04-07-2003, 07:15 PM
Pete has beat me to the debt debate. Check out this link www.yourcongress.com - Top 10 things your taxes pay for. Seems like just over $200 billion per year to service our national debt. I would just add one thought; Whatever course we embark upon to repay the debt would eventually become normalized into the economy.
I wanted to address your second point about the market's fall. If you are suggesting that the ficticious high tech economy only succeeded in draining market capital from better ventures, then I agree. It had some dramatic effects within the high tech sector of the economy. But, IMHO, the real effect of the high tech bubble bursting was the loss of confidence by American businesses in the entire economy itself. Without confidence, business managers tend to retrench, and the retrenching results in recession. Add in 9/11 and a devastated travel and airlines industry, Enron, Anderson and similiar ilk, along with other uncertainties and you get to where we are today. For most of the latter half of the 90's, businesses were swept along with the leadership, promises and innovations suggested by the tech economy, but when it evaporated, all that was left was the odor of deception. I view the Enron syndrome a secondary effect of the economic downturn, as they would probably not have gotten caught except for their syphoning formula going awry once the trend lines went negative.
As for lowering taxes... It is one thing that the government can do, but probably not the best. I think the best thing that Washington could do would be to create a stable business climate that would encourage businesses to invest and spend their money again. War isn't a very good way to do that, but perhaps the peace that follows will. As long as we do not incur the wrath of 1000 Osama Bin Laden's as has been forcasted.
I wanted to address your second point about the market's fall. If you are suggesting that the ficticious high tech economy only succeeded in draining market capital from better ventures, then I agree. It had some dramatic effects within the high tech sector of the economy. But, IMHO, the real effect of the high tech bubble bursting was the loss of confidence by American businesses in the entire economy itself. Without confidence, business managers tend to retrench, and the retrenching results in recession. Add in 9/11 and a devastated travel and airlines industry, Enron, Anderson and similiar ilk, along with other uncertainties and you get to where we are today. For most of the latter half of the 90's, businesses were swept along with the leadership, promises and innovations suggested by the tech economy, but when it evaporated, all that was left was the odor of deception. I view the Enron syndrome a secondary effect of the economic downturn, as they would probably not have gotten caught except for their syphoning formula going awry once the trend lines went negative.
As for lowering taxes... It is one thing that the government can do, but probably not the best. I think the best thing that Washington could do would be to create a stable business climate that would encourage businesses to invest and spend their money again. War isn't a very good way to do that, but perhaps the peace that follows will. As long as we do not incur the wrath of 1000 Osama Bin Laden's as has been forcasted.
”There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio.
![[Image: yVR5oE.png]](http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/329/yVR5oE.png)
![[Image: VKQ0KLG.png]](http://i.imgur.com/VKQ0KLG.png)