Post by Tzalaran on Oct 28, 2008 14:21:28 GMT -6
$10 trillion and counting. 16 years since Ross Perot campaigned warning us about this crisis in the waiting, and it has tripled since then. in fact, it has doubled in the past 8 years.
We can't turn back the clock and listen to Perot now, and i've not heard anyone in the past 8 years mention this except to say in debates that we have to address it. no proposals to actually do so, just the 'no duh' comment that we have to address it.
with a budget deficit, beginning to pay of the principle with a budget surplus is out of the question. That leaves us with one option the way i see it.
We introduce a 1% National Sales Tax that will directly go to a fund. This fund will just collect the Tax revenue for 2 years, and we need to have a respected, non-partisan individual to save this revenue during this time. After getting a nice lump sum over this time, we can use the fund's capital to pay certain lenders off.
Depending on current economic activity, and depending on how well the fund manager can negotiate payments, we should be able to knock down the debt by half or more in 10 years. (my calculations were last made about 4 years ago, and i estimated that it would be 15-20 years to pay off the 6 trillion debt at that time, but our economy has slowed significantly since then...)
This plan would be nearly insignificant to the public, as it would make each $100 that we spend $101. The most important thing is that we are actually doing something to address the largest hole under our feet. as we lower the principle on the debt over a 5 year period, the interest that we have to pay on the debt will decrease, opening up more room in the federal budget, which currently is about half directed to interest on the debt. The moves that our government has taken in deficit spending has crippled us to the point that we may not be able to recover if we don't act. This plan will not significantly hurt the public, nor business, but would greatly increase our ability to address this issue over the next 10 years.
Edit: i was in a hurry, and noticed that my initial post was a bit scatterbrained, so i'll try to clear up the theory here
The 1% national sales tax is a great way to help pay of the debt in a manner that won't hurt anyone financially. Statistically insignificant for families, little additional cost to businesses, but with all the money being transferred in our economy on a Macro level, it will quickly generate a significant amount of revenue that will be able to directly go to the principal of the debt. The key to this method, is that nothing is exempted from the sales tax. Most sales taxes are exempted for groceries and other necessities, but those are all in the 5-10% range. with a 1% national tax, it will only add $1 for every $100 spent, and that won't hurt anyone significantly.
in addition to the National sales tax, a charity should be formed that would tie into this tax fund. Allow people to donate to this charity and deduct it from their taxes like most other charities. assuming that it needs no funding for advertising, and we must ensure that there is no money from this fund paying for anything aside from the debt, we should be able to pay our way out within 30 years. (i'll edit this again when i've crunched the numbers later, don't have time right now).
The key to this plan working is getting the right fund manager. Ideally, Ross Perot would have been my first choice to manage this, but i think there are others who would be able to do the job well, Ron Paul, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, or perhaps former secretary of the treasury Voelker. The key in this would be having someone beyond corruption, who has the interest of the people foremost in their mind, and who will not use any fund money inappropriately.
i feel that this is a fairly certain way to address the national debt in a reasonable timeframe, and is the best plan that i've heard because i've not heard any other plans that address this topic.
We can't turn back the clock and listen to Perot now, and i've not heard anyone in the past 8 years mention this except to say in debates that we have to address it. no proposals to actually do so, just the 'no duh' comment that we have to address it.
with a budget deficit, beginning to pay of the principle with a budget surplus is out of the question. That leaves us with one option the way i see it.
We introduce a 1% National Sales Tax that will directly go to a fund. This fund will just collect the Tax revenue for 2 years, and we need to have a respected, non-partisan individual to save this revenue during this time. After getting a nice lump sum over this time, we can use the fund's capital to pay certain lenders off.
Depending on current economic activity, and depending on how well the fund manager can negotiate payments, we should be able to knock down the debt by half or more in 10 years. (my calculations were last made about 4 years ago, and i estimated that it would be 15-20 years to pay off the 6 trillion debt at that time, but our economy has slowed significantly since then...)
This plan would be nearly insignificant to the public, as it would make each $100 that we spend $101. The most important thing is that we are actually doing something to address the largest hole under our feet. as we lower the principle on the debt over a 5 year period, the interest that we have to pay on the debt will decrease, opening up more room in the federal budget, which currently is about half directed to interest on the debt. The moves that our government has taken in deficit spending has crippled us to the point that we may not be able to recover if we don't act. This plan will not significantly hurt the public, nor business, but would greatly increase our ability to address this issue over the next 10 years.
Edit: i was in a hurry, and noticed that my initial post was a bit scatterbrained, so i'll try to clear up the theory here
The 1% national sales tax is a great way to help pay of the debt in a manner that won't hurt anyone financially. Statistically insignificant for families, little additional cost to businesses, but with all the money being transferred in our economy on a Macro level, it will quickly generate a significant amount of revenue that will be able to directly go to the principal of the debt. The key to this method, is that nothing is exempted from the sales tax. Most sales taxes are exempted for groceries and other necessities, but those are all in the 5-10% range. with a 1% national tax, it will only add $1 for every $100 spent, and that won't hurt anyone significantly.
in addition to the National sales tax, a charity should be formed that would tie into this tax fund. Allow people to donate to this charity and deduct it from their taxes like most other charities. assuming that it needs no funding for advertising, and we must ensure that there is no money from this fund paying for anything aside from the debt, we should be able to pay our way out within 30 years. (i'll edit this again when i've crunched the numbers later, don't have time right now).
The key to this plan working is getting the right fund manager. Ideally, Ross Perot would have been my first choice to manage this, but i think there are others who would be able to do the job well, Ron Paul, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, or perhaps former secretary of the treasury Voelker. The key in this would be having someone beyond corruption, who has the interest of the people foremost in their mind, and who will not use any fund money inappropriately.
i feel that this is a fairly certain way to address the national debt in a reasonable timeframe, and is the best plan that i've heard because i've not heard any other plans that address this topic.