Before we could even hope to touch the debt we first have to eliminate the deficit ( the difference between the governments income and its expenses).
So why not tax the rich more?
"If the highest rate of 35% were raised by a factor of 29% to 42%, the additional revenue would be $43.5 Billion, not much of a dent in the $1,665 Billion deficit. If the rate was raised by a factor of 50% to 52.5%, the additional revenue would be $108.9 Billion. Still nowhere near enough, so let's just tax it at a rate of 100% thus bringing in an additional $404.8 Billion. Unfortunately, the country is still $1,260.0 Billion in the hole for the year."
What if we raised the tax on the rich, knowing that it would not be enough, but we also did other things too?
"From 1958 to 2008 the total tax revenue to the Federal Government has averaged between 16% and 20% of GDP. (The highest level in history was in 1944 when it hit 20.9 %.) This despite the fact that the top marginal rate has varied between 90 and 35% over that period. The historical lesson: there is simply no way the government will change the way the people, particularly the wealthy, pay their taxes short of outright confiscation and permanent damage to the economy."
