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What's the best way to reduce the deficit?

What is (are) the best way(s) to eliminate the deficit?

  • A balanced budget amendment

    Votes: 20 24.7%

  • A line item veto amenndment

    Votes: 14 17.3%

  • replace income tx with a national retail sales tax

    Votes: 9 11.1%

  • Raise taxes on the rich

    Votes: 30 37.0%

  • Raise taxes on the middle-class

    Votes: 5 6.2%

  • Raise taxes stealthily in the form of fees, a federal lottery, etc.

    Votes: 3 3.7%

  • Nationalize oil and natural gas on federal land and get into the enegry business like Saudi Arabia

    Votes: 10 12.3%

  • Cut federal spending

    Votes: 56 69.1%

  • Sell services to prizate industry at a profit, privatize then tax them

    Votes: 3 3.7%

  • other

    Votes: 23 28.4%
  • Total voters
    81
How to eliminate the deficit? well, Quit spending more money than we have in revenues.

How about pass a budget?

But first we have to get some people to quit pushing the assine concept that tax cuts increase the deficit. It's obviously untrue and anyone who says it is insincere or ignorant. The only way to make a deficit is to SPEND money. Until we can all decide on that part, it's a lost cause.
 
Here are some steps I would take:

-Cut foreign aide completely across the board. We can't afford to take care of ourselves must less another country.
-End the military/industrial complex of aggressive wars.
-Consolidate several departments within the federal government while cutting a few of them all together like Homeland Security, Education, EPA, etc.
-Start a plan to faze out the welfare state. We couldn't end it completely over night, but initiate something where it would be cut every year until it is gone.
-End the Bush tax cuts and repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act
-Balance the budget every single year without exception.
-Privatize healthcare and education
-End the War on Drugs by making them all legal with tax regulations to turn a money sucking policy into a money making one.
 
Reform entitlements to bring down spending.

Simplify the tax code and cut nominal rates to increase revenue.
 
Steps i would take:
1.)Raise taxes on the rich and partake in a strong progressive taxation scheme.
2.)Close all tax loopholes
3.)Protectionism and fair trade
4.)Cut unnecessary spending, this includes our massive amount of defense spending
5.)Start to close bases over seas and bring troops home
6.)Nationalize the oil and natural gas industries
7.)End NAFTA/get out of NAFTA
8.)Nationalize the banking industry
 
TheDemSocialist said:
Steps i would take:
1.)Raise taxes on the rich and partake in a strong progressive taxation scheme.
2.)Close all tax loopholes
3.)Protectionism and fair trade
4.)Cut unnecessary spending, this includes our massive amount of defense spending
5.)Start to close bases over seas and bring troops home
6.)Nationalize the oil and natural gas industries
7.)End NAFTA/get out of NAFTA
8.)Nationalize the banking industry
Click to expand...

No to nationalization and very little to protectionism. We really can't compete with China unless we drop all environmental and worker safety laws; there is no point in even trying really
 
TheLastIndependent said:
No to nationalization and very little to protectionism. We really can't compete with China unless we drop all environmental and worker safety laws; there is no point in even trying really
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If we enact protectionism China would suffer and bring all jobs back China would be begging back to us.
 
Smeagol said:
I would support the Tea Party a lot more if they pushed for a constitutional amendment for replacing the income tax with a national retail sales tax and giving the POTUS the line item veto as opposed to their drive for a balanced budget amendment.

What do you think are the best ways to eliminate the deficit?
Click to expand...

The best way to eliminate the fed deficit is to deny citizenship to people who reside in the "Welfare Queen States" which receive more in federal dollars than they pay to the federal govt. By eliminating the votes of these rightwing Welfare-Queen-State residents, the govt will no longer have to pander to their entitlement dependent mentality to get votes and so, the fed will be able to reduce the amount of welfare those red-state welfare dependents receive

Federal Spending Received Per Dollar of Taxes Paid by State, 2005 | Tax Foundation
 
TheDemSocialist said:
If we enact protectionism China would suffer and bring all jobs back China would be begging back to us.
Click to expand...

As much sense as that makes, it will not work that way. You cannot compete with a country that employs children, pays very very little, and does not mind destroying their environment. It's impossible. Protectionism may bring jobs back, but only after our, and the world's for that matter, economy crashes. We tried protectionism in 1807. It crushed our economy and then sparked industrialization. We cannot afford to watch our markets to fail any further as that would greatly increase our debt. I am, however, very much for a small tariff for revenue purposes only.
 
Eliminate welfare, medicare, and medicaid immediately.

Eliminate social security for anyone under 40.

Replace income tax with a national sales tax.
 
johnny_rebson said:
Eliminate welfare, medicare, and medicaid immediately.

Eliminate social security for anyone under 40.

Replace income tax with a national sales tax.
Click to expand...

Yea! No safety nets! **** em!
 
TheLastIndependent said:
As much sense as that makes, it will not work that way. You cannot compete with a country that employs children, pays very very little, and does not mind destroying their environment. It's impossible. Protectionism may bring jobs back, but only after our, and the world's for that matter, economy crashes. We tried protectionism in 1807. It crushed our economy and then sparked industrialization. We cannot afford to watch our markets to fail any further as that would greatly increase our debt. I am, however, very much for a small tariff for revenue purposes only.
Click to expand...

