In response to my friend Dick Paschalls challenge to propose ways to reduce federal spending, this was my proposal. Your thoughts? First, throw out the current tax code and replace it with a proportional tax on gross income of every single American with absolutely no deductions, exemptions, exclusions or allowances. Taxed at the source and no tax returns needed and IRS scaled back to 10% of its current size. Earn a little, pay a little, earn a lot, pay a lot. The rate would be around 10-15% to be revenue-neutral and no more special interest lobbyists currying the favor of our President and representatives. Second, close all military bases and Department of Defense sites that are not specifically requested by DOD consistent with our national strategy. This would result in the closure of 20% of our military bases. Currently, these bases are kept open due to self-serving citizens and their representatives with no connection to our national strategy. Third, close all Department of Energy sites that are not required by the DOEs strategic plan. This would reduce 15% of our current sites, only kept open by the same phenomenon as the DOD sites above. Fourth, privatize the US post office and close all unnecessary post offices that cannot be justified on an economic basis. Provide broadband coverage to move our citizenry to the digital age, wherever they are. Prices will go up, but our current postage prices are ridiculously low and union wages and benefits are unreasonably high. Fifth, eliminate all government subsidies of any kind, except for those specifically targeted to our most needy citizens. This includes farm subsidies, oil subsidies, and health care subsidies to those above the federal poverty level. Sixth, pass a constitutional amendment to require the balancing of the annual budget. Allow for exemptions in the event of national crises such as wars and natural disasters, with the proviso that the balanced budget be restored in no less than five years after conclusion of the crisis. Seventh, put all unfunded obligations such as Social Security, Medicare and Federal pensions on the federal accounting books of record so we can acknowledge and work off the real national debt which is about $80 Trillion instead of the official $17 Trillion. Eighth, fully fund any new entitlement or any new foreign aid or war effort up front with real budget offsets before implementation. Ensure our people support this effort with an increased tax rate on all Americans or a reduction of an existing federal program before implementation. We have to feel these new programs personally and responsibly instead of presuming that someone else is paying for them. There is no free lunch. Ninth, reform federal pensions by putting them on commercial footing. This means freezing wage increase accruals for active employees and moving to defined contribution pensions for new employees instead of defined benefit pensions. And tenth, sunset all government transfer programs and re-substantiate them as part of the congressional appropriation system. We currently have thousands of programs that were pushed through the earmark process by our individual representatives, consistent with our personal requests, which need to be stamped out. We can always talk about cutting waste, fraud and abuse, but we really just need to evaluate programs for elimination through fundamental process analysis and zero-based budgeting.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 23:59:08 +0000
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