Economic collapse? Social collapse? Imminent contact with a massive asteroid that will wipe out all life as we know it?
That’s why you need Bitcoin. It protects you from damage from all of those things, and more.
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Mortgage debt != credit card debt.
How is he paying the mortgage? Maybe he has a 30 year fixed rate amortizing mortgage with payments he can cover from his income. At the end of 30 years, his mortgage payments disappear and he owns the house.
Suppose he also has a credit card. He puts current consumption on the credit card – he isn’t getting any durable assets. He is enjoying his credit-supported lifestyle. Each year he adds new spending to the credit card. His year-end balance keeps going up faster than his income. This year, the interest on his credit card is 19% of his total income, 5 years ago it was 13% of his income.
He plans to continue this trend. I don’t think he is being foolish regarding the house, I do think he is being foolish regarding the credit card.
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exactly. Looking only at a metric of debt : Gross Income is pretty useless. Its more nuanced.
And you raise a key point… namely, what are you using the debt for. riffing on your example, taking a HELOC to cover your daughters college is way different than Vegas, Baby
Like much of current LTC insurance, Social Security and Medicare benefits are not entitlements, they’re underfunded insurance benefits. Raising social insurance rates, i.e., FICA tax rates, is unpopular, just like raising LTC insurance rates is unpopular. Proposing rate increases on either gets people upset, but the pain seems necessary to keep the insurance alive.
It does seem likely that the ease with which Medicare claims are paid leads to fraud.
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Accuratized that for you.
Yeah.
One has a chance at a positive return.
BOOM!
Across-the-board, or only on recipients who don’t need it? Curious what you envision here.
VAT would be nice in one way, in that rates could be set lower for tax-favored expenditures in lieu of the complicated system we have now, where I have to guess how much money to put in next year’s flexible spending accounts (medical and dependent care) and then file claims and/or produce substantiation.
I offer no opinion on the wisdom of VAT overall, nor the justice of varying tax rates by type of expenditure. I am aware HSAs exist.
That’s how the sausage gets made. Not sure if they would add a needs based flag or not. Raising the age is certainly possible but doesn’t get very far towards fixing the deficit.
I’m sure they would like to privatize it with approved investments like Trump crypto or Tesla stock.
Perhaps make the ultra wealthy pay tax. See this story for an example of billionaires being able to dodge billions in taxes in one instance.
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I expect increasing taxes on billionaires is far down Trump’s list of things to do.
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How can they trickle down wealth if we tax it?
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My understanding is that Americans are betting big on billionaires and their capacity to generate innovation, enough innovation to generate productivity and growth to prevent an imminent financial collapse. The last election results confirms this theory. I guess it’s the same approach with global warming and climate change – we’ll innovate our way out! They better be right or else we are going to see a massive collapse on several fronts. I’m actually fearful for Canada. When Americans feel economic insecurity they usually attack someone.
It surely is one hell of a bet to want the silicon valley or hedge fund types to do that. These chaps don’t like paying tax anyway. Anyway it’s not like there’s much of a choice because the government doesn’t do any investment.
Recent experience suggests that now, when Americans feel economic insecurity, the feds print more money and send out stimulus checks.
I’m seeing that here in Canada where there’s a mob raging about Loblaws pushing up grocery prices, in particular beef, while ignoring how climate change is pushing cattle production to multi-decadal lows.
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Let them eat tofu, I say.
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Trying to push Canadian soybean exports?
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Unnecessary.
The local farmer, who has been renting our soon-to-be-sold Ontario farm, was growing pesticide-free, non-GMO soya beans for the Japanese market and was making a fortune given the modest rent he paid us.
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