Using Simple Rules to BALANCE THE FEDERAL BUDGET

Using the SIMPLE RULES - RUTHLESSLY ENFORCED process to balance the federal budget

Rule #1 – Don’t Steal from our Seniors

Allow the Social Security & Senior Medicare programs to escape from the federal budget & live off their current annual “payroll tax” collections & their trust funds for the next 10 years.  That should give us time to clean up the rest of the budget and pay down the national debt a little.  The Social Security trustees can figure out how to make their income & trust funds last forever (just like everybody else in the world has to do) – even if it means automatic payroll tax adjustments.

To the doubters - YES there will be enough money to last for 10 years (probably 12-15) no matter how many baby boomers retire - there is $4.5 TRILLION in the trusts.  

By treating these items outside the Federal Budget, you prevent congress from MUDDYING UP THE DISCUSSION with cries of "don't balance the budget on the backs of our seniors" and such. 

And you also prevent congress from “borrowing” payroll tax collections intended to pay for social security & Medicare (if the economy ever picks up and creates excess tax collections).

New “Income” Amount.  After removing the Social Security & Senior Medicare programs from the budget, your new “INCOME” number will be mostly income tax, estate tax, and excise taxes.  It will be simpler because you won’t have to play the “off budget” game with Social Security money.

Rule #2 – Pay for Defense & Homeland Security out of your new “income”.

Fund the defense budget at an amount 20% below 2008 actual expenditures, including wars and other operations. This can be accomplished while still increasing salaries and benefits for the soldiers & sailors by reducing the number of generals & admirals (like 2 admirals per boat should be enough), then trimming a couple aircraft carriers, a new bomber or two, some of the planned fighter jets, and losing those goofy Marine giant-propeller planes that keep crashing.  If that isn't enough savings, then bring some of our troops home from countries they are guarding for free.

Fund the homeland security department at an amount 20% below the 2008 Actual Expenses. This can be accomplished by privatizing the TSA system (then you can sue those private firm employees who dare to grope you or make you glow in the dark).

Simple Rule # - Clean out "Low-Hanging Fruit" items from the remaining budget items besides defense & homeland security

ü  Cancel obsolete programs (rural electrification?)

ü  Cancel all new programs since 2006, like TARP, bailouts, Obamacare, new departments, etc.

ü  Change any budget items that increased since 2006 back to their 2006 numbers

ü  Change all headcount increases since 2006 - back to their 2006 level

ü  Take a holiday from “internal debt” interest payments

ü  Chop all “foreign aid” grants by 25%

ü  Chop United Nations funding by 25%

ü  Cut 50% from all “subsidies” like ethanol, farmers, post office, Amtrak, small airports, EITC, etc. Later on you can cut the remaining 50% of the subsidies if you want.

ü  Change the Federal Retirement plan to a 401k program for new workers, and if you want to – change to a 401k for everybody

Simple Rule #3 – If you don’t have enough tax money left to pay $200 Billion off the National Debt & also pay for the “cleaned out” remaining budget items, then you will need to cut a flat percentage from the budgets of all departments & programs except Defense & Homeland Security. It may be painful, and some welfare programs will need to be restructured, but it is a necessary step.
 

There now, wasn’t that easy?
Are there any questions?
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