You want solutions?
Cut the military back to prewar inflation adjusted dollars.
End entitlement abuses by those claiming disability that are not truly disabled. (by the way, this is in part a direct result of welfare reform). But ending entitlements altogether does not speak to the values and principles of the richest supposedly christian nation in history.
Improve healthcare services so that instead of turnstile transaction based medicine, we actually treat people in such a way as to keep them out of emergency rooms for chronic lifestyle choice induced disease, and simple problems like the flu, stomach pains, etc. Most emergency room visits could be handled much better in a doctors office with a physician who is familiar with the patient.
Stop foaming at the mouth every time someone says tax the rich is stealing. For 50 years (the most prosperous in our history) the rich were taxed at or above 70%. They are now paying 30-35 percent. Anything below 70% is gravy in my book. So raising it back to 50-60% is not stealing from them, it's just giving them less of a break. Get it? Raising the tax base until we are in the black is crucial, as much as you want to rail against it, it must be done. And there simply isn't enough to tax in the middle anymore. What middle there is left. The fact that wealth has been transferred from the middle to the very wealthy means that where ever that wealth is, middle or upper one percent, it should be taxed. Since there is no wealth left in the middle class, no savings, no property, no main street businesses... there is nothing to tax. Again, taxes must be raised.
To be more specific...
Reduce the federal workforce by 10 percent
This proposal would reduce the size of the federal work force by 200,000, from its current level of more than 2 million. The chairmen of the fiscal commission noted that the federal work force peaked at about 2.3 million in the late 1960s and fell to a low of 1.8 million in 2000. “Under this proposal, the government could hire two new workers for every three who leave service,” the chairmen said. The proposal would not take effect until 2012.
$12 billion
Reduce military to pre-Iraq War size and further reduce troops in Asia and Europe
“This option,” according to the bipartisan Sustainable Defense Task Force, “would cap routine U.S. military presence in Europe and Asia at 100,000 personnel, which is 26 percent below the current level and 33 percent below the level planned for the future. All told, 50,000 personnel would be withdrawn.” The option would also reduce the standing size of the military as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down.
$25 billion
Reduce the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to 30,000 by 2013
Reducing troops by to 30,000 from 60,000 could save an additional $20 billion by 2030.
$86 billion
Tighten eligibility for disability
The costs of the disability insurance program, which is administrated by the Social Security Administration, have been rising rapidly. This option would cut disability spending by 5 percent by focusing on states with the loosest standards. Supporters note that growing numbers of workers are classified as disabled, though the average job is less physically taxing. Opponents worry that injured or ill workers with few good job prospects would be harmed.
$9 billion
Allow expiration for income above $250,000 a year
This option would allow the expiration, on Jan. 1, of the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent or so of households on the income distribution – those making $250,000 or more. On average, the change would equal about 2 percent of a given household’s pretax income.
$54 billion
Millionaire's tax on income above $1 million
Currently, the top tax brackets starts at about $375,000. In past decades, it started at much higher income level, after inflation is taken into account. This option – which the House passed last year but the Senate did not – would create a new 5.4 percent surtax on income above $1 million.
$50 billion
Eliminate loopholes, but keep taxes slightly higher
This option is the same as the previous one – except that tax rates would be cut less, raising more revenue to reduce the deficit.
$136 billion
Payroll tax: Subject some incomes above $106,000 to tax
When the payroll tax – which finances Social Security and Medicare – was created, it covered 90 percent of all income. Today, with a ceiling at $106,800, it covers closer to 80 percent. This option would gradually raise the ceiling, until 90 percent of income was again subject to the tax.
$50 billion
$422 billion saved on a projected 2015 shortfall of $418 billion.
You ask for solutions, I deliver.
By the way, anyone can play this game, here
Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com
or here
Budget Hero | Marketplace from American Public Media
