How would you fix it?

[STREICHER187]

I joined here thinking I would see a decent conversation but it looks like Libs yelling at Cons and vice versa. So instead of yelling what would your budget look like?

As an actual independant I would do both taxes and hard cuts. The outline would be like

Medicaid (would do away with)

Welfare - 2 year limit, no more having a kid every 2 years to stay on forever (worked retail and saw women with 13 kids who go over 1,000 a month in foodstamps) you get help with the first child..

Medicare - This is where I would make up for medicaid - open up medicare to any american for 5% of their salary (poor children/real disabled get financed by goverment) adding millions of healthy young people would help make up some of the spending debts. Allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices instead of having to pay insane fees..

Personal Taxes
Would make it simple first 20K tax free no deductions Rates, stock options, dividends would count as income would be

20K-50K 5%
50K-250K 10%
250K-1M 15%
1M-10M 20%
10M+ 25%

Business Taxes
10% of profits simple no deductions, no tax breaks (end the big tax breaks for oil, Ge etc)
2% deduction if 75% of your business/workforce is located in the US

Social Security
Right now they only take it out on the first 100K people make, raise that to 500K and means test if your net worth is over 1Million dollars then you don't get any SS when you retire.

Do away with Homeland Security - sorry this is a HUGE waste of money, there was enough warning about 9/11 it should have been prevented but wasn't and even with Homeland security it wouldn't have just look at Fema and Katrina..

Cut Defense spending 10% next year and 5% a year for next 4 years after.

10% a year for next 5 years on political spending (what the politicians can charge the people like parties, travel, staff etc.) We pay them 175K a year to do a job not to have 20 interns do it.

ANY raises to ANY politicians must be voted on by the people, must be put on the ballot during a presidential election and voted on. No more giving themselves raises..

This would upset both dems and republicans and would force everyone to pay more. If you where really serious you would add a 2% federal sales tax on everything with the sole purpose of the money going towards the debt..

 

[Wiseacre]

I think 2 years is too long for welfare, would cut that down to maybe 1 year.

Are you thinking of a single payer gov't run healthcare system? How are you going to contain costs? About those insane drug costs, it takes big money to come up with new innovative treatments.

If it's me I'm going to set the tax rate for capital gains and dividends at 10% for everybody. I want people to invest here to grow our economy and create more jobs.

I would raise the income ceiling level up for SS from $106,800, but 500k is a bit too high. I'd go for maybe $150,000 and then tie future increases to the wage index. I do think the age limits should gradually go up, like the debt commission proposed.

Not too sure about Homeland Security, gonna have to think about that one. But I would cut way back on the Depts of Education, HHS, Energy, and HUD. We got no business doing anything at the national level in those areas IMHO. Should be state issues.

Maybe not so much in defense cuts as you suggest, half that is good.

I'd freeze federal civilian hiring until we have a 10% reduction in force through attrition.

I'm good with a consumption tax, but I would exempt food and clothing. Dunno how much 2% would bring in, but it's gotta be small to start with.

I'd pass a law that says if we have a deficit in one year then the next year's budget has to makeup the difference. And I'd put term limits in for the Congress, 12 years max. I would also not allow 3rd party political ads unless approved by an independent election commission that receives ALL donations, records the amounts and the donors, and makes sure the donor information is factual. They would periodically release that information to the public. BTW, no single donation can exceed $500 from anybody.

 

[auditor0007]

I joined here thinking I would see a decent conversation but it looks like Libs yelling at Cons and vice versa. So instead of yelling what would your budget look like?

As an actual independant I would do both taxes and hard cuts. The outline would be like

Medicaid (would do away with)

Welfare - 2 year limit, no more having a kid every 2 years to stay on forever (worked retail and saw women with 13 kids who go over 1,000 a month in foodstamps) you get help with the first child..

Medicare - This is where I would make up for medicaid - open up medicare to any american for 5% of their salary (poor children/real disabled get financed by goverment) adding millions of healthy young people would help make up some of the spending debts. Allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices instead of having to pay insane fees..

