**Raise taxes on the wealthy.
**Nationalize oil and coal companies, pay off debt with their excess profits. Slowly phase out oil and coal while transitioning their workforce to green and renewable energy.
**Tax bonus compensation over $99K @ 75%
**Tax anual salary over $5M @ 90%
Those last two suggestions would solve many, many problems.
Since the 1970's there has been a massive shift in power from Capital (people with money to invest in companies, specifically powerful shareholders) AND Talent (CEO's, CFO's and highly compensated athletes and performers). This shift has resulted in Talent getting vastly overpaid for less than successful work, failing upwards, etc.
Taxing this overpaid compensation would bring in more revenue and incentivize Capital Investors to demand their money be spread around more, expanding the workforce, R&D, and health insurance benefits for the workforce.
Middle management should demand higher compensation.
Workers and Capitalists Unite
This poll is based on a false premise.What are some of the best ways for Obama to get the money to reduce the national debt?
FY2009 deficit: $1413.6BCut military spending by 50%. Annually use $50 billion for the resulting unemployment/retraining and the remaining $500 billion to reduce the deficit.
All of them.Which entitlements would you choose?
I'm going to risk being criticized and take on the retirement age. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I'm looking to throw something on the table and see what you guys think about it.
The retirement age was established at the age of 65 when the life expectancy was at around 62 years old (quite the racket, eh?). The average life expectancy for both men and woman (averaged) is about 78.3. With people living longer, perhaps it is time that the retirement age is extended to remain true to the way it was originally established. Now of course there are the downsides to this: One, it would garner widespread opposition from individuals nearing the retirement age and who were expecting to retire at the age of 65; Two, we have to take into account the health of people at around 78 years old, which is often very frail and no longer capable of hard labor. Extension of the retirement age would likely work under white collar conditions, but it would be the blue collar workers that would be most negatively affected by such a change.
Could there be a "grandfather" clause, i.e. if you are 60 and over, you still retire when expected but the rest of us continue working? But what will this do to the availability of jobs?
Frankly, I like the idea. My alleged paternal parental unit is 76 and he's still working seven days a week.