Where is all our money?????

[ironeagle]

I was just pondering as I usually do, today, about where exactly it is all our money is (meanin tax dollars)? I mean obviously we know about the bailouts etc, but does this really explain where the f all our money went? I constantly read or watch news casts, ads, and stories about how all our courthouses, schools, etc are too poor and shutting down and how our federal, state and local governments are "poor and have no money", but how exactly is this possible?

Am I missing something here? We have a federal sales tax, state sales tax, income tax, medicaid/medicare tax, ss tax, thousands of llegal excise taxes on alcohol, ciggaretts, tanning etc, property taxes, court fees for filing, fines, tickets, fees for taking government forced classes like Batterers education that cost the convicted $100 more than a volontary participant, fees for probation/parole, license renewal fees for driving, occupational licenses, license plate sticker renewal fees, license plate charges, taxes on purchasing houses, cars, fishing license, hunting permit, handgun permit, permit to carry and conceal, and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Not to mention property taxes in most areas were inflated by the local governments to swindle more money, more money, more money. Increases in bills to citizens for utilities ran and monopolized by the local governments, are a factor too and FCC make believe taxes and fees.

Where is this money> How are they so poor?

[truthreality]

I was just pondering as I usually do, today, about where exactly it is all our money is (meanin tax dollars)? I mean obviously we know about the bailouts etc, but does this really explain where the f all our money went? I constantly read or watch news casts, ads, and stories about how all our courthouses, schools, etc are too poor and shutting down and how our federal, state and local governments are "poor and have no money", but how exactly is this possible?

Am I missing something here? We have a federal sales tax, state sales tax, income tax, medicaid/medicare tax, ss tax, thousands of llegal excise taxes on alcohol, ciggaretts, tanning etc, property taxes, court fees for filing, fines, tickets, fees for taking government forced classes like Batterers education that cost the convicted $100 more than a volontary participant, fees for probation/parole, license renewal fees for driving, occupational licenses, license plate sticker renewal fees, license plate charges, taxes on purchasing houses, cars, fishing license, hunting permit, handgun permit, permit to carry and conceal, and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Not to mention property taxes in most areas were inflated by the local governments to swindle more money, more money, more money. Increases in bills to citizens for utilities ran and monopolized by the local governments, are a factor too and FCC make believe taxes and fees.

Where is this money> How are they so poor?

I think the fundamental problem is debt. Instead of spending tax dollars on program such as education the government is forced to spend money on debt. We are in debt due to tax cuts, recessions and wars. According to the Congressional Budget Office, since 2001, federal revenues have fallen short by about 6 trillion while public debt has risen by almost the same amount. The tax cuts created by Bush is another culprit. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts by Bush have caused an estimated 1.6 trillion dollars of debt which is more then any policy by any president. Healthcare entitlements, medicare prescription drug benefit and Obama's economic stimulus are other culprits. From a business point of view the expansion of the housing bubble, credit conditions, lending, deregulation of banks, too much leverage and poor pricing have also led to debt.

Why are we in debt? Tax cuts, recessions, wars - MarketWatch

What caused the national debt? 6 culprits - The Week

http://www.crisissite.com/answer-mai...ican-debt.html

[ironeagle]

Yeah ok but what tax cuts exactly? The sales tax is the same as it was five years ago, here in Iowa we replaced the 1% school tax with some other 1% tax I don't recall the name of. Also if property tax has risen then how are there cuts in those taxes? There has been no real cut to any income taxes, ss and other paycheck taxes per say they just go up or down based on pay. Some taxes are only use dby the state or local governments so how does federal spending have anything to do with where the heck the millions Des Moines collected on property tax went? Other than that it looks like the main culprits are government health care subsidies, military spending, and low pay jobs (where people can't afford to buy retail products, buy homes or cars etc) What's funny is they have been trying to lower the pay of the trrops, cutting military jobs etc, but is there actually evidence they have been paid less in taxes? Aside from a decline of money, my question is where is the money they collect at? Personally it looks obvious to me it's being stolen from funds from other programs and purposes for things it wasn't meant for like military spending, medicaid etc. Look a SS, they keep stealing from it to buy other things. So if the city collects a tax for say parks, and it has 50K in it and it's uddenly gone and suddenly 50K gets spent on new police cars I have to assume they stole the funds from one to give to the other. isn't that actually what's really going on here?

[iolo]

All money, as you know, goes to the bankers and the rest of the rich. You support them both ways.

[grandpa]

All money, as you know, goes to the bankers and
the rest of the rich.
You support them both ways.

You can't have it both ways forever.

They'll justify the rip-off by saying "Well, you get a myriad of services." But, hypothetically anyway, we can have goods and services without being siwndled in the first place.

Grandpa h.

[truthreality]

Yeah ok but what tax cuts exactly?