Personal Taxes
Would make it simple first 20K tax free no deductions Rates, stock options, dividends would count as income would be

20K-50K 5%
50K-250K 10%
250K-1M 15%
1M-10M 20%
10M+ 25%

Business Taxes
10% of profits simple no deductions, no tax breaks (end the big tax breaks for oil, Ge etc)
2% deduction if 75% of your business/workforce is located in the US

Social Security
Right now they only take it out on the first 100K people make, raise that to 500K and means test if your net worth is over 1Million dollars then you don't get any SS when you retire.

Do away with Homeland Security - sorry this is a HUGE waste of money, there was enough warning about 9/11 it should have been prevented but wasn't and even with Homeland security it wouldn't have just look at Fema and Katrina..

Cut Defense spending 10% next year and 5% a year for next 4 years after.

10% a year for next 5 years on political spending (what the politicians can charge the people like parties, travel, staff etc.) We pay them 175K a year to do a job not to have 20 interns do it.

ANY raises to ANY politicians must be voted on by the people, must be put on the ballot during a presidential election and voted on. No more giving themselves raises..

This would upset both dems and republicans and would force everyone to pay more. If you where really serious you would add a 2% federal sales tax on everything with the sole purpose of the money going towards the debt..

First of all, everyone has all kinds of ideas, and some are actually pretty good. The problem is in getting anything implemented. Between right and left, and all other factions, trying to get anything done in Washington is pretty much impossible. For instance, I'd love to see a flat tax of between 20 to 25% after a standard deduction for everyone. Everyone would get the same deduction for each person in the household. After that, flat tax on everything including capital gains. But nothing like that is going to happen, plain and simple.

So what would I do that might actually be workable. I'd end the Bush tax cuts for beginners. And that would not put an unfair strain on the rich, because it would hit every income level. Secondly, I would end our military involvement on every corner of the Earth. As for bases in Germany, Saudi Arabia, S. Korea, Japan, Bahrain, and who knows where else, I would tell those countries we are shutting them down or they will have to pay for their operation. We can protect our interests without having to be the World police. Military spending could easily be cut by 30 to 40 percent.

As for SS and Medicare, I would want to see the retirement age raised. We should shoot for a retirement age of 70 within the next 25 years. As for discretionary spending, I would freeze spending for the next five years.

As for Obamacare, I would leave it alone for now. Wait to see what really happens once it goes into effect. Eventually, we are going to head toward a one payer system; there just won't be a choice financially. But that is down the road. For now I would keep it simple. Cut the military, end the Bush tax cuts, freeze spending on all discretionary spending, and raise the retirement age. If all those things were done, we would be very close to having a balanced budget within ten years.

 

[Tank]

Without welfare blacks and Hispanics would litter the streets

 

[bucs90]

It'd be quite easy to fix......IF all the people fixing it weren't worried about re-election. If you had a couple hundred Congressmen and a president who knew they'd be out in 4 years, then they can just cut all the big expenses, tell people the reality of the fucked mess we are in, and let us sort it out on our own. Thats the reality.

 

[P F Tinmore]

End the Fed.
Close all foreign military bases and bring all troops home.
End all foreign aid.
Close the ATF.
Close the DEA.
Cancel NAFTA, etc.

The economy would improve increasing the tax base and reducing the welfare rolls.

 

[editec]

I joined here thinking I would see a decent conversation but it looks like Libs yelling at Cons and vice versa. So instead of yelling what would your budget look like?

As an actual independant I would do both taxes and hard cuts. The outline would be like

Medicaid (would do away with)

Welfare - 2 year limit, no more having a kid every 2 years to stay on forever (worked retail and saw women with 13 kids who go over 1,000 a month in foodstamps) you get help with the first child..

Medicare - This is where I would make up for medicaid - open up medicare to any american for 5% of their salary (poor children/real disabled get financed by goverment) adding millions of healthy young people would help make up some of the spending debts. Allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices instead of having to pay insane fees..

