In order for that to happen we need to limit government, cut taxes, eliminate bureaucracy, reclaim individual liberty and require personal responsibility.
Accepting welfare, food stamps, medicaid, free phones, subsidies, etc should be a last resort and hopefully those receiving such handouts would have a sense of shame and motivation to be self-sufficient as quickly as humanly possible.
It continually amazes me that our lawmakers forget where tax revenue actually comes from and how the economy works. Taxing our income is essentially stealing the money we earn so that they can have what they want, advance their own agendas, pander to special interest groups, get their automatic raises, fund useless studies, squander on senseless social programs and more and redistribute. How is that supposed to help the economy? The cyclical talk about whether to extend or not to extend the Bush tax cuts and the raising of the debt ceiling is infuriating. Of course they should be extended. In fact we need deeper tax cuts! Why? Because allowing people to have more money in their pockets stimulates the economy! It creates consumer confidence, job growth, business growth - you name it.
The other piece of the tax cut puzzle is the one politicians really don't get and that is they must cut spending. We're talking real cuts here. Entire departments need to be eliminated and/or privatized and the people we elect must also feel the cuts.
How about we:
- Require a balanced budget
- Change the rules and how the senate and congress are compensated:
- Institute equal term limits for both houses to 12 years total (for life)
- Two terms for 6-year representatives
- Six terms for 2 year senate representatives
- Pay shall be 3x the national median individual (not household) income. So if the national median annual income for an individual is $30K, the elected representative makes $120K
- Remove all automatic pay increases for said elected officials. Since term limits are in place and pay is based on current economic conditions, raises are unnecessary.
- Health insurance shall be for terms of service only and be commensurate with what the rest of working American citizens are offered.
- Cancel every pension that is being paid to retired Senators, Congressmen and surviving Presidents. They make enough on their books, public speaking engagements and high paying consulting positions. How can they even think of accepting more of the taxpayer's money? Are there any who refuse, or have refused this money?
- Any corporations, organizations or entities which have contributed towards an individuals election efforts either through a PAC or directly may not hire said individual in any capacity for 7 years after his/her term is ended.
- Have all legislators, railroad workers and every other federal employee who does not already, pay into the Social Security system like the rest of the working folk in the country.
- Presidential expenditures shall be reasonable
- A budget for diplomatic travel shall be set and adhered to
- A budget for diplomatic entertaining shall be set and adhered to
- All vacations for the president or his/her family shall be paid for by the president
- Entertainment of celebrities have no place at White House functions on the taxpayer's dime.
- All non-diplomatic parties thrown by the president shall be paid for by the president
- The president shall set aside 2 hours per week for speaking with individuals who petition to do so. This can be carried out by telephone, Skype or in person.
- Take a portion of the savings from the downsizing of government to refund the Social Security coffers and make it completely separate from the operating budget of government gain, ironclad.
- The Department of Education can be eliminated completely and the public education responsibilities returned to the states and local governments.
- On the state level certain requirements must be met:
- Schooling shall be year-round
- Hours of education shall be increased to mirror the parental working day
- Standards must be reinstated
- Competency must be measured before students move on
- Rewards go to those who excel (not everyone, just for showing up)
- Students with aptitude shall be paired with those who need remediation to foster mentoring
- Eligibility for sports or artistic extracurricular activities is based on achievement or progress in achievement in core competencies in academics
- Critical thinking must be part of the core curriculum
- Students must be encouraged to question everything
- Debating skills must be taught to minimize ad-hominim and straw-man fallacies
- Privatize Social Security and as many other programs and departments as possible. (Public businesses are are transparent and accountable to their shareholders, which ensures they run more efficiently, and honestly!)
- Eliminate the EPA. Replace the volumes of regulations created during its tenure to a reasonable general law (i.e., do not contaminate soil, water or air).
- Reduce the size of the FDA by 3/4, Have them focus on drug safety and imported food safety. Domestic food safety can be handled by its producers.
- Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts. There is so much money in arts and entertainment that the group of industries in comprises could set up a far more expansive endowment, should the individuals within those industries desire. (It's their choice after all... it would be a free country again!)
- End the war on drugs. Legalize (pretty much everything), regulate production to keep out contaminants, create labeling guidelines and obtain revenue through taxation just like tobacco and alcohol.
- End all subsidies to farming and industries. There is no such thing as "Too Big to Fail"
- Allowing all farms to produce
- Making industry accountable for poor management
- Become energy independent
- Drill, baby drill
- End the NIMBY attitude (Not In My Back Yard)
- Fund research in viable cost-effective energy alternatives
- Reliability testing for said alternatives must take place before implementation
- Financial feasibility must be shown prior to implementation
- Make research results transparent to facilitate collaboration
- Privatize the postal system.
