# Hillary Clinton promises to raise taxes. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 30, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894 "2004-06-30T15:14:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/1 "2004-06-30T15:14:55Z")
[For the common good, you see.](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/06/28/politics2039EDT0165.DTL&type=printable) Somehow, letting Senator Clinton decide what the “common good” is does not exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I don’t consider myself rich, not by a long chalk, but that $600 tax rebate I got a couple of years ago came in quite handy. And I have enjoyed my slightly larger paycheck. I am chagrined I may have to give it up for the “common good.” ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/2 "2004-06-30T15:22:30Z")
I find it refreshing that a politician would admit that we need to raise taxes to sustain our government. Better then running up a huge deficit whilst cutting taxes and claiming to be conservative, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/3 "2004-06-30T15:26:48Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > I find it refreshing that a politician would admit that we need to raise taxes to sustain our government. Better then running up a huge deficit whilst cutting taxes and claiming to be conservative, I think. I suppose the option of cutting spending isn’t really an option then. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/4 "2004-06-30T15:32:38Z")
I don’t think it should be any kind of surprise that Hillary, who was against the tax cuts in the first place, would be in favor of revoking them if her party gets control. While I may disagree with it, I’m not going to vilify someone for actually :shudder: telling the truth about her intentions. Especially a politician! ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/5 "2004-06-30T15:34:07Z")
Is this the first time you’ve picked up a paper?!? Because the Democrats have been trying since last March to get rid of the tax rebate. Remember all the brou-haha surrounding Kerry’s “flipflopped” vote on Iraq war spending? That’s because he voted “for” the $87 billion bill to be paid for with the tax cuts, and then voted “against” the $87 billion bill that was paid for with…debt. There are arguments for and against massive deficit spending. Obviously, Democrats argue against it, and Republicans for it. It’s just that that shouldn’t come as a surprise to absolutely anyone. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/6 "2004-06-30T15:34:27Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I suppose the option of cutting spending isn’t really an option then. Sure, let’s cut spending. Do we gut the military or make old people starve? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/7 "2004-06-30T15:36:15Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Sure, let’s cut spending. Do we gut the military or make old people starve? Aw, man. Can’t we do both? ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/8 "2004-06-30T15:41:36Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Sure, let’s cut spending. Do we gut the military or make old people starve? While I admire the hysteria you show here, I am convinced that there might possibly be other sources of government waste that we could go after first. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/9 "2004-06-30T15:42:16Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I suppose the option of cutting spending isn’t really an option then. I’d like the government to spend more, actually. A single payer health system, more money for higher education, regulatory agencies (OSHA, EPA, FDA, etc.) that actually have the funding, political autonomy, and teeth to do their job, etc. Tax and spend, baby! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/10 "2004-06-30T15:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Somehow, letting Senator Clinton decide what the “common good” is does not exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Uh, you do realize that the one of the major aspects of our political system is that we willingly hand off the authority to determine the “common good” to elected officials, right? Otherwise, what others said. Jeez, a politician tells the truth for once and you’d think people would be grateful. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/11 "2004-06-30T15:48:32Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I suppose the option of cutting spending isn’t really an option then. Not while republicans continue to coddle those fucking moderates: > [@](#): > > The budget meltdown was triggered by a feud between conservative Republicans who favor continuing to cut taxes in the face of record budget deficits and GOP moderates who are pushing for curbs on tax cuts and are reluctant to slash spending. Even a face-saving effort in the House to impose federal spending curbs blew up just after midnight Friday when 72 Republicans joined a united Democratic Party to torpedo the leadership-backed bill. [Tax Cutters in Standoff With Advocates of Fiscal Restraint](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15997-2004Jun29.html) Whatever happened to the party’s “tow the line or get the hell out” policy? The GOP needs to make a choice here. Stay true to your conservative ideals and boot these wankers into the outer darkness. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/12 "2004-06-30T16:03:45Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Uh, you do realize that the one of the major aspects of our political system is that we willingly hand off the authority to determine the “common good” to elected officials, right? You may, I don’t. I would prefer the candidate who favors getting as much gov’t out of my business as possible, and leaving me as much of my paycheck for me to decide how to spend. We don’t get seem to get much of a choice anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/13 "2004-06-30T16:07:23Z")
