"Buffett Rule" Tax Law

[bu villain]

I know what you are saying was said in jest, but most people dont understand the scope of the deficit. The govt could take 100% of the income of everyone that makes over 1 mil. and still not cover this years deficit, never mind paying down the actual debt.

You are definitely right that many (most?) people don't understand the scope of our debt. That is why you hear some people talk about disallowing federal funding of NPR (appx 20M/year) but refuse to discuss tax increases which could raise trillions.

My point is simple. This country doesnt have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. The govt brings in more than enough money to do what it is supposed to do. They run into problems when they are spending money on everything else.

Yes we do have a spending problem, but moreover its a debt problem. Just because increasing revenues can't solve the problem on its own, doesn't mean it can't be part of the solution. If we limited itemized deduction to 15%, the CBO esitmates that could bring in 1.2T in the next 10 years (source: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/120xx/doc...TheDeficit.pdf). That's nearly 10% of the current deficit and we shouldn't simply dismiss those options.

If everyone agreed on what government was supposed to do, then this whole situation would be much easier. But they don't, so there has to be compromise.