Personal Taxes
Would make it simple first 20K tax free no deductions Rates, stock options, dividends would count as income would be

20K-50K 5%
50K-250K 10%
250K-1M 15%
1M-10M 20%
10M+ 25%

Business Taxes
10% of profits simple no deductions, no tax breaks (end the big tax breaks for oil, Ge etc)
2% deduction if 75% of your business/workforce is located in the US

Social Security
Right now they only take it out on the first 100K people make, raise that to 500K and means test if your net worth is over 1Million dollars then you don't get any SS when you retire.

Do away with Homeland Security - sorry this is a HUGE waste of money, there was enough warning about 9/11 it should have been prevented but wasn't and even with Homeland security it wouldn't have just look at Fema and Katrina..

Cut Defense spending 10% next year and 5% a year for next 4 years after.

10% a year for next 5 years on political spending (what the politicians can charge the people like parties, travel, staff etc.) We pay them 175K a year to do a job not to have 20 interns do it.

ANY raises to ANY politicians must be voted on by the people, must be put on the ballot during a presidential election and voted on. No more giving themselves raises..

This would upset both dems and republicans and would force everyone to pay more. If you where really serious you would add a 2% federal sales tax on everything with the sole purpose of the money going towards the debt..

Many good ideas there.

How much would the above cut from the budget or bring in as additional revenues?

 

[uscitizen]

I joined here thinking I would see a decent conversation but it looks like Libs yelling at Cons and vice versa.

You expected something different from the reality of the world?

 

[Jackson]

I joined here thinking I would see a decent conversation but it looks like Libs yelling at Cons and vice versa. So instead of yelling what would your budget look like?

As an actual independant I would do both taxes and hard cuts. The outline would be like

Medicaid (would do away with)

Welfare - 2 year limit, no more having a kid every 2 years to stay on forever (worked retail and saw women with 13 kids who go over 1,000 a month in foodstamps) you get help with the first child..

Medicare - This is where I would make up for medicaid - open up medicare to any american for 5% of their salary (poor children/real disabled get financed by goverment) adding millions of healthy young people would help make up some of the spending debts. Allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices instead of having to pay insane fees..

Personal Taxes
Would make it simple first 20K tax free no deductions Rates, stock options, dividends would count as income would be

20K-50K 5%
50K-250K 10%
250K-1M 15%
1M-10M 20%
10M+ 25%

Business Taxes
10% of profits simple no deductions, no tax breaks (end the big tax breaks for oil, Ge etc)
2% deduction if 75% of your business/workforce is located in the US

Social Security
Right now they only take it out on the first 100K people make, raise that to 500K and means test if your net worth is over 1Million dollars then you don't get any SS when you retire.

Do away with Homeland Security - sorry this is a HUGE waste of money, there was enough warning about 9/11 it should have been prevented but wasn't and even with Homeland security it wouldn't have just look at Fema and Katrina..

Cut Defense spending 10% next year and 5% a year for next 4 years after.

10% a year for next 5 years on political spending (what the politicians can charge the people like parties, travel, staff etc.) We pay them 175K a year to do a job not to have 20 interns do it.

ANY raises to ANY politicians must be voted on by the people, must be put on the ballot during a presidential election and voted on. No more giving themselves raises..

This would upset both dems and republicans and would force everyone to pay more. If you where really serious you would add a 2% federal sales tax on everything with the sole purpose of the money going towards the debt..

20K-50K 10%
50K-250K 15%
250K-1M 25%
1M-10M 30%
10M+35%

Business Taxes, Manufacturing 25% of profits simple no deductions, no tax breaks (end the big tax breaks for oil, Ge etc)
10% if 75% of your business/workforce is located in the US

Social Security

SSI should be reviewed and given out to those who are actually diabled in a manner that requires money each month. Some disabilities, people live the same as we all do requiring no more of an expense each month as any other.

Tribal Funding.

Indians and other Cultures are given funds and are considered not part of our governments, amounting to great expenditures to our budget, yet they live in poverty and their leaders in wealth. Bringing them into the US, and conform to the laws of the land will be better for the people and cut down cost of the US budget. While just a few are not getting rich in Tribal areas.

