It’s been a while since I’ve written, but I haven’t felt as though I have anything to say. That however has changed.
Recently the talk in our political discourse has given over to the debate on reducing our great land’s debt I feel the need to weigh in with my own proposal.
The problem is that all parties involved believe that their plan is the only one worth talking about I on the other hand have no such qualms. So my plan is as follows:
1. Increase the taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent, the Bill Gates and Warren Buffetts, of the country, Buffett has said he should pay more, so why not take him up on that offer. Plus if any of those wealthy people want to pay more, let them.
2. Cap spending. I keep hearing 18 percent from sources that I trust, so that’s what I’d be inclined to say.3. Foreign Spending:
a. Cut foreign aid, both military and diplomatic, in 2009 this was $47.7 Billion dollars, cut it to $0.
b. Cut funding/withdraw from the UN and NATO, the UN cost the United States $3 Billion in fy2010, while NATO for the same period totaled $711.8 million
4. Defense:a. Bring the US Military home, from everywhere. Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Okinawa, Italy, the Middle East. Everywhere, even South Korea. This will allow us to stop paying for those bases, and in conflict zones we would stop having to pay combat rates and hazardous duty pay. It will also cut down on wear and tear on men and equipment, lowering costs in that area too.
b. Once the military is home transfer about a third of them in each branch to the reserves. This will cut cost too; admittedly the downside is that you will be flooding the job market, but you can hope some will take advantage of the GI bill.
c. Cut Defense spending. The US spends 4.8% of our GDP on defense spending that’s $698 billion for fy2010, more than 6 times what the next nearest spends. Cut it to $350 billion that’s still almost 3 times what China spends.
5. ) Internala. Cut funding to Colleges. I know this will jack the price of tuition through the roof but it could also make college degrees more valuable again.
b. Cut Welfare, I know that there are people who depend on this but we do have an actual welfare class, people that don’t even try to do anything but live on handouts.
c. Cut tax returns in half.
d. Liquidate about a quarter of the gold in the US reserve at Fort Knox. This at current market value could be about $69 billion. This would also have the effect of driving gold prices down which could hinder any country that is currently investing in gold. (I thought of this before I saw that Ron Paul had said something similar.)
e. Cut Executive and Legislative branch wages, pensions, and other benefits. By about one third sounds good to me. Also, no vacations on the government’s tab for the first family, unless the President is along to.
This is my plan as it exists now, I understand much of it will be unpopular with one group or the other, but frankly if it helps...
I don’t know how much it will save but anything is better than nothing.
