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John --
After the Big, Beautiful Bill (yes, it
hurts us to type that name as much as it probably hurts you to read
it) passed the House, we asked about your thoughts on tackling the
national debt. Most responses highlighted the need to both increase
revenue and decrease spending, with the primary debate being how
much to focus on each area. In order to dig in a bit, we're going
to ask you about where you think we should look to increase revenue,
and where to cut spending.
This week, we focused on the former -
where are the most promising areas for the US government to increase
revenue?
Before digging into the results, we want
to start with a thank you, as we had more responses and engagement
with this poll than any prior one!
Diving into the results, a common theme
continues to develop in how Forwardists approach problems. In short,
we look to keep all reasonable options on the table to tackle problems
from different angles.
Here, most respondents said that we
should focus both on increasing taxes and stimulating growth, with
many noting that the stimulating growth itself will increase taxes. On
the slider, the vast majority wanted to focus on both raising taxes
and stimulating growth, with different relative levels of focus.
Digging into the polls, we can see a
pretty interesting picture develop! Raising the business tax rate was
very unpopular, with many noting that this could inhibit growth and
potentially lower taxes.
The other three options, however, were
pretty much tied! If we read all of these data points and comments
together (with some earlier comments on small business support), it
paints a picture of an approach to increasing revenue. The government
should stimulate growth, and that involves leaving the business tax
rate alone. From a prior poll, we assume that most Forwardists would
be in favor of doing so by supporting small businesses. Then, the tax
code can be simplified to eliminate loopholes, and the top tax rates
can be increased.
Looking at the comments, you said:
Stimulate Revenue via Growing the Economy through Targeted
Government Investment
- You argued that maintaining our current business tax level (or
even lowering it) would encourage business activity and higher tax
revenue.
Innovative Policy Solutions
- Many of you called for a rethink of our tax system generally, with
shifts ranging from support for Value-Added Taxes, automation taxes,
or even a 10% universal tariff that would exclusively be spent on
paying down the debt.
Higher Top Tax Brackets & Closing
Loopholes
- Many of you cited the ways that our tax code is set up to allow
for tax loopholes to unfairly lower taxes and noted we should focus on
closing those loopholes to ensure all are paying their fair
share.
- You also called for adding in more tax brackets on the high end to
reflect the shifting reality of incomes in the current economy.
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