Guest post by Ed Harrington:
If it is a solution we are looking for it has to be preceded by some type of term limit regulations or guidelines, otherwise our esteemed Congress will continue to make the votes most likely to keep them in office. If we had that you would probably see a reduction of somewhere around 25-30% in the federal workforce and a 25-35% reduction in the pay levels of those who remain. That pay cut includes Congress and their staff. Then you would likely see the earnings cap for social security removed, meaning everyone would pay social security on their entire earnings, not just salary but entire income. Then social security would have one single monthly benefit amount for everyone who draws it, possibly equal to the amount a minimum wage earner makes. That should return Social Security to its original mission of providing a safety net. Those who make more are responsible for supplementing their retirement and those who spent their life working for minimum wage will be used to living on that income. Then we get Medicaid, add a 20% copay to be paid by the patient. That would pretty much put them on the same footing as the insured who have to pay their copay and deductible before their coverage kicks in.
As far as Medicare, since most continue to work past retirement age there is no reason private plans should be able to skip out on the most expensive part of someone’s life from a medical expense POV. Let those who have private insurance keep it and take the government out of health care.
Eliminate the IRS and replace it with a flat tax paid by everyone on every purchase. It would need to be a flat rate on the entire purchase amount with no exclusions, so if you want to pay a million dollars for a bottle of wine that’s fine but with say a 10% flat tax that wine would be one million one hundred thousand, so drink up.
After the IRS the Dept. of Education would be the next to go. The states should have the responsibility for that, and the better the job they do the more people will gravitate there.
All our military bases on foreign soil should be closed and let those countries foot the bill for their defense and we will cover our defense. Not to be mistaken with deserting allies but merely not taking on the full cost of their security. Get out of the UN and tell them to take that dog and pony show elsewhere. Any organization that can put human rights and Iran in the same sentence isn’t worth our time and money.
Develop our natural resources and quit sending funds to countries that hate us.
Remove all caps on damages and have corporate officials criminally liable for damages caused by their corporations.
Place tariffs on imports. A supplemental fee would be added for US corporations to bring goods in that have been manufactured overseas, perhaps the fee could be equal to the percentage of workers that aren’t in the US.have.
Allow corporations to locate anywhere in the US they see fit. If a companies workforce wants to unionize and it is worth relocating then they should be able to choose. Labor unions have priced themselves out of existence. Unions have no place in any government service. Defense contractors give a price for a service and that is what they are paid and nothing more.
That would be a good start but before it will ever happen we have to have term limits. Twelve years is long enough for anyone to be in the Congress or for that matter the Supreme Court. We need constant infusion of new ideas and perceptions and the present system does not give it.
No one at any level of the federal workforce should be guaranteed a lifetime position. And any former office holder should have to furnish their own security and as far as that goes with term limits there would be no need for any type of retirement fund for former politicians. None of this is easy and the longer it is put off the more difficult it will get.
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Ed Harrington is from a small coastal South Carolina town.
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This guest post was submitted in response to my query about how the best way to deal with the current economic situation. This post does not necessarily reflect my thoughts and feelings.
Your comments and reactions are, of course, appreciated. Just play nice. I have standards. And I don’t want to have to delete you.
