From: johniac@johniac.austin.ibm.com (John Iacoletti)
Subject: Re: Clinton Policies
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 21:36:40 GMT
Distribution: usa
Reply-To: johniac@austin.ibm.com (John Iacoletti)
Organization: IBM Advanced Workstation Division, Austin, TX

In article <1992Sep30.041448.21874@europa.lonestar.org>, tom@europa.lonestar.org (Tom Kimball) writes:
|> The idea that the Poll Tax would raise enough revenue to pay interest on the
|> national debt is laughable, and anyone with an ounce of economic sense knows
|> that treasury notes, bills, and bonds become worthless if the government
|> stops paying interest on the debt.

Scenario 1:  Go bankrupt, default on the debt, and start over.  This
sometimes happens to organizations that can't control their spending.

Scenario 2:  Stop all government spending, except to pay off the debt.
Start again in four or five years with a balanced budget based on poll 
tax revenues, with no deficit spending allowed, for any reason.

Scenario 3:  A gradual conversion to minimize the disruption, as
illustrated below from a post by John Otto (otto@systems.cc.fsu.edu)
to the Libernet mailing list:

Step 1. Flatten the income tax to 15% of earnings above $10000.
Step 2. Replace the income tax with a sales tax of 18%.
Step 3. Require referenda for changes in taxes or increase in 
        government debt.
Step 4. Eliminate all other taxes and fees, except customs, fines &
        the 18% sales tax, and implement the contract recording fee.
Step 5. Lower sales tax to 10% and implement head tax of $400/family 
        member/year.  (Reality check: $400*260*10^6=$104*10^9)
Step 6. Eliminate customs taxes.
Step 7. Eliminate sales tax.
Step 8. Replace head tax with government participation tax of $100/year.

Reasons:
1. Flattening income tax would be an extremely small step toward 
   reducing screwy games (what counts as "income", what's "deductible", 
   what's "exempt", 100%+ rates on those just squeaking out of poverty...) 
   and reduce costs for professional tax preparers.  The $10K floor is 
   a severe compromise down from the original 1913 exemption, which 
   would now equal, due to inflation, over $40K (with rates of 1% up 
   to 7%, thereafter).
2. Get rid of the screwy games for wage earners and give them back their
   financial privacy.
3. Otherwise, they'd just raise the sales tax or print more paper every 
   time we turn around.
4. Give everyone a clearer picture of exactly how much the government is 
   taking.  Introduce the fee for service.
5. The things Brooke said.  (Plus, Planned Parenthood and ZPG people 
   should love it.  Sorry, Toby; I've always felt crowded.)
6. I mostly hung onto this one because of its history; it was the most
   relied upon tax in the early Constitutional period.
7. Get rid of screwy games and return privacy to retail sellers.
8. Ya wanna play, ya gotta pay.
 
-- 
John Iacoletti       IBM AWD Austin       Internet: johniac@austin.ibm.com
        My opinions do not reflect the views of the IBM Corporation
"It takes a big man to cry.  And it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man."
                                                              -- Jack Handey
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton