What is the solution to the U.S. Spending Problem?

[pornstarwannabe]

Anyone smart enough to craft a solution? We are borrowing about 40 cents of each dollar spent. Even if the economy was going great, we'd still be borrowing, albeit less than 40 cents per dollar. Taxing the Rich is not a solution, but could be part of a larger solution. Tax cuts by themselves is not a solution either. A freeze in spending (an actual freeze) might work and is part of the "make do with less" mentality.

So, what do we do to prevent becoming another Greece?

 

[RobDownSouth]

Raise the capital gains tax rates to Reagan-era levels.
Reinstitute the short-term capital gains rates to discourage speculation and encourage long-term investment.

 

[tactful]

Get rid of half of the politicians and their policies in Washington, stop supporting the cities, pull the troops out and screw the war mongers.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

There is no solution.

We're locked into a political-economic death spiral.

The politician brave enough to fight for real cuts won't be around long and they all know it...



I cannot tell you when it will happen, but eventually it all comes crashing down and the elite oligarchy will close ranks and elect a Caesar.

Probably from the "Council of Czars."

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Raise the capital gains tax rates to Reagan-era levels.
Reinstitute the short-term capital gains rates to discourage speculation and encourage long-term investment.

That will hasten the spiral.

See "The Baker"

 

[pornstarwannabe]

I could be wrong, but I think we can do the following:
a. It's a privilege to sell in America. Want to sell goods here made overseas? There have to be tariffs. Some say tariffs are bad, but can they be worse than what we've had the last several decades of our imbalanced trade deficit and lost manufacturing jobs? service based economies do not work well, and we need to build stuff.

b. Freeze all government spending. A real freeze... with no increases based on population growth. People have to make do with less.

c. Enact legislation that provides 5 years of certainty to businesses. How often have we heard that businesses cannot adequately plan on short cycles of uncertainty (like 1-2 years). They need 5 years minimum. The Prez Congress like to extend tax cuts for 1-2 years... this does not really help. Either extend them for at least 5 years, or cut them.

d. Entice companies to close shop overseas and to open plants in the US. Perhaps the tariffs in #1 will facilitate this.

e. We cannot cut troop strength since we learned the hard way that reduced strength means excessive deployment (e.g. Iraq and Afghanistan ring a bell), burnout, and and suicides. But we can reduce the troops out of foreign lands.

 

[Liar]

Freeze spending? Raise taxes? Streamline the militay? Sell Texas?

http://images.memegenerator.net/instances/280x280/9864490.jpg

But whatever you do, it's a marathon. PSW is on to something with the stability for businesses. Although the cponcept of five year plans has some weird connotations. And in the political climate of today, where divisiveness is the norm, it's hard to see how any legislation or specific policy direction could prossibly survive for that long.

 

[JohnnySavage]

1. Combine Medicare, Medicaid, VA Medical, Chips, Tri-Care and the Federal Employees Health System into one program and allow everyone to buy into it based on income. Over half the county already has some form of government health care; open it up to everyone.

Health care problems/costs solved.

2. Eliminate the cap on SSI contributions and means test who receives it.

Social Security problem solved.

3. Cut defense so that it's defensive, not offensive.

Military spending problem solved.

4. Eliminate the income tax and institute a national sales tax.

Revenue problem solved.


Johnny for Dictator!

 

[ksmybuttons]

1. Combine Medicare, Medicaid, VA Medical, Chips, Tri-Care and the Federal Employees Health System into one program and allow everyone to buy into it based on income. Over half the county already has some form of government health care; open it up to everyone.

Health care problems/costs solved.

2. Eliminate the cap on SSI contributions and means test who receives it.

Social Security problem solved.

3. Cut defense so that it's defensive, not offensive.

Military spending problem solved.

4. Eliminate the income tax and institute a national sales tax.

Revenue problem solved.


Johnny for Dictator!

1. Universal Health Care through the government.
2. Agreed.
3. Quit trying to Nation Build.
4. I don't know about this one. Also, if you buy oversees and bring it into the country, you pay the tariff.
5. Tax corporations.

 

[JohnnySavage]

How do you do #5?

Most corporations are pass-thru entities. For example, I own 3 companies that are 'LLCs" and they don't pay taxes. The income and expenses are passed through to my individual return. The only corporations subject to income taxes are Sub Chapter C corporations, and the vast majority of those already pay a lot of taxes.

Saying you are going to tax corporations is feel-good, but it's very complicated in reality.

I don't have an answer for this one because it's too complex. That's why I'd prefer a national sales tax.

 

[ksmybuttons]

How do you do #5?

Most corporations are pass-thru entities. For example, I own 3 companies that are 'LLCs" and they don't pay taxes. The income and expenses are passed through to my individual return. The only corporations subject to income taxes are Sub Chapter C corporations, and the vast majority of those already pay a lot of taxes.

Saying you are going to tax corporations is feel-good, but it's very complicated in reality.

I don't have an answer for this one because it's too complex. That's why I'd prefer a national sales tax.

Sales tax is regressive.

I won't even pretend I understand corporations. It did feel good.

 

[Frizzle_Fry]

How do you do #5?

Most corporations are pass-thru entities. For example, I own 3 companies that are 'LLCs" and they don't pay taxes. The income and expenses are passed through to my individual return. The only corporations subject to income taxes are Sub Chapter C corporations, and the vast majority of those already pay a lot of taxes.

Saying you are going to tax corporations is feel-good, but it's very complicated in reality.

I don't have an answer for this one because it's too complex. That's why I'd prefer a national sales tax.

Not to mention there is no corp. that is going to pay the tax out of pocket. The corp is there to make money, not help people out. The extra taxation of business will simply be passed on to the consumer (making life harder for the indigent members of society). If that is not regressive IDK what the fuck is...

There is plenty of spending to be cut from our budget without taxing poor people more.

1) I agree with other points made...streamline healthcare, military etc.

2) Kill the war on drugs, big billions spent every year for the past what 40+ years? And it has done nothing but make the black market more violent, more costly, and the drugs more accessible...a complete failure on all fronts. We should get a clue from our own history and dozens of other nations that currently have a very trivial drug problem and try something else (like legalization, taxation and regulation of recreational drugs, just like booze).

3) Dept. of education....FAIL. I'm not against education, I'm against having one of the most expensive examples of education fail in first world history. Take a clue from other countries and implement a new system that is cheaper, better and already working in another society. Ripping off someone else's idea and doing it better for less is what being a capitalist american is all about and the gov needs to lead by example.

4) We need an agency or w/e to regulate, audit and monitor where governments are spending federal tax dollars. We have all seen reports of the military spending 500 bucks for each roll of toilet paper, cities installing 20,000 dollar park benches across town etc. to inflate next years budget. I'm willing to bet another long arm of the gov. designed to regulate itself would not only pay for itself but save the american tax payer a pretty penny if we just went thought and cleaned up some of our bullshit spending. It would piss off a lot of embezzling politicians and their homeboys....fuck them.

that's all I got for now.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Step one: Realize we don't have a spending problem. Or a taxing problem. We have a prioty problem. You cannot have a spending problem if you can tax more and you cannot have a tax problem if you can spend less. What you have is a priority problem where you want things you don't want to pay for. Then you need to sit down and figure out what you are willing to pay for.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The solutions are simple.

1. Outlaw high school dropouts. No excuses. Graduate or find your ass drafted into something you wont enjoy. The world is fulla shitholes for numnutz to guard. There are places on the Amazon River that are closer to Europe than the closest town.

2. No more student loans or government grants to pay for school. If you were worth a fuck youd get a scholarship from the Numnutz Foundation. A mind is a terrible thing to waste...on a Nigga.

3. The Marine Corps and a national militia are all the military we need. Every swinging dick gets basic training starting at 18; the Marines will train him/her to perform a useful job plus a military specialty. One year active duty, one weekend per month, and two weeks per year for 10 years. Pay and benefits? None unless youre active duty. Every state will fund one infantry division or one air wing or one Coast Guard squadron.

4. Political officers will be drawn by lottery and serve for 12 months. No compensation.

 

[JohnnySavage]

The solutions are simple.

1. Outlaw high school dropouts. No excuses. Graduate or find your ass drafted into something you wont enjoy. The world is fulla shitholes for numnutz to guard. There are places on the Amazon River that are closer to Europe than the closest town.

2. No more student loans or government grants to pay for school. If you were worth a fuck youd get a scholarship from the Numnutz Foundation. A mind is a terrible thing to waste...on a Nigga.

3. The Marine Corps and a national militia are all the military we need. Every swinging dick gets basic training starting at 18; the Marines will train him/her to perform a useful job plus a military specialty. One year active duty, one weekend per month, and two weeks per year for 10 years. Pay and benefits? None unless youre active duty. Every state will fund one infantry division or one air wing or one Coast Guard squadron.

