How to pay off our deficits ..........tax the POLITICIANS!

sounds great to me! but, i wont hold my breath

Good job, Scooterbug. I'll vote for that!

Yep, I think a lot of people would!

New plan (since nobody is commenting on this thread) copy it and email it to everyone you know!

I love your ideas SB. Now if we could only get the politicians to go along.

I think we can all agree on a couple things:

1) The US government cannot continue to spend and borrow - both like it has been doing and is currently doing.

2) Due to the economy and lack of planning many states and communities are experiencing budgetary shortfalls.

3) There is not a group of taxpayers or businesses we can tap as a large income source.

4) There is not a major incentive for politicians to balance the budget or control spending - heck, it's not THEIR money.

So where do we get more money from?

THE POLITICIANS!

Tax campaign contributions until the deficits are paid off and all budgets are balanced/have surpluses.

5% for local elections, 7.5% for state/federal elections, and 10% for presidential campaigns and any national political action group.

No small print, no exceptions, no tax credits, no levels - that set percentage just goes straight into the coffers.

Also:
-Any contributions that are NOT used during the election go into that fund - not the politicians' pocket.

-A company with business before a politician may not employ or contribute any money, gifts, or services to any member of a politician's household or nuclear family. Spouses, parents, children etc. are all off limits.

POST OF THE WEEK!!!!

I have a feeling that you would see campaign contributions fall dramaticly!!!!! WIN - WIN

What a wonderful idea! And more importantly it makes sense and could actually work. But as kkddbb said, I won't hold my breath. The only thing wrong with your layout is the the state/federal and presidential taxes. They are too low. increase them by about 50% and then you'll be cookin'.

Yep, I think a lot of people would!

New plan (since nobody is commenting on this thread) copy it and email it to everyone you know!

Maybe YOU should run for office?????

This is a great idea, but what are the chances of our current politicians voting to increase taxes on themselves?

I think we can all agree on a couple things:

1) The US government cannot continue to spend and borrow - both like it has been doing and is currently doing.

2) Due to the economy and lack of planning many states and communities are experiencing budgetary shortfalls.

3) There is not a group of taxpayers or businesses we can tap as a large income source.

4) There is not a major incentive for politicians to balance the budget or control spending - heck, it's not THEIR money.

So where do we get more money from?

THE POLITICIANS!

Tax campaign contributions until the deficits are paid off and all budgets are balanced/have surpluses.

5% for local elections, 7.5% for state/federal elections, and 10% for presidential campaigns and any national political action group.

No small print, no exceptions, no tax credits, no levels - that set percentage just goes straight into the coffers.

Also:
-Any contributions that are NOT used during the election go into that fund - not the politicians' pocket.

-A company with business before a politician may not employ or contribute any money, gifts, or services to any member of a politician's household or nuclear family. Spouses, parents, children etc. are all off limits.

Who are you really taxing though, the politicians or the contributors? Also what kind of money are we even talking about? Are we taking in hundreds of billions in campaign contributions? In which millennium will we start to see results? I did a quick check, and I think at best we're talking about hundreds of millions per year. A fraction of that doesn't amount to very much.

It is taxing the politicians - not only does the government get a cut of their "fundraising", but they get any unused funds - and those add up too.

For example, in 2008 presidential candidates raised over $1 billion - and they didn't spend it all - so the $15 million Obama didn't use, the $38 million McCain didn't use, and the $50K McKinney and Baldwin each didn't use........................into the kitty!

My guess would be that it would bring in hundreds of millions each election year, maybe hitting into the billion realm during more intense presidential election years. It certainly wouldn't pay off the debt in one fell swoop, but hundreds of millions here, a billion there and it adds up.

It also helps challengers because the incumbent cannot carry money over from election to election. Was also hoping to also get rid of some of the shady "contribution" maneuvers since they will be getting more attention from the IRS and needing to keep better records with these taxes.

The sheer number of races is actually where it starts to really add up - school board, mosquito, commissioner, sheriff, coroner, judges, comptroller, etc. Florida has 25 congressional districts and each of those races had an average of 1.5 million raised for it in 2008. Heck, the District 3 candidate raised about $560K and the District 17 candidate raised $1.5 million and ran UNOPPOSED!

Bump!

I really think this is the way to balance the budget!

For example, if my rules were in effect the budget would have gotten $13 million today when Bayh decided to not run. (Or 975K if he ran and was taxed.)

And the 10% tax on national political groups could be a goldmine w/ the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Scooterbug, you're a genius, I knew I had good reason to love you guys. Everything starts with an idea, like a small seed. If you water it, it will grow- maybe one day... The little bitty acorn grows into huge oaktrees. You guys still do not cease to amaze me.

A little food for thought as the races heat up and we hear how much money is being spent on political ads and mailings.

The more money they spend, the more we could GET to balance our budgets without raising taxes!

Bump!