TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart In 1981 Ronald Reagan created a fiscal polity he titled, “Supply Side Economics.” It quickly became known as “Trickle-Down Economics.” His eight years in office were dominated by high unemployment rates and huge increases in the national debt. Unfortunately, his three Republican successors failed to learn from his mistakes and used the same policy. The result was, in 1992, Bill Clinton rescued Reagan and George H.W. Bush: In 2008, Barack Obama saved our economy from the failures of George W. Bush: and in 2020, Joe Biden prevented another Great Depression after the disastrous incompetence of Donald John Trump. WHAT IS “TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS” The simplest definition of “trickle-down economics” is that it is based on an illusion. Republicans continue to offer a baseless claim that if the wealthiest Americans receive tax cuts and thrive, jobs will be created, and the overall economy will grow exponentially. Experience proves this theory is invalid beyond a reasonab...

Op -ed by TheWiseOldFart   Most Americans Continue to Struggle   I begin with a serious question: when will the quality of life for all Americans become the focus of our nation’s government? I am an original baby boomer. I learned at a very young age that the end of WWII was the beginning of the next military conflict for America. As long as I can remember, our government and its military have been preparing for the next war.   America has Never Prepared for Peace   The truth is that in 2024, the American people pay the least amount of tax in the world of developed nations. Many of our wealthiest citizens and largest corporations pay zero dollars in taxes, or a very minimal percentage of their gross income s . The truth is that the United States tax code is 6,871 pages long. Most of those pages are “loopholes” for the super-rich, allowing them to reduce their tax liability.   The United States Spends Five Times More on its Military than All Other Nations ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   The 2024 IRS budget is 14.1 billion dollars : 1.8 billion dollars more than 2023. It is fair to claim that this system is far more expensive than  it’s worth.   The tax code consists of 6,871 pages. 99 percent of those pages involve exemptions for the wealthy and super-rich as well as large corporations. These advantages are better known as “write-offs.” The basic rules for at least 50 percent of all Americans can be found in the first few pages.   Maybe I’m crazy, but it appears that the primary purpose of the IRS is to assist the wealthy and corporations in their efforts to evade paying their fair share of taxes.   Over my 77 Years Several Suggestions Have Been Made to Create a Simpler and More Just System   Our government is incompetent, and I am not referring solely to what happens on Capitol Hill. Along with the IRS I believe there is enormous incompetence and corruption in the FDA, the FCC, the Consumer Protection ...