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Looking the U.S. deficit and its growth in the last decade, we are starting to have a serious problem with overspending. While it not a crisis at this very moment, it will be the future unless serious changes are made. Realistically, it is impossible to lower the deficit without cutting either medicare/medicaid, social security or the military and/or raising taxes.
Unfortunately, it appears that none of those options are actually politically viable the moment. Medicare was actually championed by the Republicans during the healthcare debate. The only stated solution to reform social security is "we will raise the retirement age...... in 20 years". The democrats are promoting their own tax cut and are struggling to let a previous cut expire.
In such circumstances, what options are left? There is solid bi-partisan support against both cutting the major sources of spending or raising tax revenues.
No surprise that "reduce spending" is not among your fixes.Raise taxes.
Put a ton of money into medicare fraud detection.
Put a lot of money into looking into ways to make Social Security more efficient/cut waste.
Require comprehensive end of life planning.
As if you are a competent judge.3. Cut military spending. There is simply no need for so many military branches. The Marines would be an obvious choice to dump.
As if you are a competent judge.
Honestly, I don't think the U.S. will ever balance the budget. The first thing I would do is drastically cut military spending. We shouldn't have military bases in Germany, Japan, etc. I would also cut federal programs like the War on Drugs and aid to other countries. How the federal deficit isn't the main issue concerning Americans is beyond me. As a country, we pay something like $375 billion annually in interest payments to our debt holders. Of course we could always have the Federal Reserve print the money to pay off the debt, ditch the dollar, integrate the Amero, and pray we don't end up like the Weimar Republic or Nazi Germany.
I would increase taxes on the wealthiest, decrease them on the middle class.
Social spending has to be cut significantly, military spending as well.
Some tax rates will have to rise to cover the rest.
The spending debate typically involves Republicans calling for cuts, Democrats demanding specifics, Republicans demurring, and Democrats then shouting that the GOP secretly plans to cut the popular programs that make up the bulk of federal spending.
Rich Lowry writes that the new wave of GOP candidates could change that dynamic with their willingness to talk about real cuts:
money these days is pretty fungible; there is a significant likelihood that you could reduce revenues by following this path; you would also be reducing the incentive for our economic producers to... well, produce. Ironically; increasing taxes on those most able to 'afford' it will produce the most economic damage.
Deficits are spending-driven; even as revenues go up, so do spending deficits; that's indicative of an outflow problem, not an inflow one. Furthermore, especially given the shock our economy is headed for, tax increases will only be politically acceptable if they come after drastic spending cuts.
Congressional Budget Office - The Long-Term Budget Outlook The deficit is manageable in the mid term. If the economy recovers, our wars end and make some sensible policy decisions, we could be ok within a decade.
There are longer term questions, of course, about the sustainability of entitlement programs (and SS if you perceive a difference) combined with defense spending, which together make up the majority of the budget but are the least "touchable" politically.
The debt is altogether another issue.
Fine. Then I'll only give out tax breaks for the wealthiest "producers" who invest their money in domestic ventures. That includes government bonds.
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