First of all, as Duffy quite rightly pointed out, if the majority of households are spending at a high rate, that absolutely affects inflation, interest rates, and the economy.

Secondly, educated/wealthy conservatives are usually very conservative with their money (that's usually how most wealthy people get there in the first place) usually assume that the government is behaving quite irresponsibly, as they wouldn't.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

Hilarious.

Lot of complicated subjects there. Yes, deductions and credits are usually designed to creative incentives for desirable behaviors. But there are two questions to answer 1) do they actually work, and 2) is the tax code the right place to do social engineering (or corporate engineering for corporate tax perks).

Arguing that depends a lot whichever deduction/credit we're talking about. But take the mortgage interest deduction. Designed to promote home ownership. Good thing. Does it work? Debatable. It's pretty hard to trick markets. Markets are like whack-a-mole. You push on one side, something pops up somewhere else. You deduct mortgage interest, which means people can afford slightly more on their mortgage payments. So demand for slightly more expensive houses increases. So the price of houses goes up. And you're back where you started. The deduction may have some positive effect. Not sure overall it's very efficient, though.

Yes, people with money and power will always have more influence over government, and the most ability to expertly navigate bureaucracy for their own benefit.

But if you simplify the bureaucracy it levels the playing field a little bit.

Spot...
I feel like you are trolling me.

That was a good troll the other day when you argued that there was some magical internal property that determined the price of a bond. "Because you read a book."
And that markets, supply and demand are just an illusion.
That was beyond me.
How does one respond to that?
I still haven't figured it out.


You are just trolling now.
Right?

What am I suppose to say?

"Yes. I did a lot of spending last quarter that is why the GDP jumped."

Perhaps but i'm not trolling. Sure i got the concept down behind supply and demand curves but as i recall i got a solid [and generous at that] C in econ and was happy to move on. I honestly don't know a lot about econ stuff so am hopeful for some good discussion. Naive maybe but there ya are.

sorry

/r

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Steve

What are you supposed to say? How about this: "I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about."

That would be a start.

ETA: It may not be obvious to you, but your position on that thread and this thread are contradictory.

ETA #2: I pointed out at least once that the the law of supply and demand did apply to those bonds; their value dropped because the mortgages were defaulting, and demand dried up. Your assertion was that value dropped because of panic selling, which is patently false. I referenced a couple of books to support my position, which judging by your response, you can't be bothered to read. Your entire argument appears to be, "because I said so."

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

No I didn't think you were trolling.
(I am uncertain about spot).

The funny thing is that I work in finance.
I have tried to say things like:
1) A bond is priced in a market, in respect to supply and demand.
Or
2) That to understand the deficit macro-economics us useful. That an individuals spending habits does not cause inflation or interest rates.

These are things that are meant to be helpful and pragmatic. The kind of thing that would be in the first page of every economics text book.

But people... Spot, Duffy, Windywave.
Immediately contest these things.

Honestly I don't mind.
I am just entertaining myself.
The propogation of idiocy might be a good thing.

Your comment sounded like...
"I wish people would be nice to each other" in the middle of world war 2.

so i am hoping this thread will not degenerate into insults and bickering and i can actually garner a summary knowledge of the issues at hand here.

You must be new around here.

I work in tax here in Canada and spent 5 years in the U.S in a CPA firm (although not in tax) so this is of interest to me. Our tax systems are generally similar and in both cases, the governments tax a lot and waste more so we've got that in common...

I am very interested in Tax reform as we are going through some changes here too. I'd like to read more about the proposals but at this point, there isn't a lot of information. It will come and then most people will pay more and it will be complex. That's just me going way out on a limb though.

Pretty much that.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot