Budget?

We are 8 months into the fiscal year and still there is no Federal Budget. Forget which party is in power, the simple truth is that the 110th Congress passed the buck to the 111th Congress and they still can’t get a budget approved. There is dickering between the Republicans wanting to cut tens of billions off the budget and the Democrats who only want to cut a couple of billion off the budget, all the while the true tea partiers are saying that both of them are not cutting enough. They are right, even cutting 50 or 60 billion off the budget does not even cover the interest we owe on the National Debt for the year. The budget purposed by the President is over 3 trillion which means a budget deficit of 1.6 trillion; the cuts purposed don’t even put a dent in the deficit. As long as we stay on this path we are not going to ever get out of debt, and we are not even going to be able to pay the interest on the debt. It seems most in this country believe this to be normal, this is the path we should stay on. The few true tea party members of Congress have shown their spines by opposing both parties budget recommendations, but they have yet to come out with a plan of their own. Have they held back because they are afraid to do what’s hard or have they held back because they aren’t sure of what to do? Only they know they answer to that. What ever the case I have a proposal for the budget.

What I am about to propose will be scoffed at by everyone but the very few that are willing to take a chance. This is an idea that the politicians would not want because they would lose power, lots of power. This is an idea that activists don’t want because they would lose the ability to force their opinions on the entire Nation. This is a plan that the People don’t want because they are afraid of the responsibility, the responsibility they have handed off to the Federal Government for the last 100 years, the responsibility that has been squandered to the point of bankruptcy for the United States. Something has to be done soon, something that will be painful at first but will be rewarding for future generations and necessary for the survival of the United States of America and all the Sovereign States that make up the USA. If something isn’t done soon we are going to be a colony of China.

Step 1 There is an old saying that goes keep your friends close and your enemies closer. In the case of what I’m about to propose the enemy are the ones that keep putting their hands in the pockets of the American People. It is my opinion that Government and all that that means should start at the lowest level, including taxation. The smallest level of Government are towns and cities, next are counties, then State, then Federal. Taxes should start at the town or city level, if you don’t live inside the city limits then they should start at the county level. That’s also where they should end. The Federal Government should submit their budget to the States, the States will then approve or disapprove the Federal Budget and incorporate the appropriate apportionment of the Federal Budget into the State Budget and submit that to the Counties and Cities throughout the State. The taxes for all approved budgets will be collected at the lowest level. The Federal Government would no longer have unchecked control over the taxation of this Nation. Good Politicians, otherwise known as bad Statesmen, have been able to get upwards of 180% return of Federal dollars for their States. What that means is that the People of other States are paying for improvements, entitlements, and Government programs in a State they may never even visit, at the same time this means that either their State loses out or the Federal Government borrows money which some generation will have to eventually pay back or pay the piper. By putting the taxation at the lowest level it puts more responsibility on the citizens. That’s one reason this plan would not work, the American People do not want responsibility, they want to be taken care of.

Step 2 of the plan involves Congress, part of this is a broken record I’ve played before, repeal the 17th Amendment. Put the States interest foremost in the eyes of the Senators. Another part of this would be to take all members of Congress off the Federal payroll. Why should I pay the salary of a Congressperson from another State, let me pay for the Senators and Representatives that my State elected and the People of my State elected. To go along with that, I would push for my State to set the salary of State elected officials at the median level of income for the State. Putting the pay at the median level of income for the State would promote Statesmanship instead of career Politicians. The Senators should be able to be recalled by the State legislature at any time they are not representing the States interest. The Representatives should no longer be elected by districts determined by gerrymandering, they should be districts set up based on County lines and populations of the counties, you play the hand you are dealt.

Step 3 of the plan would be to abolish all Federal Departments. Education should be at the local level. Energy should be done privately. Transportation should be done locally. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and any other welfare programs that are desired should be done at the State level and voted on by the People of the State. The limits of the Constitution would limit the Federal Government to maintaining the Military, Postal Service (which is failing), trade negotiations with foreign countries and possibly a Federal Law Enforcement Agency. Speaking of Law Enforcement, why do we have so many different Law Enforcement Agencies within the Federal Government? They should all be lumped into one, all of them, including the Secret Service, just like there is no sense having a Department of Homeland Security, isn’t that what the Military is suppose to do?

Speaking of the Military Step 4 would be to reduce defense spending. There is no reason for our Military to have somewhere in the order of 150 plus bases in foreign countries. Some say that we need them there to be able to protect our allies and to be able to have prompt response when needed. Just this weekend the United Nations Security Council decided to establish a no fly zone over Libya. America supported this no fly zone by sending bombers from an Air Base in Missouri to drop smart bombs on targets in Libya. Now my Geography isn’t the greatest but I do know that we have an Air Base in Germany and I’m sure we have Air Bases in many other European countries closer then Missouri, sure maybe it’s where the assets are, but the point is we attacked from our soil to almost half way around the world in a very short period of time. To go along with this, we should not be the Policeman of the world, who gave us that power? Where did we get the arrogance to believe we should be telling everyone else how to do their business? Think of the money that would be saved by just butting out of other peoples business.

