With that said, the arguments going on regarding the debt ceiling are a joke to me. Not in the sense that this isn't an important issue that should be tackled by our representatives in Congress, but in the sense that it's just really stupid to see both sides (Republicans and Democrats) stand so rigidly against the other like this is some big game of 'chicken'. It seems too often as though our leaders are more concerned with getting re-elected or getting the incumbent out of office that they don't stop to really think about what our country (and its people) truly want/need.
It's the same old story with the same old talking points. "Republicans should end the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals in America," say the Democrats. "Oh, but Democrats just wanted to spend, spend, spend," retort the Republicans. One thing is clear. Congress can solve this problem is by doing one of three things: (1) decrease costs (spending), (2) increase revenues, or (3) a combination of both. Either way, our net revenues need to be greater than our net expenses/costs, or we go further into debt.
We could spend all day debating the merits of ending tax cuts, or increasing the capital gains tax so that wealthy hedge fund managers don't pay a lower tax rate than their secretary, or why it is better to have a big government (more regulation) vs. a smaller government (less regulation). Or, we could look at ways we can work together to solve this issue. TOGETHER.
Enter Representative Jared Polis (D-Colorado).
Mr. Polis has proposed four immediate ways to help solve the debt ceiling issue with raising taxes OR cutting spending.
In summary, he believes the following four steps can be taken right now to help increase revenues without raising taxes on American citizens:
(1) Legalize marijuana - already legal in 16 states, taxes on medical marijuana bring in millions of dollars annually. A 2005 study by a Harvard University professor estimates this number could reach $2.4 billion if pot were made legal nationwide.
(2) Legalize online poker - I wrote about the merits of this in a blog post a couple months back, but Mr. Polis agrees that by changing federal laws relating to online gambling (i.e. legalizing it, making sure it is regulated to protect individuals but also give them the freedom to play, etc.) can bring in a lot more money, as much as $42 billion annually, according to one estimate not cited in the article.
(3) Stricter immigration laws - require the more than 10 million illegal immigrants living in the US to obtain legal status and pay back taxes and fees. Such measures could raise as much as $5.4 billion in revenues. Alternatively, immigration reform (including bills considered by the Senate in 2007) could bring in $12 billion by 2012 and $48 billion by 2017.
(4) One-year tax amnesty program - allow tax evaders one year to 'get right' without facing penalties. This would encourage (at least some) current tax evaders to try and pay taxes owed that they may not otherwise pay. According to the article, one study by Arthur Laffer (economic advisor to Ronald Reagan) found that one year of amnesty could bring in $800 billion to $1 trillion (yup, TRILLION) in revenues over the course of a decade.
Granted, while the above are based on estimates or studies and are not 100% guaranteed facts, they definitely shed some light on the fact that even though our government cannot agree on how to ultimately solve the debt issue, there are a number of things that could be done in the meantime to generated much-needed revenues that would appease the majority of Democrats and Republicans.
We can argue the morality of legalizing marijuana and online poker, as well as the pros and cons of tax amnesty and immigration reform. We may not all agree, and that's fine. But at least we'll be debating something that matters in a productive manner, instead of simply sticking to our guns and trying to not cave in and let the other guy look good.
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