Snow shows what an idiot he is again.

[MichaeltheGreat]

In Mexico's case, most of the potential tax base in the wealthier half of the country is underground or offshore, both of which are pains in the ass. Evading taxes is hard work. Reducing the burden of compliance vis-a-vis noncompliance will bring a lot of that into the system - that in itself would be enough to offset revenue loss within about 4-5 years, and growth resulting from a larger pool of available capital would be icing on the cake. The tax system is the biggest fundamental obstacle to economic growth here.

In the US, the issues are different, but in general (not counting specific cases of focused targeting of tax revenue a la MITI in Japan, to create bubble growth ), high rates of taxation are not conducive to expanding your tax bases. The problem is that the time scales for growth and revenue loss are different, and there's a lot of other intervening factors that will influence the rate of growth.

[Kidlicious]

I would think that the fact that US taxes are low compared to other countries counts a lot. That and the size of the US economy.

For sure taxes hurt your economy though.

[MichaeltheGreat]

That's because most other countries are cesspools of socialism. I could also say they were backwards, but I'd be redundant.

edit - I just noticed your location field. You have my condolences, but look at the bright side, at least you're not in Wasco.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
That's because most other countries are cesspools of socialism. I could also say they were backwards, but I'd be redundant.

edit - I just noticed your location field. You have my condolences, but look at the bright side, at least you're not in Wasco.

It's not that bad if you're used to it

[MichaeltheGreat]

I used to live in Modesto. It is that bad, once you see the rest of the world. At least you're closer to Yosemite or the Bay Area than the poor sods in Bakersfield, though. And still, nothing beats Wasco.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
I used to live in Modesto. It is that bad, once you see the rest of the world. At least you're closer to Yosemite or the Bay Area than the poor sods in Bakersfield, though. And still, nothing beats Wasco.

I go to Fresno State. It's a good deal for me and it's home. I haven't always lived here though and I will probably move again soon.

[Dinner]

A friend of mine went to flight school in Fresno after college. He said Fresno was the worst place he'd ever lived and most of the people at the flight school had taken up calling it "Fres-hole" because the place was such a hole.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Oerdin
A friend of mine went to flight school in Fresno after college. He said Fresno was the worst place he'd ever lived and most of the people at the flight school had taken up calling it "Fres-hole" because the place was such a hole.

People do tend to get stuck here. The low rent is tempting, but you have to be carefull

[Dinner]

I went to visit him and I did notice a few cute girls walking around but most of them seemed to have started breeding around 17 or 18.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I went to visit him and I did notice a few cute girls walking around but most of them seemed to have started breeding around 17 or 18.

Teenage pregnacy is a big problem here.

[uh Clem]

I think that Rick Santorum should be on the $3 bill.