Rand Paul Outlines Plan for 14.5% Federal Flat Tax

[Play Angry]

Story here - OpEd here. This involves some pretty draconian spending cuts, which in turn raises feasibility concerns.

That said...I love love love that a major candidate finally has embraced this. He will most certainly get my vote if he can articulate his position well in the coming months.

[Kung Wu]

Go go go!

[WuDrWu]

You're a very handsome man. But quit smiling, you look like a schmuck.

[WuShock16]

You're a very handsome man. But quit smiling, you look like a schmuck.

Hail to the chief / He's the one we all say "Hail" to. / We all say "Hail" / 'Cause he keeps himself so clean! / He's got the power, / That's why he's in the shower...

[RoyalShock]

For us common folk without a WSJ subscription, here's a video that I would guess parallels Paul's OpEd.

https://amp.twimg.com/v/842552bb-b0b4-41a0-a32d-477d2ec08e46

[ShockdaWorld]

For us common folk without a WSJ subscription, here's a video that I would guess parallels Paul's OpEd.

https://amp.twimg.com/v/842552bb-b0b...d-477d2ec08e46

I'm not sure yet who I will be voting for, but if my decision was based solely on taxes, or at least the ability to tell me what I want to hear about them, I now know who I would be voting for.

[Dave Stalwart]

I'm not sure yet who I will be voting for, but if my decision was based solely on taxes, or at least the ability to tell me what I want to hear about them, I now know who I would be voting for.

This is exactly how I feel. There are other factors involved in placing my vote that could lead me to a different choice in the end, but a guy who will lay out a flat tax gains A LOT of ground with me.

When your country has as much of a problem as the U.S. does about spending and deficits, you really need to go ahead and take care of it. I think it's incredibly irrational for people to make all the arguments about why taxes should have a giant book full of exceptions. Our country needs to wage war on debt because debt is killing America, even on the personal finance level. In my opinion, everyone needs to drop what they are doing and fix our financial illiteracy. A flat tax would help, and it forces everyone to learn and participate in fixing the problem. It doesn't allow anyone to point fingers or demand someone else to shoulder the burden for them. It forces everyone to fix the problem together...as a country of brothers and sisters with a united goal.

[Dave Stalwart]

For us common folk without a WSJ subscription, here's a video that I would guess parallels Paul's OpEd.

https://amp.twimg.com/v/842552bb-b0b...d-477d2ec08e46

That was glorious. Absolutely glorious. Now I have to go take a cold shower and maybe read up on the rest of his platform. I don't know much about Rand Paul, but good grief. If the rest of his policies are as compelling as this one...

[WuShock16]

Our country needs to wage war on debt because debt is killing America, even on the personal finance level. In my opinion, everyone needs to drop what they are doing and fix our financial illiteracy.

I won't say that truer words have rarely been spoken. I will say that truer words have NEVER been spoken. There is a reason debt is a four-letter word.

[ShockdaWorld]

I'm working on mine as we speak...any mortgage brokers specializing in refinancing around here that won't put me in any deeper debt to point me in the right direction? :)

[Play Angry]

I'm working on mine as we speak...any mortgage brokers specializing in refinancing around here that won't put me in any deeper debt to point me in the right direction? :)

Good call - rates are only going up from here, and soon.

It is funny because I remember relatives who owned homes in the early 80s talking about umpteen percent mortgages and thinking holy smokes, that is ridiculous. A decade or two from now we might be the ones telling nephews and grandkids about the good ol' days when you could lock in your 30-year mortgage at ~4% as they stare in disbelief.

[ShockdaWorld]

Good call - rates are only going up from here, and soon.

It is funny because I remember relatives who owned homes in the early 80s talking about umpteen percent mortgages and thinking holy smokes, that is ridiculous. A decade or two from now we might be the ones telling nephews and grandkids about the good ol' days when you could lock in your 30-year mortgage at ~4% as they stare in disbelief.

I'm going to have to do a little more research, but I started on a 30 year somewhere right around 15 years ago. I think (just based on the tiny morsels of research I've done) that I may be able to do a 15 year with even better rates, cash out some equity for improvements and other debt, and still end up with lower monthly payments than I have now. That being said, I'm a complete novice in matters of finance, as this is the first home I've ever owned, so I could end up WAY off base.

[SHOCKvalue]

I'm going to have to do a little more research, but I started on a 30 year somewhere right around 15 years ago. I think (just based on the tiny morsels of research I've done) that I may be able to do a 15 year with even better rates, cash out some equity for improvements and other debt, and still end up with lower monthly payments than I have now. That being said, I'm a complete novice in matters of finance, as this is the first home I've ever owned, so I could end up WAY off base.

If you get a financial calculator and teach yourself the basics of time-value of money you can run all kinds of hypothetical scenarios right at your kitchen table. TVM is not that hard to wrap your mind around.

Personally, I find it hilarious that higher education in our country forces oodles of liberal arts and humanities classes on every college graduate, but not a single requirement to understand how to balance one's checkbook or how amortization works. We stopped teaching common sense in higher education a long time ago, if it was ever there in the first place.

[SHOCKvalue]

I'm working on mine as we speak...any mortgage brokers specializing in refinancing around here that won't put me in any deeper debt to point me in the right direction? :)

There are less true "mortgage brokers" today than there were before the Dodd-Frank legislation. Many are "loan officers" now. A college buddy of mine does a ton of business for Fidelity in such a role. His name is Dustin Girrens; go give him a try. Otherwise, Capital Federal is unique in our market in that they do not bundle and sell off their mortgages (which basically all other lenders do), but instead hold them and service them for the life of loan term, a practice many people find appealing.

[Kung Wu]

I'm going to have to do a little more research, but I started on a 30 year somewhere right around 15 years ago. I think (just based on the tiny morsels of research I've done) that I may be able to do a 15 year with even better rates, cash out some equity for improvements and other debt, and still end up with lower monthly payments than I have now. That being said, I'm a complete novice in matters of finance, as this is the first home I've ever owned, so I could end up WAY off base.

If you locked in a 30 year fixed 15 years ago, you SERIOUSLY need to have someone teach you how to run some scenarios. And quickly.