Solution to the Federal Deficit

[Goingonit]

Originally posted by The diplomat
There is a much simpler solution to the deficit: restrict budget growth to inflation. In other words, the budget can allow grow by the same amount as inflation.

Keep spending under control, and the deficit would go away by itself when improving economic growth brings in more tax revenue collected.

Budget deficits are useful in times like depressions and recessions. Pumping government funds into the economy can create new jobs. That being said, the current American budget deficit is a little bit extreme.

My solution: eliminate farm subsidies. In the entire world. The world is paying dearly to support the family farmers in North America and Europe. If the governments of the first world stopped paying to resuscitate a bankrupt economic ideal, not only would it immeasureably help the budgets of many countries, especially France, the US, and Canada, it would also make feeding the third world far more feasible.

[David Floyd]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The ONLY moral solution to the budget deficit is to cut spending, the same as you and I have to do if we have a budget deficit.

My recommended areas for spending cuts?
1)The military
2)Social Security
3)The War on Drugs
4)Health care and other social welfare/social services
5)Education
6)NEA/Public Broadcasting

If we cut all of this spending to nothing (except for the military budget, which we can and should cut at least 70-80%), we'll suddenly have a MASSIVE budget SURPLUS, which we can use for MASSIVE tax cuts.

[mrmitchell]

6. Legalise Marijuana with a Government Tax and end the War on Drugs.

Thanks for reminding me Dave. Anyone got numbers on how much it will save / create?

Cutting social security or education, no thanks, though.

[David Floyd]

Why tax marijuana? There's plenty of money to be saved simply by ending the War on Drugs - investigations, busts, raids, court costs, DEA salaries, prison costs, etc. No need for a silly, punitive tax.

As for exact savings, I don't know, but I bet that Berzerker has some idea.

As to social security and education, at least admit that cutting those would help balance the budget. Probably not in the way that you would like, but if eliminated, billions would be saved.

[Nubclear]

Here's the solution to solving the US deficit:

1. Surrender all holdings sans Utah to Russia
2. Grant Utah independance.

The US deficit will no longer be.

[Skanky Burns]

Why tax marijuana? There's plenty of money to be saved simply by ending the War on Drugs - investigations, busts, raids, court costs, DEA salaries, prison costs, etc. No need for a silly, punitive tax.

More money is its own reward.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by dannubis
reduce drastically the amount of money spent on your shiny new army ?

Or maybe reduce the social programs that are out of control?

[Victor Galis]

I'd like to see the retirement age pushed to 70, Bush's tax cuts repealed, Military spending cut, and the legalization of marijuana.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
However, something tells me Senators will fire teachers instead of giving up their pet projects

That'd be hard to do since they don't pay them.

As to social security and education, at least admit that cutting those would help balance the budget.

You have a point on Social Security but most education spending comes from State coffers not Federal.

[Case]

How about a move towards reducing the insanely high number of people in American prisons? I imagine that it costs a fortune to keep the best part of 2 million people behind bars (yeah, I know that a lot of this is actually payed for by the states, but I imagine that the Federal government could save a fair bit of money as well).

Other then that, as everybody else is saying, nix the Bush tax cuts - they're insanely big and too poorly targeted to actually do the economy much good.

[Odin]

Wefare and education are goining to be cut over my dead body. Diplo, social programs are only out of control in the minds of you repugnant Social Darwinist Libertarians and Conservatives.

[mrmitchell]

I think most people agree that SS (no, not the Nazi kind) and Education are the two "sacred" budgets. Cutting them is a no-no--in fact, we're trying to save SS by cutting other budgets, yes? And cutting education would only result in a pittance as a result--there has to be something there in the first place before you can save off it.

[:) Smiley]

True welfare and education should be kept at the maximum sustainable levels, however, currently Social Security is unsustainable. If handing out money like we're doing in Social Security today leads to economic collapse down the road, then down the road there ain't gonna be social security at all.

Education's problem isn't so much funding, it's attitude. In the US when there's a recession the government encourages people to spend money. In Taiwan the government encourages people to learn new skills.

[David Floyd]

Skanky,

More money is its own reward.

So you admit that the tax would simply be punitive in nature? And, I might add, an encouragement to greater federal spending, something that by definition we want to avoid if we are serious about cutting the deficit.

DinoDoc,

You have a point on Social Security but most education spending comes from State coffers not Federal.

Not necessarily, at least not if you consider grants to universities and university students. Although I don't have figures, I could easily be wrong as to the scale - but not on the point that eliminating this would cut at least some of the deficit.

Odin,

Wefare and education are goining to be cut over my dead body.

So you admit that you aren't serious about cutting the deficit when it comes to some projects you like? That is, it isn't OK to go out of control on military spending, but the more out of control we go on social spending, the better? And I thought this was a debate about cutting the deficit...

mrmitchell,

I think most people agree that SS (no, not the Nazi kind) and Education are the two "sacred" budgets. Cutting them is a no-no--in fact, we're trying to save SS by cutting other budgets, yes?

That's very true, which just goes to show that no one is really serious about balancing the budget. Hmmm, a massive federal program that is going bankrupt anyway? If this was my budget, it'd be the first thing to go. I'm not going to be saving for retirement when I can't put gas in my car or food on the table.

Smiley,

True welfare and education should be kept at the maximum sustainable levels,

Not if we're serious about cutting the deficit.

[mrmitchell]

That's very true, which just goes to show that no one is really serious about balancing the budget. Hmmm, a massive federal program that is going bankrupt anyway? If this was my budget, it'd be the first thing to go. I'm not going to be saving for retirement when I can't put gas in my car or food on the table.

There are other more serious budget leaks than SS that can be cut to save it. It's an important program itself, though I'd like to see the benefits age pushed back to 70 or 72.

The other budget leaks are not charitable or generous, thus they go first. SS is a program that attempts to help people, so .

What we could do is loosen up copyright laws so Big Pharma couldn't keep out generics for as long--this would allow seniors to buy more cheap drugs, which would reduce the need for all this whining about a prescription drug benefit.