 

[uscitizen]

To pretty much cure medicare and medicaid fraud.
Automatic 5 year sentence (no parole) with a 150% fine on all fraudlent money gained.
And revocation of any business or medical liscence for 5 years as well.

 

[washamericom]

I joined here thinking I would see a decent conversation but it looks like Libs yelling at Cons and vice versa. So instead of yelling what would your budget look like?

LOL
show the birth certificate, everything else will fall into place, maybe not so much for the 430000 people who filed for unemployment last week. dump this lazy president, that's my solution. non of this matters in a relatively short time, one the dollar is devalued and china succeeds in making the yuan world currency standard, people don't even know this could happen. we're going to have violence and blood in the streets (mcdonalds) when unemployment, the prime rate and inflation are all above ten percent, which i'm beginning to think was the obama plan all along. it would agree with his past, the part we know about. i'm glad you joined. there's a lot of goofing around on this board, but i hope you stay.

 

[Seawytch]

First things first...campaign finance reform. You REALLY want to fix the budget?

* Get rid of ALL the fucking lobbyists
* Limit ALL campaign donations
* Make them 100% transparent

Then, Medicare for all and the rest just falls into place

 

[Seawytch]

Oh yeah, and tax these fucking mega churches that are making obscene profits.

 

[editec]

The true test of your propose budgets demands that some numbers show us the benefit.

For example, many of you want to limit or end "welfare"

I have asked and asked and asked you folks to tell me how much welfare costs and to date not one of you has come up with an answer.

HOW MUCH DOES WELFARE COST?

Do any of you actually KNOW?

If you don't, how on earth can you think you can balance the budget?

Numbers folks, we need numbers.

 

[Two Thumbs]

end income tax, close the IRS, install Federal sales tax [Fair tax]
get out of Iraq and lybia
close foreign bases and most ports
end all prohabition
end the DEA and ATF; transfer the agents to where they want to go
secure our southern boarder
stop foreign aide
increase funding for job training. nothing extra for colleges, they have already jacked the cost up b/c they have gotten to much free money.
no welfare to single moms, families only

 

[P F Tinmore]

The true test of your propose budgets demands that some numbers show us the benefit.

For example, many of you want to limit or end "welfare"

I have asked and asked and asked you folks to tell me how much welfare costs and to date not one of you has come up with an answer.

HOW MUCH DOES WELFARE COST?

Do any of you actually KNOW?

If you don't, how on earth can you think you can balance the budget?

Numbers folks, we need numbers.

I don't know the numbers but for sure those numbers would greatly decrease if we would get the rest of our economy in order.

 

[Wiseacre]

The true test of your propose budgets demands that some numbers show us the benefit.

For example, many of you want to limit or end "welfare"

I have asked and asked and asked you folks to tell me how much welfare costs and to date not one of you has come up with an answer.

HOW MUCH DOES WELFARE COST?

Do any of you actually KNOW?

If you don't, how on earth can you think you can balance the budget?

Numbers folks, we need numbers.

495.6 billion in 2011 at the federal level, 702.7 billion if you add in state and local, don't know if that's been adjusted by the recent bill that got signed for the 2011 budget. That does not include medicare or SS. Data was obtained from usgovernmentspending.com.

FYI, 1st num is fed, 2nd is fed xfers, 3rd is srtate, 4th is local, 5th is total

Welfare 495.6 -35.1 155.2 87.1 702.7
[+] Family and children 107.2 0.0 10.5 9.0 126.7
[+] Unemployment 134.8 -4.8 4.8 0.0 134.9
[+] Unemployment trust 0.0 0.0 55.7 0.1 55.8
[+] Workers compensation 7.6 0.0 15.6 0.0 23.2
[+] Housing 69.4 -30.3 7.0 38.2 84.3
[+] Social exclusion n.e.c. 176.6 0.0 52.8 39.8 269.2
R&D Social protection 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
[+] Social protection n.e.c. 0.0 0.0 8.6 0.0 8.6