Taxation

Cn I just point out that the UN was designed to be impotent without US force projection, if the US is to withdraw fine, but the UN would have to be allowed to be significantly restructed to be in any way effective.

Sounds like a plan to me. There is a lot of resentment toward the US and maybe putting more responsibility on the shoulders of these other nations will force them to see our point of view more clearly. Especially when it's their money and their citizen's lives that are being put on the line. It's real easy to play armchair quarterback when you have nothing to lose.

Getting back on topic taxes are not necessarily a bad thing. With a penalty/incentive program certain activities can be encouraged and others can be discouraged. Depending on the program this can almost pay for itself. For example a gas guzzler tax for gas guzzler vehicles, but a subsidy program for green vehicles. The tax on one pays for the subsidy on the other.
THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE!! So before the Hummer owners form a lynch mob, consider other applications for this concept!

I believe it was mentioned before but taxation penalties and incentives add quite a bit of unnecessary clutter. They need to be streamlined and specific on the national and state levels, preferably with no overlap.

The UN in its current form would be almost comical if it lost the United States. A major restructuring is in order, if the U.S. stays or leaves.

In response to Commodore's post, let me just make a couple brief comments:

Defense - I support your view that the National Guard needs to remain at home, but creating entry-level jobs for youth? That seems like something that would fit better in a reformed Education system.

Transportation - I agree, an overhaul is in order but why not start with something more drastic? Instead let's use high-speed cargo and commuter rail across the country. Eliminate the need for semis completely by creating a nationalized airship-based cargo transport. Create incentives for not only fuel efficient cars (obviously) but smaller sized to reduce material use and road size.

Education - Spot on, real world examples and hands on is the way to teach.

P.S. We've really moved pretty far away from taxation, haven't we?

Locksley wrote:

I believe it was mentioned before but taxation penalties and incentives add quite a bit of unnecessary clutter. They need to be streamlined and specific on the national and state levels, preferably with no overlap.

The UN in its current form would be almost comical if it lost the United States. A major restructuring is in order, if the U.S. stays or leaves.

In response to Commodore's post, let me just make a couple brief comments:

Defense - I support your view that the National Guard needs to remain at home, but creating entry-level jobs for youth? That seems like something that would fit better in a reformed Education system.

Transportation - I agree, an overhaul is in order but why not start with something more drastic? Instead let's use high-speed cargo and commuter rail across the country. Eliminate the need for semis completely by creating a nationalized airship-based cargo transport. Create incentives for not only fuel efficient cars (obviously) but smaller sized to reduce material use and road size.

Education - Spot on, real world examples and hands on is the way to teach.

P.S. We've really moved pretty far away from taxation, haven't we?

I hadn't worked out the details, but something where an incentive/penalty was in place could guide the public into doing what was good for the country as opposed to forcing them.
The US would still be in the UN, but would take a smaller role in world events. This could also be done gradually over time so the shock to system would be minimized.
Commodores comments:
Defense: What has been done with Iraq has always bothered me. Our first line of defense or military use was supposed to be active duty military, second line, reserves, and third line national guard. I consider this backwards use an abuse of the president's power. With my experience in the military I consider some kind of civil service corps a way to help youth get their lives on track. I will elaborate on this more later.
Transportation: Drastic looks good on paper but there is a lot of adjustment that causes problems. That is why I prefer to be moderate politically. Instead of conservative trying to resist change, or liberal wanting drastic change, I like moderate gradual change. I like this idea, but would like to suggest an interim step to fill the gap. High speed cargo sounds good, but semis make a lot of stops between the coasts. How about some kind of hybrid semi with solar panels on the roof of the trailer?

As for going off topic, when was the last time you had a conversation that didn't stray off topic? LOL! Some good stuff is being talked about here so why not? But yeah, eventually we should try and get back on track!

Locksley wrote:

In response to Commodore's post, let me just make a couple brief comments:

Defense - I support your view that the National Guard needs to remain at home, but creating entry-level jobs for youth? That seems like something that would fit better in a reformed Education system.

The idea is not jobs for job training sake, its more like a source for cheap labor in the public sector that is notorious for spending bloat.

There is the added benefit of supporting a force of that size forces you to create the logistical infrastructure who's output that can just as easily be applied to civil uses.

We've all heard about the military industrial complex. Apply the principle to everything the military required but the weapons, and you can support not only the military, but civilian populations in need as well in ways that are far more efficient than civilian modes.

I've never heard before of the military industrial complex being sighted as a worthwhile goal to emulate.

Well if the output is life support systems instead weapons, its considerably less dangerous.

lkm wrote:

I've never heard before of the military industrial complex being sighted as a worthwhile goal to emulate.

The military industrial complex as a whole, absolutely not. The military as a whole, absolutely not, but there are aspects of the military that can be applied to a civil service corps. The training would be in a wide variety of tasks that can be used in the private sector. Learning about agriculture, construction, supply, warehouse, inventory, emergency medicine, etc. They could be used for disaster relief to supplement the national guard, fire, police, etc. I see a lot of potential in this concept.

I found this paper on the idea of land-value tax quite interesting and thought I'd share (if anyone happens to visit): http://econrsss.anu.edu.au/pdf/DP417.pdf

The summary is interesting and basically shows the great potential opportunity of working from a clean-slate:

Quote :

It has been argued by advocates of land value taxation that the centrepiece of tax reform should be land taxation, because of the efficiency, equity, simplicity and ethical advantages of taxation of the unearned increment in land values. This paper critiques these arguments. It is shown, by historical reference to the fate of land value taxation in the Australian states, to the ACT public leasehold system, and to the Commonwealth capital gains tax, that such tax reform will never succeed precisely because of its advantages, which adversely impinge on the interests of politically powerful landowners.

- Mike

Once again, I advise you to look at Paul Birches site, specifically the critique of georgism.

I've moved away from the idea of taxation - a minimalist state doesn't need to tax people in order to pay for itself; enough money can be raised through voluntary donations, especially if we copy the Swiss model.