Those of you that have a clue as to what is going on in this country, I would like to hear your ideas for getting the country out of debt.
Is the answer just to raise taxes? If so, on whom?
Is the answer just to cut spending? If so, where?
Should there be a combination? If so, how should it work?
My plan:
1. Implement the fairtax. Having such a low corporate tax rate (0%) will draw some of the top corporations in the world to our shores. The US has the best workers in the world, but the tax burden drives away companies at a staggering rate. These corporations would bring new jobs the the US by the thousands.
2. Cut unnecessary spending. Start with foreign aid to countries that dont like us and move from there. Eliminate earmarks and other forms of legal bribery. Subsidies for ethanol can also be eliminated. NO MORE BAILING OUT PRIVATE CORPORATIONS OR COMPANIES. If these corporations are so vital to the US then secure a line of credit to another institution, dont just hand them a blank check.
3. Completely rewrite the rules for medicare certification. About 33B a year is stolen by people who create medical service businesses with the sole purpose of defrauding the govt. Their budget MUST increase for the hiring of thousands of new investigators, but those costs will be made back with the capture of those defrauding the system.
4. Completely rewrite the welfare system. Drug tests MUST be done at least randomly, if not as a mandatory requirement to receive your handout. There MUST be a timelimit on the handouts also. 3 years maximum unless the recipient can prove they are activly going to college. In this case handouts can be extended to 5 years.
5. Complete rewright of the govt contracting process. Just like when Business A contracts with business B to do a job at a price, if a business is in a contract with the govt to supply a good or service, they do it for the agreed upon price. Unlike how it is done today where the company goes over budget, so they just go back to the govt to get more money.
6. Drill here for oil and NG. Build the refineries that are needed to supply the country with the fuel it needs. Build nuke power plants to replace the older, less efficient oil burning plants to further reduce the amount of oil being consumed.
With more research I am sure I can find more places where money can be saved, but these are the most obvious, and most in need of fixing. These changes alone would put a minimum of $200B back into our economy, or go to pay off the national debt.