re: How would you Balance the Budget and Pay off the Debt?

quote:

---

Which spending would you cut drastically?

---

Well, I would start with PJ O'Rourke's rule of 10%: ANY budget can be cut by 10% and still have the organization survive/thrive. That sounds like it would raise $400 Billionish. Then, I would tell the military to find AT LEAST 7% on top of that to cut - hopefully, on the way to 20% total. I would means test SS AND raise the retirement age and I'd order Medicare to negotiate even harder - including refusing to pay for $100K cancer drug regimens that probably don't even extend life for 90 days (basically, I'd up our death panel game for real.)

(no message)

quote:

---

Anyone running on these ideas wouldn't get 10 votes. It's just the truth.

Politicians spend, they don't cut even if they pay lip service to the idea.

Congress howls when any kind of cut is proposed by any President.

These are the same politicians that howl about "out of control spending in Washington DC"

The very same guys and gals!

It is a joke.

---

I know! I was just asked what I would do if I could.

quote:

---

You’re leaving out the other $56trillion in unfounded federal obligations such as Medicare, Social Security, expected future disability claims. This problem has no realistic solution over any time frame. For instance if you were to today freeze spending and assess each American (325m people) $246k each that would retire the debt. This is not realistic and neither is a program to reduce the debt and unfunded obligations by half or even a quarter. The reality is that there is no scenario where the government in its current form will ever address this problem.
They can continue all of their current spendthrift and irresponsible practices indefinitely as long as there are still sufficient buyers of government bonds in amount sufficient to roll existing debt forward just as an individual pays the interest only on their credit card each month and adds more to their balance. The shtf when the buyers decide the government can’t sell enough bonds to refinance the current debt. Then they start doing things like Venezuela - sale leasebacks of government infrastructure, seizure of assets, confiscation if 401k assets, nationalization of profitable businesses all of which could lead to unrest as severe even as armed internal conflict as individual states that are somewhat solvent fight back against paying off the obligations of the irresponsible federal government. The only hope is that a maverick government is put in place that seeks to freeze spending and over a period of say 50 years slowly whittles down the debt and funds the unfunded obligations while slowly reducing the outstanding amounts of those obligations. Is that likely to happen or plausible?

---

Some elements of truth. Not the VZ part. In any event, one thing that is also ignored is the "assets" column on the fed balance sheet. Just as a thought exercise, how much do you think 640 Million acres of land in the US is worth? And even more important: how much do you think the fossil fuels underneath 640 million acres of land are worth? If we're going to play the "unfunded liabilities" game, then to be fair we also have to play the "unaccounted for assets" game.

quote:

---

Cut military by 1/4
End war on drugs
Cut all other budgets by 10%
Implement what Rand Paul calls “bonuses for cost cutters act”-which would incentivize govt workers to find ways to save
Implement national policy of growing gardens in common grounds of municipalities
End Dept of Education
End IRS
Implement flat tax

What do I win?

---

My man!

quote:

---

9 posts in and not a single mention of SS and Medicare.

---

That's because you are the only person willing or crazy enough to let them have what you have paid in.

I read all three pages of this thread and at the bottom I found a debt consolidation add. Good job add bots.

It don't matter how high you raise taxes, till ya close all loopholes. The rich pay little to no tax no matter what rate you charge em. either make it flat and no loopholes or do away with it IRS and all and make a national sales tax. That way every soul in America pays the same when they buy something every one from Bill Gates to the illegal out of work refuge pays the same. It would level the field and stabilize the revenue. Eliminate all foreign aide it just stupid. ya gotta help ya self before others. Social security was sposed to be for retirement of working folks I grew up counting on it paying into it and now I am scared if I knew then what I know now I would have tried lots harder to save on my own I was taught I really didn't have to and man was that wrong. The government embezzled all that money and now there will be hell to pay. '

For starters:

Abolish 2/3 of all cabinet level depts.
Abolish all forms of welfare and public assistance.
Sell all federally protected lands to private concerns.

When I have more time I'll get into some serious carving.

Nah. I bet the impact would be the USD would sell off like 3% the day after and interest rates would barely move.