I am not in favor of corporate welfare and CEO getting rich on the back of our tax dollars nor on destruction of the value of the dollar.
1. I would bring down defense spending, probably by half over a 10 year period. I would defend the US shores, but not prosecute wars of aggression we have no business in. See England, Russia. No troops in Germany or Japan. I would support development of high tech weaponry, as this has proved its value the last two decades. Cruise missiles, drones, our satellite eye in the sky, have all proven their worth. Aircraft carriers, AWACS, all good stuff. We spend 10 times what China or Russia spend, to maintain a huge offensive capability. This costs us too much money and too many lives, and we should reduce it substantially.
2. I would attack Medicare part D (repub screw up). For each illness, I would offer 1 out of 4 drugs on the market, some generic and some brand name. Lets say there are 40 blood pressure pills out there, I'd give away 10 for free (if prescribed by physician, 6 generic and 4 brand name). You would have to bid, and I'll take the 10 low bids. If you want a different pill, go buy it yourself. That would pressure the manufacturers to compete on price.
3. I would require all recipients of social security SSI payments to be certified by the SS doctor, not just their doctor. Maybe end SS-SSI altogether. This is being gamed by many, ripping off the working class. We need to look at social security much harder. I am not sure the problem is with retirees, as it is with the govt. letting too many people claim Disability and get payments for life when they could be working. Below I will post a quote on SSI.
4. I would allow private investigators to be bounty hunters on medicare fraud clinics. You bust one leading to conviction, you get 50K plus 10% of their fraudulent billings.
5. I would have medical boards set treatment standards, particularly end of life care. After a certain point, you go on DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and hospice care. That's what they do in Europe. If you have money and want to pay for more (or buy an additional insurance to pay for more), you can.
6. End most corporate welfare. Exxon does not need tax breaks, they make a fortune. Eliminate farm subsidies, the family farm is gone, just huge operators out there.
7. Bring back the clinton era tax rates, the rich can pay more, they used to pay more and the economy was doing fine.
There are only 5 areas that make up most of the fed. budget, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Defense, and Interest on the debt.
- You can't do anything about interest on the debt unless you balance the budget and run a surplus and use the surplus to pay down the debt. I'm not holding my breath. Actually, interest rates will rise from here and this must go up and nudge something else out.
- So, you have to deal with SS, Medicare, Medicaid and Defense to meaningly deal with the deficit.
QUOTE from Social Security website about SSI:
What About The SSI Program?
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources.
SSI benefits are also payable to people 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial limits.
Social Security's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program
A friend in Houston tells me 10 families on his street, the husband, wife and daughter all are "disabled" and collect SSI; they all live in the same house. But, he sees them put the garbage can out on pick up day. The system is being gamed. The 10 families are not native americans, but migrated here.