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this issue. :2razz:
 
johnny_rebson said:
Eliminate welfare, medicare, and medicaid immediately.

Eliminate social security for anyone under 40.

Replace income tax with a national sales tax.
Click to expand...

We'll lose revenue, have disabled people with no money, and have the poor flooding streets... You like third world countries don't you?
 
TheLastIndependent said:
Haha I guess so. It does make sense, I just don't think that it will work out as it ought to on paper
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We will never know as long as we keep up this great policy that "helps American jobs" so well which is known as "free trade"
 
TheLastIndependent said:
I've agreed with quite a few of your posts. I just think that history will prove to be right in terms of protectionism
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We have two choices:

1. Enact tariffs against items imported from China.

2. Modify our environmental and labor laws so they are similar to those in China.

Any economist with half a brain could immediately tell you that option 2 is the right decision.
 
johnny_rebson said:
We have two choices:

1. Enact tariffs against items imported from China.

2. Modify our environmental and labor laws so they are similar to those in China.

Any economist with half a brain could immediately tell you that option 2 is the right decision.
Click to expand...

Any person that likes their lungs will stray away from option 2. Did you watch the Beijing Olympics? The smog was so thick that you can't see through it. I would rather pay more for my goods if I have clean air to breathe
 
Helix said:
i support a combination strategy :

first : let the tax cuts expire for the top tier. i would also support bringing the middle class rates back to 1990s levels after the economy is solidly recovering.

second : when the economy begins to recover, we incrementally reduce spending in targeted areas. my preference is that we drastically reduce our military presence globally. our role in the world should be a humanitarian one. military interventionism should be replaced by coordinated food and health care relief for the developing world. we'll inspire a lot more people to embrace democracy if we come with food and American culture than if we come with bombs. the reason is that people are most inspired to action by seeing that others have it better than they do. it's my opinion that this was a big factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union. they saw blue jeans and rock and roll that they couldn't have. if we had invaded and forced democracy, it would have united the population against us.

third : we need to decide what our global product is going to be. my vote is for energy innovation, because that's something that everyone is going to need when oil runs out. but as a nation, we have to make something. consumption can't be our main national product anymore. i would fund this innovation both publicly and privately.


other :

we need a massive infrastructure rebuilding project that rivals the 1930s programs. this should include upgrades to the power grid. this could put many to work who are now idle and struggling.
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I think that your heart is in the right place, but you have prescribed a litany of government control that would ultimately strangle and innovation and creativity in favor of strict central control.

This would make our bad situation worse.
 
DaveFagan said:
I agaree with all of these. As regards energy, we need to develop off-the-grid technologies and implement them on a National scale. I'm a Green and wind, solar thermal, solar PV, methane, local generation instead of Centralized Distribution of Energy. Local to include internal combustion generators with heat recovery of the exhaust heat (75% of the energy) and implementation of these local utilities makes local jobs and benefits local economies. That is a real key because we need a National agenda to stimulate employment and a new industry does just that. Not so good for the large Energy Corporations so they prevent any legislation that could establish footholds in these industries. That's the short story.
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Economically, the best energy is the least expensive energy. Are you suggesting discarding the cheapest energy production and most prevalent availability of cheap energy in the history of civilization in favor of a system that is untested, untried and undeveloped for the purpose of being stylish?
 
Medusa said:
Nationalize oil and natural gas on federal land and get into the enegry business like Saudi Arabia or A balanced budget amendment
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Nationalized industry works best when there is a dictatorial monarchy. Like Saudi Arabia.
 
Paschendale said:
Quit with the tax cuts for the rich people and the immensely wealthy corporations, and stop spending so much money on making war. Then invest in infrastructure and education so that more people will be qualified for more jobs. Stop allowing corporations to ship jobs overseas (by taxing them heavily for doing so) and then we can put people into those jobs, they can earn money, and use fewer benefits and pay more in taxes. Duh.
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Most of the spending that is done by the lying cheats in Washington is done because there is too much money there. Reduce the power of the Feds and return much of that power to the states where it was intended to be and the corruption of the folks in DC will be reduced abruptly. Constructing an elaborate and unenforceable web of laws to be circumvented will not work as well as just taking away the money.

If you want the boat to stop sinking, you can work hard at bailing it out or just stop the leaks.

If the power is returned to the states, most of the corruption will be centered in states of higher population and tax revenue, and probably debt, but for states with people who care to stop the bleeding, there will be surpluses. Eventually, the states with the higher debts will try to find out why they are broke and their neighbors are not.
 
It's interesting that the OP didn't include an option to make every single American pay income taxes.

Why should the minimum wage crowd get away without paying income taxes?
 
TheDemSocialist said:
Steps i would take:
1.)Raise taxes on the rich and partake in a strong progressive taxation scheme.
2.)Close all tax loopholes
3.)Protectionism and fair trade
4.)Cut unnecessary spending, this includes our massive amount of defense spending
5.)Start to close bases over seas and bring troops home
6.)Nationalize the oil and natural gas industries
7.)End NAFTA/get out of NAFTA
8.)Nationalize the banking industry
Click to expand...



As your screen name would indicate, you have proposed a remedy that could have come directly from the Communist manifesto.
 
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