Modbert
Daydream Believer
- Sep 2, 2008
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- #41
I'm guessing a Modbert would argue that they're not deep enough. It's a start.
That would be right. I also think that there are better ways going about solving the issue of waste in Medicare, etc.
If I were the one in charge, some of the things I would do immediately:
1.) End the War on Drugs.
This study from the Cato Institute details how much can be saved from getting rid of the War on Drugs.
Cato Study: 'War on Drugs' Squanders $88 Billion a Year | Cato Institute: News Releases
Drug criminalization policies in the United States drain $88 billion annually from state, local and federal government coffers, according to a report released Monday by the Cato Institute.
"The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition," by Harvard economist and Cato Senior Fellow Jeffrey Miron and Katherine Waldock, concludes that current drug policy costs governments $41.3 billion each year to implement, while depriving their budgets of $46.7 billion in potential revenues from taxation of legal drug sales.
That's $880 billion over a decade.
2.) I would cut wasteful programs and programs that are simply earmarks from the defense budget. I would also take a hard look at getting rid of overseas bases. I remember reading at one point that we have just as many troops in Germany and Japan as we do in Afghanistan or Iraq. It was from a good amount of time ago so I'm unsure of the specific details but it was pretty staggering.
3.) I would raise taxes to Clinton era levels including the 39% marginal tax rate for the rich.
4.) I would propose America start "weening" itself off oil consumption in the long run. We cannot currently sustain our growing demand with the supply, never mind internationally with the addition of China and India alone. I would take a hard look at Nuclear power, even despite the current crisis in Japan. France is a fantastic example of Nuclear power done right.
Those are just four things I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure if I had time to sit down and think about it, I can come up with more. I'm also sure I could articulate it better than I currently have.