Holy shit. _“We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”_ That is the most incredibly bloodcurdling, creepy, offensive thing I’ve ever heard a politician say. Normally, they try to hide their nefarious intentions to mug us with flowery words and mysterious phrases. But not this heinous bitch. With all due respect to modern Centrists, I would remind them of their liberal roots. Henry David Thoreau wrote in _Walden_, “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.” Little did he know it would be a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/14 "2004-06-30T16:07:40Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > You may, I don’t. I would prefer the candidate who favors getting as much gov’t out of my business as possible, and leaving me as much of my paycheck for me to decide how to spend. You’re going to have to choose one over the other here. If you vote Bush, you’re getting the largest deficit as well as the largest government in the history of time, complete with Patriot Act as well as a government who wants to tell you who you can marry. If you vote Kerry, you’re getting higher taxes to actually pay for what the government is doing (instead of making your children foot the bill later down the road). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/15 "2004-06-30T16:09:44Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Sure, let’s cut spending. Do we gut the military or make old people starve? Right. Because the military and food for old people are the only expenses the federal government has. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/16 "2004-06-30T16:16:22Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Whatever happened to the party’s “tow [sic] the line or get the hell out” policy? Because God forbid anyone should, you know, do what they think is right as opposed to blindly following the will of the Party. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/17 "2004-06-30T16:24:05Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Right. Because the military and food for old people are the only expenses the federal government has. :rolleyes: It’s most of it. So, what, you want to slash out everything that’s NOT SocSec/Medicare and Military? Because all that combined, according to the CBO, [Status of Discretionary Appropriations [CBO]](http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=2049&sequence=0), that’s about the $500 billion we need to offset the current Bush deficit. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/18 "2004-06-30T16:24:19Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > You’re going to have to choose one over the other here. If you vote Bush, you’re getting the largest deficit as well as the largest government in the history of time, complete with Patriot Act as well as a government who wants to tell you who you can marry. If you vote Kerry, you’re getting higher taxes to actually pay for what the government is doing (instead of making your children foot the bill later down the road). Gah. Already an invocation of the children. Frankly, if they will shit on those of us who have had a faint taste of liberty, I sudder to imagine what they will do to our children. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/19 "2004-06-30T16:25:08Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I don’t consider myself rich, not by a long chalk, but that $600 tax rebate I got a couple of years ago came in quite handy. And I have enjoyed my slightly larger paycheck. I am chagrined I may have to give it up for the “common good.” I’d just like to point out that you are currently deeper in the hole than you were four years ago. Government spending has increased quite a bit, while the tax cuts have increased the relative percentage of the government’s expenses that you pay for, assuming you are middle class. (If you’re filthy rich, life couldn’t be better, so disregard the rest.) Either the deficit spending will eventually be paid back, with you shouldering a larger share of the burden than before, or the national debt will be higher, with more money going to paying off interest and less going to actually providing the services you’re paying taxes for. So you’ll either pay more or get less down the road. Or possibly both. The way to cut taxes and actually save you money is to cut spending. Or, at the very least, cut taxes so that the relative contributions from different income levels stays the same. Combining tax cuts with recession and increased spending is like voluntarily quitting your job and living off your credit cards – a really stupid idea, unless you have no other alternative. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894/20 "2004-06-30T16:28:50Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I suppose the option of cutting spending isn’t really an option then. …and then we end up with [one part-time state trooper guarding 150 miles of Oregon coastline](http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=10127&reviewer=350) against terrorists. Is that what you want? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clinton-promises-to-raise-taxes/252894.md?page=2)