Step 5 of the plan would be to stop all foreign aid. Foreign aid is the equivalent of an enabler giving money to an alcoholic to buy more liquor. It’s not fixing the problem in other countries, it’s making them dependent on our money or, and this is more common, it’s lining the pockets of dictators that we later try to dispose. Recently an e-mail started going around about foreign aid money being used to rebuild mosques in Muslims countries. Truth of the matter is this is part of a program started by President Clinton in late 2000 with the first grants being announced by President Bush in 2001. The money was going for the preservation of cultural sites around the globe, of all religions. (source: http://www.factcheck.org/2011/03/funding-mosques-overseas). It’s not the issue of rebuilding mosques or churches or synagogues that bothers me, it’s that we are rebuilding structures in other countries while Detroit crumbles to the ground. If we put the control of the money at the lowest possible level do you really believe that a farmer from North Carolina or a fisherman from Louisiana is going to approve rebuilding of some religious site in a country he may have never even heard of?

Step 6 of the plan is one that has been in the news recently and will really strike a sour chord in many people. Federal employees, those that are left at the Federal level after my plan went into effect, would not be able to be in any union. They would be paid on a pay scale equivalent to the Military with benefits to match the Military. Of course you would have to take into account years of experience in the private sector and education just like the Military does for the officer grades. To go along with this, Federal employees would not file tax returns, Military members included. Since Federal employees and Military personnel are paid from taxes collected it makes no sense to have them file a return and then get more tax money returned to them. Their actual pay check should be one that is based on the post tax average at the pay scale they are in. Serving your Government should not be something you are able to hold over the heads of the Government and the People that are paying your salary; it should be a privilege, a duty, an honor. I’m not saying Government employees are to give up their lives, wear sack clothes and live in squalor just to serve their country, we should take care of public servants whether they work in an office or man a tank on the battlefield, just not to the detriment of the rest of the country.

Step 7 would be to do away with all tax deductions. Instead of having tax deductions and a tax code that is a nightmare to decipher just do away with the deductions and lower taxes all the way around. For one thing this makes Step 6 more logical. Under current tax codes families with children are allowed to take deductions for each child, this in turn means that those that have no children or their children have grown and left home are the ones that are paying for the schooling of children. People that have been fortunate enough to save enough and buy homes are able to deduct the interest on the mortgage, while this is a good thing currently that means those that have not been able to buy their own home are funding programs like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which they aren’t using. Under the current tax codes charitable contributions can be deducted which means those that make plenty of money are able to use this as a loophole to reduce their taxable income, why not just lower the taxes all together and truly be charitable? The tax codes should also changed to remove taxation of capital gains, this is taxing income twice and it’s penalizing people that are smart with their money.

A plan of this nature would put control of taxes back at the local levels. Each City, County and State would be responsible for their fair share of taxes and at the same time they could determine how those taxes would be collected. Some may prefer an income tax while some a sales tax. It would encourage local Governments to do the right things to bring businesses into their area, whether it’s manufacturing, corporate, or even agriculture in rural areas. This type of plan would discourage local Governments from supporting long term welfare type programs while encouraging programs that would help to reeducate if necessary. I’ve always believed that those that are able to work but are not but they are collecting some form of welfare should be employees of the Government. They can do many of the things that are not being done such as cleaning our parks and our road ways for half the day and looking for work or going to school the rest of it. Do things that will better your lot in life, not things that will keep you a ward of the State. I’m not saying all that are collecting from welfare type programs don’t deserve it, I’m all for taking care of those that have worked all their lives and are now too old or in too bad of health to work, they should be honored for their work and supported. Handicapped individuals should be evaluated on a case by case basis, I have seen too many of them working as greeters or performing tasks that match their handicap to make a wholesale statement that all should be taken care of, many would prefer to work, would prefer to contribute to their own lot in life, maybe we should learn from them.

Smarter people then I will tell you this is a crazy plan, and it is, it is just the basis for what I believe should be done. I know there are plenty of areas that I have missed here but it’s just a start, just a seed being planted in the minds of Americans. Our country and every other country around the globe is fast headed for bankruptcy because they want to give entitlements, they want the biggest military, or they want the biggest buildings with the brightest lights, it’s crazy and it’s heading all of us for a life of slavery while our politicians live like kings. I have no idea what really happens if a country goes bankrupt but I don’t think it’s anything I really want to see happen. If someone that really understands these things was to take this plan and tweak it, it could make the President of the United States the easiest job on the planet, he could preside over the US instead of dictate over it. A plan like this would never be accepted because the People are afraid of the responsibility of controlling their own destinies; they don’t want the possibility of losing their entitlements. The Politicians do not want a plan like this because they would lose power, they would lose power over the People that elected them, and instead they would be servants of the People that elected them, just as it should be. Oh well, just the ranting of a rambling mind.


Steve Avery
3/21/2011