On May 27, 6:59*pm, SMS wrote:
On 5/27/2011 7:57 AM, Bob wrote:









On May 27, 9:22 am, *wrote:
On 5/27/2011 4:00 AM, bob haller wrote:

snip

The new agency would be a fraction of its current size still deliver
mail and cost a lot less to operate.

Some good ideas, but it would have no effect on the deficit because the
postal service is a self-sufficient operation. They occasionally borrow
money when increases in postage rates lag their expenditures, but then
repay it when revenue increases.

It might bring down postage costs if they made some of those cuts. They
could do M W F to half the residences, T, TH, Sat to the other half.
Ironically it's businesses that send out ads and bills that don't want
this type of service cuts. Delaying the receipt of a bill by one day
could mean a delay of three days in the payment reaching the company if
the recipient pays with a check and leaves the envelope for the
mailperson to pick up.

The key to deficit reduction is to increase revenue. Sadly, there are
not a lot of cuts left to be made that will not have negative long-term
consequences. Tax rates are now at historic lows.

Please show us a credible reference that shows that the total tax
burden on Americans is anywhere near historic lows. *That means
including federal income tax, state income tax, local income tax,
social security taxes, unemployment taxes,
sales taxes, real estate taxes, personal property taxes, etc.

Let's just look at the federal pictu

Here is tax revenue every 5 years going back to 1980,
together with govt spending, in trillions:

1980 *.517 * *.591
1985 *.734 * *.946
1988 *.909 * *1.06
1990 *1.0 * * *1.25
1995 *1.35 * *1.52
2000 *2.0 * * *1.79
2005 *2.2 * * *2.47
2010 *2.2 * * *3.46

I included 1988 to smash the myth that the Reagan tax cuts
created deficits. * In fact, those cuts lead to a 40% INCREASE
in govt revenue.

You don't understand the difference between correlation and causation.

Most of the hysterical pseudo-Libertarians on this NG don't. I doubt
if they even understand the terms.

..
You don't understand that without those cuts revenue would have
increased to a far greater extent. The inflation-adjusted growth in
income tax receipts was 9.41% from 1981-1991 and 10.41% from 1982-1992,
the lowest growth of any of the 10-year spans from 1940 to 2007 (however
lower growth occurred from 1998-2008 (5.77%) and 199-2009 (-19.36%), as
a result of the Bush tax cuts and the recession.

Reaganomics was the beginning of the decline of the United States. Too
many people bought into the trickle down myth. History will judge Reagan
harshly.

As well as the shrewd, determined operators who carried his campaign
forward, led from behind the scenes by the toad called Roger Ailes.

Recommended reading: New "Rolling Stone" magazine, article on Roger
Ailes, the evil spirit behind the carefully engineered growth of the
Mad Dogs. Ailes is the evil genius behind Fox News, which is the
glaringly obvious broadcast outlet of the Mad Dog Republicans. How
the FCC lets Fox "News" retain their broadcast license is an accurate
indicator of where the real power lies.

HB