Submitted by [deleted] t3_1105aof in Futurology
KungFuHamster t1_j873zzw wrote
Out of the woodwork crawl the people whining about what it'll cost. These same assholes don't ask how we pay trillions of dollars for war, spending more than any other country by several multiples, more than the next 9 highest spending countries combined.
Easy, here we go:
- Health care: every other advanced nation does it and spends less than we do per person, and yet provide 100% health care for all citizens. Copy how they do it, and we'd save money. Hint: eliminate enormous profits.
- Eliminate tax loopholes for corporations and billionaires.
- Eliminate tax exempt status for churches.
Done, paid for. We probably wouldn't even have to cut defense.
Next problem.
jmcin05 t1_j874uql wrote
Stop making sense man. We’ll have nothing to argue about.
connley t1_j875gd2 wrote
But then how will the health insurance overlords and medical groups be able to bilk us for a ridiculous amount of money? What about their yachts? Did you even stop to consider their yachts?
Carbidereaper t1_j876bdk wrote
You could eliminate Medicare/Medicade military healthcare Known as tricare food stamps and the other bureaucratic social services and merge it into the social security administration and use every citizens social security number to deliver the money directly into there checking accounts therefore bypassing the states and all of their individual bureaucratic bloat. this could save many tens of billions in bureaucratic costs you could call it basic universal services.
WollCel t1_j87ex2z wrote
I can’t believe that no one has ever thought of closing tax loopholes and digging into the lucrative profits of all those churches! Reddit once again proving it’s the last intellectual haven on earth.
KungFuHamster t1_j88h51q wrote
Your sarcasm adds nothing. The fact that no one has acted on those concepts demonstrates that our politicians do not act in our best interest but for corporate interests. Until we get sincere representatives, nothing significantly good is going to happen.
[deleted] OP t1_j87lwxa wrote
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questionableK t1_j87jt25 wrote
Although we should and the defense department agrees. So much of the spending is waste. Inflated cost to contractors
Still_Frame2744 t1_j87k29i wrote
With that you're so right you wouldn't even need to cut defense spending.
However, a 10% decrease in defense spending also would cover it and it wouldn't upset all the oligarchs (meaning it might pass)
SandysBurner t1_j87l9lc wrote
It would upset the oligarchs who are heavily invested in defense contractors.
[deleted] OP t1_j87kfvm wrote
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dalhaze t1_j87khru wrote
I’m pretty sure many these same people are critical about the money we spend on wars etc considering most people think we spend an absurd amount of money in general.
Tommyblockhead20 t1_j87mwte wrote
I’m confused, it sounds like you are suggesting taxing churches will lead to significant tax revenue? It’s always crazy this idea is so popular on Reddit when there’s so many simple reasons it’s a bad idea. Now some people that say it just want churches to be classified as regular non profits, or they don’t care about the money and just have a hate boner for churches, but those that actually want the tax revenue make the least sense as it’s so easily disprovable.
US churches revenue is about $75 billion a year. Assuming we classify them as corporations, they have a super high profit margin of 20% (that’s not the case irl), and they don’t get any tax dedications so they pay the full 21% corporate tax rate, that ridiculously liberal estimate still only means $3 billion in taxes.
With how much waste that is in the military, it’s sensible to cut funding, as much as 400 billion. If we raise corporate taxes 4%, that will bring in 480 billion. If we halve healthcare cost down to what other countries spend, that saves about 2 trillion. Putting something that even in a best case hypothetical, brings in a couple billion, in the top 3 priorities is laughable (and that’s ignoring all the other problems with it).
And, once again, if we are going for tax revenue, forcing billionaires to actually pay their income tax won’t help much either, as they almost entirely make their wealth off capital gains and/or already possess the money. Even a wealth tax on just billionaires is suboptimal. Billionaires have $12 trillion in wealth. Those worth between 10 million and a billion? $80 trillion.
So how about this
• health care
• eliminate tax loopholes
• weath tax and higher capital gains tax for those worth $10 million+
loneranger07 t1_j87i7i0 wrote
The churches part just won't ever happen... Seperation of church and state. Plus strong legal precedent. The rest, maybe ....
Ruthless4u t1_j87fe55 wrote
So when those corporations and billionaires leave who’s going to pay for it?
AdeptusDakkatist t1_j87aesw wrote
Yeah.....just eliminate all the tax loopholes. That's so easy. Then remove the special status religion has enjoyed since the founding. That'll go over so well. No revolts will be had. No one will die. Such a smart idea 🫠
Dan_Caveman t1_j87bcav wrote
Do you suppose all the “revolts” you speak of would kill more people than currently die of hunger, homelessness, poverty, etc.? That’s a pretty high bar.
AdeptusDakkatist t1_j87bmrq wrote
I may be insane, but I genuinely believe that the Bible belt alone would kill more Americans than starvation, homelessness, and poverty. Just my opinion, but I believe that revoking religious tax exemption would in fact lead to war, and in turn far more death.
jdragun2 t1_j87fuac wrote
I think pastors are going to have a harder time using their profit margins to motivate their congregations to war. Also, war with who? How about where? You give way too much credit to America's bible belt.
AdeptusDakkatist t1_j87gkta wrote
War with the federal government. Again, maybe I am giving them too much credit, but if those same pastors would frame "the government" as a satanic force of (expletives for abortion, gay rights, globalization, diversity, etc.).
It would only take a few bad people in a few key positions of influence to take advantage of a bad situation. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong, and this is all schizophrenic nonsense, but I would ask you to spend some time on the fringes of Odyssey and Bitchute, and tell me I'm wrong.
hlessi_newt t1_j87fxxw wrote
the bandaid is gonna have to get ripped off eventually.
Still_Frame2744 t1_j87k4uj wrote
Only stupid people would die on those hills.
Sir_Beardsalot t1_j87mo10 wrote
So…..a win? 🙃
AdeptusDakkatist t1_j89nw2w wrote
And do you think those "stupid people" will just lay down and die, or do you think they'll crack open the gun safe and take a few (explicit terms for progressives) with them?
You can dismiss their intelligence. You can't deny their access, and pretelection for the use of, firearms.
[deleted] OP t1_j87ay0a wrote
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Freethecrafts t1_j87eoik wrote
You could get trillions by removing the statute of limitations on tax crimes.
WollCel t1_j87f285 wrote
This would have zero unintended fallout and would really help strengthen the confidence in the US legal system
Freethecrafts t1_j87f9lb wrote
I’m good with it. There are whales who disappear for seven years, then magically reappear. The level of investigation it would take to find these people is grade school level.
WollCel t1_j87frxi wrote
Do you think that perhaps the issue may not be with the laws and rather the investigators? I’m going to give you a hint that the people who end up getting hammered by the federal government and prosecutors aren’t the ones with legal teams and financial firms behind them.
Freethecrafts t1_j87gcv8 wrote
Don’t you think flipping the script and changing the rules that allow the whales to violate the system is a better tact than leaving things in place?
The investigators are tied up in red tape and thousand page returns. You’re looking at number of “audits” to declare the system is rigged and the people investigating are corrupt. The IRS has nation state level computer programs to check simple returns. Every time someone misplaces a dollar, miscounts dependents, tries to claim someone else’s dependent, or even counts wrong an exception is generated. Then the IRS sends out a notice of correction and that counts as one of your numbers. People with tax attorneys are far less likely to make simple arithmetic errors, but they do have the means to obfuscate or disappear. The way you’re counting is wrong in how you’re going about claiming corruption.
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