- End the Fed. Return to a gold standard.
- Reform the financial system to mitigate corruption and abuse. (I know it is messed up, but on this subject, I am ignorant and have no specific suggestions.Anyone?)
- Require a net worth review of all citizens of retirement age providing social security only to those with less than $2 million in assets.
- Eliminate corporate taxes
- Institute a flat rate income tax on earnings of 10%
- Eliminate all deductions except the following:
- Mortgage interest
- Medical expenses (allow deduction for total outlay, not percentage of adjusted gross income)
- Non-religious charitable contributions
- Educational expenses
- Remove "dependents" scale
- Married pays the same as single
- Having children does not reduce your rate
- Institute a 2% national sales tax on purchased goods
- Doing this would solve the issue about the wealthy paying their fair share. They spend a lot more and will therefore pay a lot more.
- Exceptions would be the following:
- Food
- The first $15,000 of an automobile
- Eliminate capital gains tax for individuals whose total earnings are below $1,000,000 annually
- Those earning above one million dollars may be taxed no more than the flat income tax rate of 10%
- Limit and overhaul welfare
- This should be a transitional program with a time limit
- Recipients must be drug-free in order to receive benefits
- Recipients must refrain from reproducing offspring while on the program
- Job placement services would be offered
- Companies would receive an incentive for hiring those from the welfare rolls.
- Such workers must be retained for a minimum of one year to receive incentive
- Add training and education requirements to acceptance of welfare
- Literacy programs
- Technical training
- Apprenticeships
- Require community service of ALL recipients and all of their dependents over age 12 and over (this removes "getting something for nothing"). No service: no welfare.
- Encourage charities in the private sector to supplement this program.
- Limit and overhaul medicaid
- Making all medical expenses tax deductible will help
- Require all hospitals to establish benevolent funds to treat those in need
- Require all pharmaceutical companies to establish a portion of their inventory to treat those in the program
- Limit services to cover
- Child immunizations
- Sick visits for adults and children
- Least costly medication choices
- No elective treatments or services shall be recompensed
- Basic diagnostics
- Recipients or their families may not sue practitioners for services received while in the program except:
- Negligent death
- Gross error (wrong limb operated on, patient mix-up, etc)
- Others TBD
- Reinstate institutionalization for the intractable mentally ill who cannot be cared for by family or local community. We must have compassion for this population and as a nation care for these individuals and turn them out to become the homeless population
- Recipients must comply fully with medical advice or be removed from the program
- Encourage private charities to set up medical funds from which the poor can draw
- End tax breaks for all religious organizations. The separation of church and state mus be absolute and the churches shall not be considered differently than any other type of private organization subject to taxation
- Keep the military strong and well funded
- This should be the biggest line-item in the federal budget
- Stop policing the world with force.
- Any acts of aggression or war must be in response to imminent threat
- All such acts must be subject to congressional approval
- All diplomatic options must be exhausted prior to action
- Take care of veterans
- Provide healthcare to service related ailments and injuries
- Provide educational and placement programs to get vets employed in the private sector quickly
- Provide incentives to companies hiring vets similar to those for hiring welfare recipients
- End all foreign aid until all of the above has been accomplished and then overhaul the systems
- Countries with human rights infractions shall receive no aid
- Countries abridging the free speech of their citizens shall receive no aid
- Countries that persecute people based on gender, religious views, political beliefs, sexual orientation, nationality, etc shall receive no money
- Countries holding non-criminal patriots of other sovereign nations must release those prisoners back to their respective countries
- All other detainees must receive a trial
- Trials must be public and transparent to all nations involved
- If found guilty, they may continue to be detained,
- If found not guilty, they must be released back to their country of origin
- The prosecuting country has the right to ban them from their borders
- Aid shall be earmarked for specific projects such as
- Digging wells
- Farming and irrigation
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Providing means for their most poor and marginalized to be self-reliant
- Development of industry to produce products or services that are trade-worthy in the global marketplace
- Technical innovation and advancement
- Peaceful pursuits
- The goals of all foreign aid shall be tied to increased freedom and opportunity for the recipient's citizens, maintaining peace within its region and the facilitation of said country being self-reliant as a nation
- The use of foreign aid monies must be traceable and 100% transparent
Coming up in Part II: "Give me Liberty or give me Death" and the restoration of freedom