4. Political officers will be drawn by lottery and serve for 12 months. No compensation.

I don't think the Soviet Union is a very good model for us to follow.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Step one: Realize we don't have a spending problem. Or a taxing problem. We have a prioty problem. You cannot have a spending problem if you can tax more and you cannot have a tax problem if you can spend less. What you have is a priority problem where you want things you don't want to pay for. Then you need to sit down and figure out what you are willing to pay for.

Very true!

When my social security, pension, and other checks arrive each month, I make a list of shit to pay for. I may want a new pruning saw but if the money aint there, tuff titty.

 

[RobDownSouth]

That will hasten the spiral.

See "The Baker"

If it was good enough for Ronald Reagan, it's good enough for America.
You obviously have no clue as to what you're talking about.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I don't think the Soviet Union is a very good model for us to follow.

BS The rumor I heard accused you of making your garage into a replica of a USSR style WAL-MART with one brand of flat soda, one brand of 3.2 beer, one brand of cigarette, and shelves bare of gray fruit/veggies in leaking jars.

 

[Shagly]

Anyone smart enough to craft a solution? We are borrowing about 40 cents of each dollar spent. Even if the economy was going great, we'd still be borrowing, albeit less than 40 cents per dollar. Taxing the Rich is not a solution, but could be part of a larger solution. Tax cuts by themselves is not a solution either. A freeze in spending (an actual freeze) might work and is part of the "make do with less" mentality.

So, what do we do to prevent becoming another Greece?

Keep printing more money, eventually it will be worthless.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

If it was good enough for Ronald Reagan, it's good enough for America.
You obviously have no clue as to what you're talking about.

Dear Reader

This poser knows as much about Ronald Reagan as he knows about fornicating and work. That is, all he knows Mike Yates told him.

 

[mercury14]

Raise the capital gains tax rates to Reagan-era levels.

Commie.

Single-payor health care would save more money than any other idea. Except James' idea of abolishing the military perhaps.

 

[mercury14]

There is plenty of spending to be cut from our budget without taxing poor people more.

1) I agree with other points made...streamline healthcare, military etc.

2) Kill the war on drugs, big billions spent every year for the past what 40+ years? And it has done nothing but make the black market more violent, more costly, and the drugs more accessible...a complete failure on all fronts. We should get a clue from our own history and dozens of other nations that currently have a very trivial drug problem and try something else (like legalization, taxation and regulation of recreational drugs, just like booze).

3) Dept. of education....FAIL. I'm not against education, I'm against having one of the most expensive examples of education fail in first world history. Take a clue from other countries and implement a new system that is cheaper, better and already working in another society. Ripping off someone else's idea and doing it better for less is what being a capitalist american is all about and the gov needs to lead by example.

4) We need an agency or w/e to regulate, audit and monitor where governments are spending federal tax dollars. We have all seen reports of the military spending 500 bucks for each roll of toilet paper, cities installing 20,000 dollar park benches across town etc. to inflate next years budget. I'm willing to bet another long arm of the gov. designed to regulate itself would not only pay for itself but save the american tax payer a pretty penny if we just went thought and cleaned up some of our bullshit spending. It would piss off a lot of embezzling politicians and their homeboys....fuck them.

that's all I got for now.

The major areas of spending are healthcare, defense, and pensions. Fiddling around with federal education spending, drugs, etc isn't going to help much.

There are already government agencies that search for waste. In the USAF we get audited multiple times per year. I'm not sure that adding more frequent audits would turn up much more waste. Even if it did, savings in this area are nothing compared to the three things I just mentioned.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The major areas of spending are healthcare, defense, and pensions. Fiddling around with federal education spending, drugs, etc isn't going to help much.

There are already government agencies that search for waste. In the USAF we get audited multiple times per year. I'm not sure that adding more frequent audits would turn up much more waste. Even if it did, savings in this area are nothing compared to the three things I just mentioned.

Youre right. We've crossed the line and the tipping point with the spending. Its over. Oxen are gonna get gored. And thats were the fight is.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Commie.

Single-payor health care would save more money than any other idea. Except James' idea of abolishing the military perhaps.

Abolishing the military ends dreams of conquest and colonial dynasty.

 

[Stewart_Pidd]

So, what do we do to prevent becoming another Greece?

bathe so we don't smell like feta

Stew