A 11/13/12 WSJ article titled, "Looking Past the Fiscal Cliff to Fixing Taxes," pointed out that the last time the US tax code was seriously adjusted goes back to 1986. This was before Al Gore's Internet had much commercial value, before the Euro, before most of us had cell phones, and before the first baby boomer was old enough to retire.
As the article points out, "...while establishing the top tax rate is an important issue, the paralysis over settling that seemingly modest question shows just how sterile the economic-policy debate has become in Washington. The broader question that really ought to be the subject of serious debate is how to take an outdated tax system—one essentially created in 1913 and last seriously updated in 1986—and revamp it for the 21st century."
In my opinion, there is much to be done with taxes, and making US business more competitive not less should be seriously approached and configured.
The article goes on to say, "...it is time to shatter the old economic-policy paradigm as well. The crying need at the moment isn't merely to avoid going off a fiscal cliff at the end of the year—when a package of spending cuts and tax increases is set to detonate unless the parties negotiate an alternative—but to get beyond that into a serious conversation about how the American government should be funded for the next generation."
Continue reading the full article here. Note: To read the full article, you'll need a WSJ login.
Is there an easy answer? No. Does our government need to step up, and design a plan that won't bankrupt the next generation? Of course. As we're mere days away from the fiscal cliff deadline, our country is in a state of "wait and see." I think we're all in agreement: something needs to happen.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Share them, in the comments below.
J. Robert Saron
President
Bovie Medical Corporation
Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