The 2001 tax cuts reduced income tax rates and estate tax. The tax cut also provided tax breaks for education, families with children, married couples and specific contributions. The 2002 tax cuts reduced business investment taxes. The 2003 tax cuts cut taxes on dividend and capital gains and accelerated tax cuts made in 2001. The 2004 tax cuts simply extended various 2001 and 2003 tax cut provisions so that they would remain intact in 2010. The 2005 tax cuts eliminated restrictions on IRAs and increased the exemption amount of the Alternative Minimum Tax. These are just some of the effects of the altering of the tax code put forth by Bush.

Bush Tax Cuts

The sales tax is the same as it was five years ago, here in Iowa we replaced the 1% school tax with some other 1% tax I don't recall the name of.

Sales tax vary depending on the state and jurisdiction so I assume sales tax cuts would follow similarly. The Bush tax cuts happened at the Federal level and I am not aware of any sales tax cuts.

Also if property tax has risen then how are there cuts in those taxes?

Property taxes are similar to sales taxes in that they change and are unique because they are dependent on changing and unique variables. Property tax may go up in one state and down in another state. Recently many states have put limits on property taxes.

There has been no real cut to any income taxes, ss and other paycheck taxes per say they just go up or down based on pay.

The tax brackets are fixed per range of income. The Bush tax cuts apply to these tax brackets.

Some taxes are only use dby the state or local governments so how does federal spending have anything to do with where the heck the millions Des Moines collected on property tax went?

I never said the Bush tax cuts apply to all taxes. I am not sure what you are talking about in regards to Des Moines.

Other than that it looks like the main culprits are government health care subsidies, military spending, and low pay jobs (where people can't afford to buy retail products, buy homes or cars etc)

The Bush tax cuts still remain the top culprit while I agree that these are also issues that add to the debt.

What's funny is they have been trying to lower the pay of the trrops, cutting military jobs etc, but is there actually evidence they have been paid less in taxes?

Yes. As mentioned earlier in this thread tax brackets are fixed per income range. If someone moves into a lower earning bracket they will pay less taxes.

Aside from a decline of money, my question is where is the money they collect at?

Government spending is not really a secret. They release information based on their spending to the public.

Personally it looks obvious to me it's being stolen from funds from other programs and purposes for things it wasn't meant for like military spending, medicaid etc. Look a SS, they keep stealing from it to buy other things.

The reason the government has to borrow is because they are in debt and do not have enough to fund programs that they are supposed to spend on. Do you have evidence that the government is spending money where it is not supposed to?

So if the city collects a tax for say parks, and it has 50K in it and it's uddenly gone and suddenly 50K gets spent on new police cars I have to assume they stole the funds from one to give to the other. isn't that actually what's really going on here?

If the city uses taxes to pay for the police they are not sealing or borrowing funds.

[Senor Hoint]

You can find breakdowns of the federal and state budgets on the respective websites. Government transparency is a great thing, isn't it?

I think the fundamental problem is debt.

I don't agree. The fundamental problem is that we spend about half the government's money on stuff that will simply explode and kill brown people instead of investing it in the future of our people.

[truthreality]

I don't agree. The fundamental problem is that we spend about half the government's money on stuff that will simply explode and kill brown people instead of investing it in the future of our people.

Poor spending decisions lead to debt. If we could spend as much as we wanted to and not worry about debt then spending would not be an issue.

[Senor Hoint]

Poor spending decisions lead to debt. If we could spend as much as we wanted to and not worry about debt then spending would not be an issue.

Well, right. Poor spending decisions are the cause of debt. So really, it is poor spending decisions we should worry about rather than focusing on "debt" as though it is something that just magically happens.

[truthreality]

Poor spending decisions are the cause of debt.

Poor spending decisions are not the only cause of debt.

So really, it is poor spending decisions we should worry about rather than focusing on "debt" as though it is something that just magically happens.

Actually we should worry about both poor spending decisions and debt.

[Angry Citizen]

You can find breakdowns of the federal and state budgets on the respective websites. Government transparency is a great thing, isn't it?



I don't agree. The fundamental problem is that we spend about half the government's money on stuff that will simply explode and kill brown people instead of investing it in the future of our people.

We don't spend half of our money on the military. We don't even spend a third of it, IIRC. It's a massive bloat, to be sure, but it's not most of it.

Our taxes are too low. We have loads of taxes, but the taxes that matter are set at values below what is necessary to sustain ourselves. Reinstatement of Kennedy-era taxation would get us back on track, combined with a subsequent reduction in the military.

[Senor Hoint]

Poor spending decisions are not the only cause of debt.

What other causes of government debt could possibly exist?

We don't spend half of our money on the military. We don't even spend a third of it, IIRC. It's a massive bloat, to be sure, but it's not most of it.

Our taxes are too low. We have loads of taxes, but the taxes that matter are set at values below what is necessary to sustain ourselves. Reinstatement of Kennedy-era taxation would get us back on track, combined with a subsequent reduction in the military.

It's actually a fifth (for 2011). Well, 19% to be exact. But I'd bet some of the "discretionary spending" also goes to the wars.

EDIT: and yes, I agree we need some serious tax increases, though implementing them at this stage when the economy is shaky is probably a recipe for disaster.