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Old 05-13-2009, 08:06 PM   #243 (permalink)
IamAlejo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trauma View Post
I'm going to say I disagree with this statement overall.

Although right now it would be in the best interest of the country to put most of the money that could be acquired (through legalization of marijuana) to outstanding debt and the deficit, it wouldn't be in the our best interest at very many other times.
Right now the deficit is the worst one the country has had in a long time, but somehow people are always quick to say "revenues increase spendings" which I think is basically the conservative way of saying, "cut taxes because I have too much money."

Instead, how about you say, "Revenues increase money the government gives to the military." The United States allocates more federal funds to the military than any other country (excluding China, maybe?). Keeping that in mind, it would make more sense to allocate funds used for the military to the outstanding deficit. This way, extra money brought in from the sudden legalization of marijuana would be able to go to welfare programs.
Sweden spends twice the amount the U.S. does (proportionately) on welfare programs, including things like healthcare and higher education incentives.
Their standard of living is one of the highest in the world, yet "revenues increase spending" is somehow a legitimate concern for the richest country in the world?

And the statement, "Fiscal responsibility is a thing of the past," does that somehow prove your point? In the last 50 years, the United States has only had a surplus for 13 years. That means that 37 of the last 50 years have ended in a deficit. So you must be going WAY back, right? Fiscal responsibility in the 20s and 30s maybe. Oh wait, that was the Great Depression. My fault.
No, putting away money to pay away at the debt right now would be a horrible idea. Government needs to be re-investing right now in hopes to spur economic activity and restore faith in hopes to increase fluidity of capital.

I'm saying that given other circumstances, I'm all for increasing revenues through taxes. But instead of offsetting these increased tax revenues with more expenses, we could try to pay off some debt. I'm going to ignore the rest of your post because you went out on a tangent that had nothing to do with what I was saying. But I'll touch on it if you want me to.
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