The whole deficit is taking up a good deal of time and space on the "news networks" and the blogosphere. So far it has trumped the tragic Norway rampage and the latest congressional sex scandal. I bet Wu is a least somewhat pleased that he is not getting near as much coverage as Young Anthony. I am not denying that this country is in seriously bad trouble but I would imagine that we will all survive. One can be sure that whatever they do in DC will be bad for the average American and once you get that out of the way, it is not so hard to not worry about it. What will be will be.
If we just wanted to put a dent in the budget it would certainly not be that difficult. Anyone of us can think of a whole lot of things that the FedGov is involved in and pays for that are just not necessary. Cut those and we will be well on our way to fiscal responsibility.
Now I am no economist, political "scientist," Master" of Business or Public Administration. It 'pears to me those are the types who have utterly destroyed this great nation. That being said, here are a few of my ideas on how to get a handle on this out of control mess.
1. Defund or at least greatly reduce our contribution to the United Nations.
2. Reduce our "foreign aid" by at least seventy percent. Got a problem with AIDS in Africa? That is a shame. Need fresh water in Central America? Boil it. So on and so forth.......
3. Demand payment for the liberation of Iraq and ridding them of Saddam. Utilize their oil resources if necessary.
4. Defund the U.S. Dept of Education.
5. Defund and disband the ATF. It is a rogue agency. It wouldn't be a great savings but it is high time for this "police" agency to go the way of the dinosaur.
6. Defund or greatly reduce expenditures for the the Dept of Agriculture.
7. Legalize and tax the use of marijuana. I don't particularly like this but, let us be honest, the "war on drugs" is an utter failure and a complete waste of resources.
8. Close the southern border immediately. There will be a cost associated with which will be more than offset by a great reduction in social programs.
9. Initiate an immediate "reduction in force" for most Federal agencies. I am not talking about throwing people out into the cold, but mandate retirement for those eligible, offer early retirement to some, and offer a buyout to the majority. Perhaps one month pay and benefits for each year of service.
There are a plethora of programs and outmoded, redundant (and often competing), and unnecessary govt. agencies that we can do without. Perhaps it is past time to quit paying for them.
It just can't be that hard and it would be at least a start in the right direction. Of course we all know that none of this will actually happen. It will be some form of business as usual and we will all pay the price.
10 comments:
Not to be nitpicky or anything, but your first to items combined would reduce our deficit by less than 1%.
I certainly won't dispute that but something has to be done at some point. Have to start somewhere..or not.
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This will really help USA out of ALL financial troubles:
Tax the rich and wealthy, end government supported corporate welfare, end the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan, bring the troops home, increase spending on Social Security and Medicare, and repeal all Bush era tax cuts.
Use all legal tools to pursue Wall Street criminals.
Ema Nymton
~@:o?
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Long time no see Ema.
Long time no see Ema.
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"... how about cut spending"
Is this all you got?
Raise taxes on the rich/wealthy and spend more on the people.
Ema Nymton
~@:o?
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Seems to me that taxing the rich (i.e. business owners) is not the way to get them to hire more employees.
Instead of hitting only the 'rich', why not be fair and do the Flat Tax on everybody? Eliminate the loopholes that corporate uses to hide their wealth, yes, but force EVERYONE to pay their share. Targeting only the rich is akin to racism - hitting a person for being rich is no different for hitting a person because they are a minority.
As far as I'm concerned, the older people bear a major part of the responsibility of where we are at. The popular point of view is blame the POTUS, but who writes the legislation that they sign? Congress, thats who. The Prez signs or vetoes the bills sent to the office.
How many members of Congress have been elected and re-elected to many multiple terms? For the vast majority of them, turnover only happens when that person decides to retire or gets sick. Even when evidence of their incompetence is shown, they get re-elected.
And who are the people who re-elect them. The voters, who abdicate their responsibility to vote for someone who demonstrates productive legislation and just look at the 'D' or 'R' in front of the name. And the old are the ones who have done this for DECADES.
Our deficit did not start with Clinton, Bush or Obama. Its been decades when it began, and has only grown with time.
I can't imagine the thoughts of a young person graduating from college (or high school) and being told THEY will bear the burden we have given them. The young are in debt because of OUR INCOMPETENCE.
So before you go blaming anyone, take a look in the mirror and decide if the person you see did their duty.
Just sayin' - everybody have a good weekend.
Or we could flat tax everybody Ema. Everybody pays the same. Course that would just be too simple. What is rich anyway?
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BC,
"Or we could flat tax everybody Ema. Everybody pays the same."
Call it whatever you want. It is all the same, tax the rich (Doh. They are only ones left with any money anyway.)
Increase government spending on roads, bridges, air ports, medicare, Social Security, and unemployed. These positive domestic programs will stimulate the economy and improve people's lives.
Course these steps would just be too simple.
"What is rich anyway?" Rich is your sophistry.
Ema Nymton
~@:o?
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But the question is not answered here? What is considered rich?
We could also scrap it and go to a national sales tax of some sort.
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