Guest post by Curtis Spurling:
Government is best when it is closest to those governed in terms of both services and taxes.
Federal government should never pass money down to lower levels of government. The federal government should only collect taxes necessary for it to operate, not to incentivize other governments. Passing money from one level of government to another is inefficient and wasteful.
Reform federal tax code to a graduated flat tax: no tax on first $20k earned by anyone, 8% on $20k-60k, 10% on $60k-120k, 15% on earnings over $120k. Remove all deductions. Corporate income taxes should be similarly reformed: no tax on the first $250k, 10% tax on $250k-3m, 13% tax on $3m-10m, 15% on earnings over $10m. Deductions are a method for the federal government to encourage or discourage particular behaviors. This is not the function of the federal government. Congress needs to stop messing around with the tax code!
Require all laws to have sunset clauses, except for Amendments to the Constitution.
Pass a Balance Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
Raise the age for Social Security gradually beginning with people currently 55 years old. Reform Medicare to deal with growing costs of older Americans. Means test Social Security and Medicare. Allow Medicare to use vouchers to purchase private insurance if they want. Allow Americans younger than 45 to opt out of a portion (2/3) of their Social Security. Allow them to remove ½ of their yearly SS contributions, but they must place the money in another retirement account and they will only receive 1/3 of the amount of SS when they retire, as long as they meet means tested levels.
Illegal immigrates should not receive any form of welfare, Medicaid, or social services. Reform immigration laws to allow for more legal immigration.
Make those incarcerated in jails work for food and privileges. Jails should have large community gardens and inmates could provide services for taxpayers. Sitting around in a jail cell all day doesn’t do anything for their upkeep and it teaches them they are entitled to be supported by others.
Review the function and benefit of every federal government agency to determine if it could be done at a lower level of government or parts of the agency could be eliminated. For example, what does the federal Department of Education really do? Wouldn’t it be better to use that money to place more teachers in classrooms?
The federal government should do what only it can do, such as national defense, international relations, interstate commerce, and functions that no one state would be able to do like NASA and the Treasury.
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Curtis Spurling is an Aerospace/Defense contractor in Huntsville, AL.
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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 nor do they represent any views held by Forbes.
Your comments and reactions are, of course, appreciated. Just play nice. I have standards. And I don’t want to have to delete you.
