Face it. America's fiscal and budget problems are WAY too huge to be solved by conservative or liberal ideologues who won't seriously consider solutions which run contrary to their ideologies.
For example, trying to increase taxes while not cutting spending won't work. In fact, if America increases corporate taxes too high while other countries are cutting taxes for corporations, it will have a depressing effect on American job growth. But there's no way to balance the budget by just making draconian cuts to spending while not raising revenues as well.
Additionally, trying to cut social spending without touching defense spending is equally unreasonable.
Members of both parties need a BIG reality check.
Medicare fraud needs to be addressed. Administrative costs for gov't bureacracies and gov't programs need to be cut. Benefits for gov't workers (including Congress and administration officials) needs to be scaled back.
Yeah, social programs have to be cut. Means testing for benefits will almost certainly have to happen on a much larger scale. The retirement age for future retirees will have to be raised. Defense spending will have to be cut. Military bases around the world will have to be closed. Weapons systems will have to be eliminated. The current FICA tax cap on any income above $106,800 will have to be raised.
We also need to ween ourselves off of oil as a primary means of transportation. That means that Congress has to stand up to big oil. Congress has to stand up to all kinds of special interest which too often get their own way because they give large campaign contributions in order to get tax breaks or special legal protections. That probably means that the current system of financing elections needs to be scrapped in favor of public financing in order to eliminate the undue influence of deep pocket special interests.
And yes, taxes rates need to be raised even as loopholes are eliminated.
But you know what? People, in general, aren't really interested in what's best for America anymore. Every group wants to protect their turf, or their special interest exemption, or their benefits, or their revenue stream, or their slice of the federal pie. And the ideologues aren't helping one bit. They pander to their bases while the ship of state is taking on water. Unless everyone is willing to sacrifice, America is going to go down sinking even as the crew of the ship [Congress and this administration (or any administration of either party)] argues over how best to save America from sinking into becoming a second rate power that can't pay its bills or compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century.
Get it together, Congress! The people didn't elect you to act like children.
For example, trying to increase taxes while not cutting spending won't work. In fact, if America increases corporate taxes too high while other countries are cutting taxes for corporations, it will have a depressing effect on American job growth. But there's no way to balance the budget by just making draconian cuts to spending while not raising revenues as well.
Additionally, trying to cut social spending without touching defense spending is equally unreasonable.
Members of both parties need a BIG reality check.
Medicare fraud needs to be addressed. Administrative costs for gov't bureacracies and gov't programs need to be cut. Benefits for gov't workers (including Congress and administration officials) needs to be scaled back.
Yeah, social programs have to be cut. Means testing for benefits will almost certainly have to happen on a much larger scale. The retirement age for future retirees will have to be raised. Defense spending will have to be cut. Military bases around the world will have to be closed. Weapons systems will have to be eliminated. The current FICA tax cap on any income above $106,800 will have to be raised.
We also need to ween ourselves off of oil as a primary means of transportation. That means that Congress has to stand up to big oil. Congress has to stand up to all kinds of special interest which too often get their own way because they give large campaign contributions in order to get tax breaks or special legal protections. That probably means that the current system of financing elections needs to be scrapped in favor of public financing in order to eliminate the undue influence of deep pocket special interests.
And yes, taxes rates need to be raised even as loopholes are eliminated.
But you know what? People, in general, aren't really interested in what's best for America anymore. Every group wants to protect their turf, or their special interest exemption, or their benefits, or their revenue stream, or their slice of the federal pie. And the ideologues aren't helping one bit. They pander to their bases while the ship of state is taking on water. Unless everyone is willing to sacrifice, America is going to go down sinking even as the crew of the ship [Congress and this administration (or any administration of either party)] argues over how best to save America from sinking into becoming a second rate power that can't pay its bills or compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century.
Get it together, Congress! The people didn't elect you to act like children.
