America will come to regret its war on taxes

Deficits, Spending, and What’s “Sustainable”

• Many agree the large U.S. deficit is unsustainable and will require “substantial, painful” changes.
• Disagreement over whether it can be solved mostly by higher taxes, or if large spending cuts are also essential.
• Some argue for zero or near‑zero deficits; others accept ongoing deficits if small relative to GDP and below growth rates.
• Concern that interest payments are consuming a fast‑growing share of the budget, forcing either cuts or inflation.

Who Should Pay More? Progressivity and “Tax the Rich”

• Several argue that modest, broad-based rate increases (especially on higher incomes and payroll caps) could largely fix the budget numerically, though not politically.
• Others counter that there isn’t “much juice to squeeze” from the very rich alone; middle and upper‑middle classes will have to contribute more, as in many European systems.
• Debate over whether billionaires and top 1% pay “their fair share,” given unrealized gains, capital gains treatment, and aggressive tax planning.
• Proposals range from higher top marginal rates and taxing capital gains as income to extreme wealth or ultra‑high‑income taxes; critics say these would raise little and spur avoidance.

Government Performance, Waste, and Trust

• Some see U.S. government efficiency as comparable to large corporations; others cite local/state examples of fraud, mismanagement, and costly, ineffective programs (infrastructure, homelessness, transit).
• This erosion of trust makes voters reluctant to support higher taxes, fearing they fund “profligate waste” rather than real improvements.
• Disagreement over whether most non‑defense spending is well‑targeted and socially beneficial, versus bloated bureaucracy that should shrink “dramatically.”

Economic Structure, Reserve Currency, and MMT

• One line of discussion links the “war on taxes” to U.S. dollar reserve‑currency status: easier to fund deficits via foreign demand for dollars, effectively exporting some inflation.
• Others argue that foreign holdings of U.S. debt have flattened, so deficits are now borne mainly by domestic savers and inflation.
• Some tie this to Modern Monetary Theory: workable only while reserve‑currency privilege and low rates last; others see that privilege as already eroding.

Politics, Narratives, and Class Conflict

• Strong criticism of “tax cuts plus programs” populism on both left and right.
• Competing narratives: taxes as necessary price of civilization and equality vs. taxes as confiscation that enable bloated, coercive government.
• Several see anti‑tax rhetoric as a tool of the wealthy to redirect anger toward social programs rather than inequality and corporate welfare.