https://kotlikoff2016.com/

Laurence Kotlikoff is a Harvard-trained economist, a Boston University professor and, yes, a candidate for president. He is on the ballot in only two states (Louisiana and Colorado), but he is eligible to win as a write-in candidate in most of the others, meaning that unlike, say, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, he could theoretically be elected president Nov. 8.

The animating principle behind Kotlikoff's campaign is simple: Today's Americans are running up a huge bill - both literal and figurative - and leaving the next generation to pay it. On fiscal policy, Kotlikoff thinks that official government budget estimates vastly understate the future cost of Social Security, Medicare and other programs. On foreign relations, Kotlikoff argues that by letting North Korea develop nuclear weapons, the U.S. is leaving a far less secure world for future generations. And on climate change, Kotlikoff believes not only that the U.S. is failing to take the threat seriously, but also that many well-intentioned policies are making the problem worse.

"We're not disclosing honestly the burdens that we're leaving for our kids," Kotlikoff said. "I don't think we can just leave our kids at risk."

Kotlikoff is known among economists for what is called "generational accounting," which is the idea that the government should evaluate policies based on how they will affect spending and revenue far into the future - much further than the 10-year budget window that is standard now. For example, the government has promised to pay Social Security benefits for Americans working today; paying those benefits will fall to the next generation of Americans, yet that obligation doesn't show up on the government's balance sheet. Kotlikoff estimates that if we account for the full cost of all the government's long-term obligations, projected out into the distant future, the true "fiscal gap" between what we owe and what we collect in tax revenue is about $200 trillion, more than 15 times the official national debt."

Some of Kotlikoff's other ideas likewise have mainstream backing in economics, if not in politics. He wants to overhaul the tax code to tax spending rather than income, which he argues would make it harder for the rich to avoid taxes while eliminating provisions that can discourage the poor from working more. He wants to institute a tax on carbon to fight climate change.2 And he wants to replace existing tax credits with a lump-sum payment for every American, an idea that, in various forms, has been drawing increased attention from researchers on the left and the right.

Some of Kotlikoff's other ideas are less mainstream. He wants to limit legal immigration because he believes it is pushing down wages for low-skilled American workers and contributing to a "population explosion" that could lead to overcrowded cities. (He sees illegal immigration as a relatively small problem.) "Boston will turn into Manila," he said, referring to the Philippines' capital, which is among the world's most densely populated cities. His stance on immigration is an odd position for someone worried about the long-term costs of Social Security and other programs; most economists see immigration as a crucial way of supplementing the workforce as U.S. birth rates fall. (Kotlikoff has laid out all of his proposals in a 158-page policy book available on his website.)

Meet The Economist Running For President


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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Edited: 10/24/2016 at 06:34 AM by WG

An economist tasked to manage the largest budget spend in the US, makes sense!

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

"My reform eliminates three highly complex and dysfunctional
taxes and replaces them with four new and extremely
simple ones. It also dramatically modifies the FICA payroll tax.
Here are the highlights. Apart from transition rules that
would collect deferred taxes,

I eliminate the corporate income tax,
the personal income tax
and the estate and gift tax.

In their place:

I institute a business cash flow tax, also called a value
added tax (VAT),
a progressive personal consumption tax,
an inheritance tax
and a tax on carbon."
- Kotlikoff


-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Edited: 10/24/2016 at 08:57 AM by WG

Tax on carbon is silly the VAT looks interesting

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

Tax on Carbon is vital to avert the worst problem we are passing on to our children

-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

We should not pay when its majorly China and India's output creating the problem

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

It's a shared problem, but we mostly started it, we have dumped far more carbon in the atmosphere already with our past growth than they have.




They need to and have promised to do more too.

But in this case, we would be paying ourselves, the tax revenue would be to the USA, reducing other tax rates and driving our economy toward a sustainable energy future.

-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

what about the VAT has that been implemented before ?

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

I'm not totally sure, I haven't read his whole proposal through yet. VAT is common in Europe. But the main thing that's important about his candidacy is that he is the only one admitting the scope of the mess we are leaving to the next generation. When the millennials finally figure out how badly we have screwed them I don't think they are going to feel very charitable toward boomers and Gen Xers. Even his proposals grandfather current SS retirees, but I don't think that will even hold up.


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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Don't know why I would do this. If I was going to write in anybody, it would be myself. I have exactly the same chances of winning that he does, after all. And if through some horrendous cosmic fluke I were to win, I want to be the one making a fortune while in the White House and siccing the IRS on all the progs who called me names on NSR.

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I :heart; Q

"siccing" nice word had no idea thats where the term "sic-em" came from, you are not worthless after all!

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

President pays only $400K yr, not a real fortune, you have to wait till after to cash in.

But you've been supporting Trump, thus clearly not a "real conservative", so this wasn't meant for you anyway.



-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Nah, I'd do dem stuff - like make millions from my book sales. How does this title strike y'all, "Dreams of my Father, Chief Red Cloud?"

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I :heart; Q

Not a horrible title, and I bet you can even afford to buy a few thousand.


-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

But I do wish more people would open up to new ideas like these.
So tired of the lame character assassination and party loyalty BS that makes up our politics.
We really aren't anywhere near as divided as they want us to be.

-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Yes we are.

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I :heart; Q

well
of course
you are
but not
most of us

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill