How would you balance the US budget?

[Dinner]

Originally posted by DanS
1. Index the retirement age and medicare to life expectancy

2. Amply fund hospice

3. Cap spending increases to 2 percent less than the nominal economic growth rate

I agree with 1 & 2 but 3 is pretty darn harsh especially in a relatively high inflationary environment. (Which is why you're proposing it I guess.)

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Aeson

Eliminate capital gains tax, income tax, and use a VAT/luxury tax instead, with food, housing (to a certain level, say median house price/rent for your local), and education exempt.

VATs are extremely regressive.

[Jon Miller]

He just wants to kill our economy by taxing luxuries so high that no one can afford them.

JM

[Jon Miller]

You know, for most of Income Tax history, the highest bracket has been >70%. It is only in the last 26 years that it has dropped down (to less than 40).

I think I will change my 3 tax brackets to 0%, 30%, and 40%.

JM
(and I am still nicer to the really rich folks than the government of the 10s, 30-80s, and various other times.)

[Will9]

Originally posted by Oerdin


Ahh, the King Henry VIII approach.

What about the Nero approach? Give the rich 2 options:

1. You and all your family are killed. All your family's possessions are seized by the government.

2. Rewrite your will to say you leaving all your possessions to the governemnt. Then you must commit suicide.

[Wiglaf]

All of the solutions in this thread ared

[FrostyBoy]

Wow, you spend so much on Social Security, yet it sucks big time. How's that?

[FrostyBoy]

Oh, and education ain't getting much is it?

Throwing money at something doesn't fix it - unless the people are skilled. Give education the biggest piece of the pie, then the rest won't need so much pie, pretty ****ing simple really.

[FrostyBoy]

There ya are... I fixed all your problems in one fell sweep!

[DanS]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I agree with 1 & 2 but 3 is pretty darn harsh especially in a relatively high inflationary environment. (Which is why you're proposing it I guess.)

No, the nominal growth rate includes inflation, so even if the economy doesn't grow at all, the nominal growth rate will equal the inflation rate.

But usually we may expect to grow 5% nominal per annum (2% inflation + 3% growth). If the federal budget grows only 3% per annum -- i.e., one percent above inflation -- eventually the budget will come into balance.

A good example of this happening was in the Clinton White House/GOP Congress gridlock in the mid-to-late 90s.

Anyway, all of these people jonesing to raise other people's taxes are scary.

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by Will9


What about the Nero approach? Give the rich 2 options:

1. You and all your family are killed. All your family's possessions are seized by the government.

2. Rewrite your will to say you leaving all your possessions to the governemnt. Then you must commit suicide.

Sounds like an impatient death tax.

[Deity Dude]

What so many don't seem to realize about the Federal Govt. and its budget is it should only take things on it does best, if not leave it to those who do it best.

For example, Dept of Education should be eliminated. All it does is take money that should have went directly to local education, pay some bureaucrats high priced salaries to debate about it, and then give about 80% back.

Same for the Dept of Trans. They take money from the states, run it through their bureaucracy and give about 80% back.

The average welfare recipient receives about $22,000 but the Fed govt collects about $35,000 per recipient. Why not give them each a 20% raise and cut them a check for $26,200 and still save $8,800 per person.

If everyone is all gung-ho on taxing the wealthy take the top tax bracket from 35% to 38.5%. Thats an extra 10% in tax revenue on the people that already pay about 90%.

That right there would probably fix the budget.

Do you wanna fix Social Security while we are at it? Eliminate the $97,500 cap and charge Social Security Tax on all earnings but don't change the benefits. And if you earn over $250,000 at age 65 you probably don't need to collect Social Security so put a means test on it.

That probably fixes Social Security.

End the "War on Drugs". Didn't Alcohol prohibition teach us anything? We spend billions ensuring that an underground that pays no taxes exists, commits violent crimes and makes otherwise law abiding citizens criminals. We spend billions taking away EVERYONE'S rights to try and catch a few people who only exist because they provide a service that people want. Legalize and tax it. If necessary after the revenue windfall from that, increase the 2.4% we give the Dept of Health and Human Services for the supposed additional users.

Now we have a surplus. Once there is a surplus the interest on the national debt goes away over time so the surplus keeps getting larger.

Now if you really want to help Americans and raise money at the same time try this. Impose what I call a Fair Wage Tariff. The concept would be simple. Any goods imported into the US would recieve a tariiff equal to the difference in wages and benefits given the workers to produce the goods. For example, ff we pay our workers $16,000 to produce a car and Mexico only pays them $2,000 they get a $14,000 tarifff when imported. (What they do anywhere else in the orld isimmaterial) If your car is still competitive good for you

We should not encourage our own companies to go abroad simply for slave-labor. Since this tariff would only apply to differences in wages it would not decrease true competition. If a country had a true competitive advantage other than wages they would still be able to sell their product at an advantage.

Americans should not lose their jobs to 3rd world countries who exploit their citizens. America should not support and reward the exploitation of slave-labor. America can not afford to continue to lose its industrial base because another country practices in slave-labor.

Why should Americans a) subsidize something as immoral as slave wages and b) engage in this immoral subsidy at the expense of our workers, our industrial base and our national security. I'm all for Fair Trade but slave labor doesn't seem fair.

The Fair Wage Tariff would employ more Americans (= more revenue), raise more money through tariffs (= more revenue) and stop US corporations from going abroad (= more revenue)

Well now that I solved the short-term economic problems of the US lets look long term.

Minimize foriegn engagements that are not a direct interest of the US security. Become energy self sufficient by lowering our environmental standards just a little (i.e. off shore drilling, Artic drilling, shale oil, nuclear power). Become energy self sufficient in the longer term by being the leader in energy R&D and implementation.

OK now that I saved America, Good Nite.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

not only you have saved America, you would have saved the world

[Victor Galis]

Originally posted by Deity Dude
What so many don't seem to realize about the Federal Govt. and its budget is it should only take things on it does best, if not leave it to those who do it best.

For example, Dept of Education should be eliminated. All it does is take money that should have went directly to local education, pay some bureaucrats high priced salaries to debate about it, and then give about 80% back.

Except, they can reassign money as needed, and in theory impose some sort of standardization.

Same for the Dept of Trans. They take money from the states, run it through their bureaucracy and give about 80% back.

You hate the interstate highway system?

The average welfare recipient receives about $22,000 but the Fed govt collects about $35,000 per recipient. Why not give them each a 20% raise and cut them a check for $26,200 and still save $8,800 per person.

I imagine some of that bureaucracy exists to reduce fraud and such. Not to say it's not wasteful, but you can't completely cut it out.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by FrostyBoy
Throwing money at something doesn't fix it...

Originally posted by FrostyBoy
Give education the biggest piece of the pie...