smith also. ;)
 
if i made more money, i would willingly pay more taxes.
 
The poll's a little tough to vote in because you don't know the amounts. For example, if we could solve an environmental problem and it would cost everyone 10 cents a year in extra taxes, a lot of people would probably go for it. If it were to cost half of everyone's income, they probably wouldn't.
Fair point, but polls are kind of hard to set-up and include every single possible variable and nuance, or else they'd be too unwieldy. By their very nature they have to be somewhat generic.
 
I'm not, simply because I don't trust the government to actually spend the money as it's earmarked. Let me know when they actually make a budget and follow it, then I'll consider paying more for essential items.
 
I'd be willing to pay higher taxes in return for a balanced budget and those making more than me not being able to game the system.

Most of us who do make more than you are being gamed by the system where those who pay almost nothing or nothing have more votes than those of us who pay outrageously high tax dollars
 
I'm unwilling to pay more taxes.... but completely willing to help Americans directly.

I've no need of inefficient middlemen... the people is who I care about, not the government.
 
If I lived in the US, I would be willing to take higher taxes for
1. Deficit reduction with a balanced budget amendment
2. Infrastructure
The rest would be a waste of money. It's not lack of money that is the problem, but how they spend them and regulations.

In New Zealand I would be willing to take higher taxes for more infrastructure, because we needs to spend more on infrastructure. For instance, Auckland needs a train that goes to the airport and North Shore. They are currently building a train to the airport. :cool:
 
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Why does the government "need more taxes" for any of those things listed? We already throw lots of money at all of those things, and the problem is that it's money we don't have. Paying higher taxes at this point would only serve to put us a little less in debt every year, and that's IF FedGov didn't immediately pump out the additional revenue to do things it saw necessary for our own good... which is a big ****ing if.
 
Yes, but we need to significantly cut spending on the military industrial complex. We need to get back to defense spending levels.
 
Yes, for national purpose only.
 
Not interested, I am willing to forgo my "entitlements", in order to reduce the deficit though.

bingo. though if this happens, I want to be allowed to save tax free (I like Romney's idea of no capital gains for those under 500,000) so that I can more easily make up for the loss.

I would be willing to pay slightly higher effective taxes in order to pay lower nominal taxes that would reduce tax code complexity and help the economy boom. Likely I (speaking on behalf of taxpayers) would make up the difference through increased opportunity and pay.
 
Yes, for infrastructure.

Of course. I don't really understand the mindset of people who oppose additional infrastructure spending. The economic benefits that come from having functional roads, rail, bridges, ports, power grids, and water supplies is far greater than the cost to build and maintain them.

Yes, for education. (K-12)

Meh, not really. At this point I think we've long since surpassed the point of diminishing returns in additional education spending (at least in most districts). The problem isn't a lack of funding, it's the way money is wasted and the method through which students are taught.

Yes, for job creation.

This option doesn't make sense to me. Job creation (at least as it relates to the government's fiscal policy) is done by deficit spending. So raising taxes to pay for a stimulus would be both unnecessary and counterproductive. In terms of job creation, I'd rather keep taxes relatively low and keep spending relatively high. That is the combination that puts the most money in people's pockets and stimulates aggregate demand.

Yes, for social programs.
Yes, for medical care.

Yes, definitely. Especially for medical care, where it's fairly obvious from the examples of every other developed country in the world that more government control over health care helps to keep the costs down without providing any worse results.

Yes, for the environment.

Depends on what exactly this means. I support a higher gasoline tax in order to reduce consumption, so in that sense I would be willing to pay higher taxes for the environment.
 
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