Posted on 07/23/2010 7:35:47 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
At Right Matters, Ramesh Ponnuru has posted a potential agenda for Republican congressional candidates running in 2010. I agree with Ross’s characterization of the proposals as “substantial, sensible and politically sale-able.” Below I offer some additional thoughts:
Here, admittedly off the top of my head and in no particular order, are a few of the ideas I hope Republicans run on:
1) A tax reform that includes tax relief for parents, increased incentives to work and save, and considerable simplification of the tax code. (In other venues I have sketched out how taxes could be reformed in this way without sacrificing revenue.)
Ramesh and Robert Stein have written about this idea extensively. Stein has written an essay for National Affairs on the same theme. One potentially complicating aspect of Stein’s approach is that it wouldn’t be terribly appealing to upper-middle-class blue state professionals, a potentially winnable constituency for conservative candidates in 2010 and 2012. the more important question, of course, is whether getting rid of the state and local tax deduction is nevertheless a good idea. I tend to think it is, so I am sympathetic to Stein’s approach.
To be blunt, the plan is a tax hike on the rich and makes the tax code even more progressive than it is today. Given the loss of the state and local tax deduction, the tax hike will be particularly acute for high earners from high-tax states. And although the top income-tax rate would be capped at 35%, that rate would kick in at lower income levels than it does today. The result would be a marginal tax-rate hike — and a corresponding weakening of work incentives — for many workers who today find themselves in the 25%, 28%, and 33% brackets.
2)Repeal of Obamacare.
Conservatives and centrists need a good alternative to PPACA, but I see no reason for candidates not to run on repealing the new health law.
3) A permanent ban on federal funding of abortion.
4) A plan to unwind the federal ownership stake in Detroit.
This is intriguing, and could be linked to a package of regulatory and labor market reforms designed to aid manufacturers.
5) Changing the Social Security benefits formula so that payouts to high earners in the future keep up with inflation–but grow no faster than that.
Another excellent idea, which could be linked to a proposal for early retirement accounts.
6) Temporary assistance to state governments, conditioned on their reform of their pension systems.
There appears to be an emerging consensus around this idea. Christopher Edley Jr., from the center-left has proposed something along similar lines, as has Nicole Gelinas of the center-right Manhattan Institute. More on this to come.
7) The elimination of corporate welfare–including OPIC, the Export-Import Bank, and the like.
An excellent idea with populist resonance.
8) A plan to rein in Fannie and Freddie.
Chris and I highlight the Marron-Swagel GSE reform proposal in our article, but there are others.
9) Congressional reforms–such as a requirement that the text of bills be posted for 72 hours before a vote, a rule allowing members of Congress to raise points of order challenging the constitutional basis of any legislation being debated, and a rule that congressmen cannot get non-emergency care at Walter Reed unless they are veterans.
10) A federal hiring freeze.
This last idea is the only one that gives me pause: I’d recommend freezing total compensation, but not necessarily freezing the size of the federal workforce. I worry about a scenario in which we freeze the size of the federal workforce, yet we hire more private contractors. Private contractors make sense in many instances, yet the real issue is the size of the federal wage bill. Private contractors are part of the federal wage bill.
I can think of other ideas, but Ramesh’s proposals strike me as a good, minimalist agenda that all conservative congressional candidates can and should agree on.
1) a real across the board CUT of 3% in all federal spending categories. each year for ten years.
2) a flat tax where everybody pays the same percentage of all their income to the government. everybody. no exceptions.
3)term limits on all public offices - two terms max, no retirement for political positions.
4) zero-based budgeting for all federal entities
5) no federal monies for political action groups, or any organization that seeks to influence public policy.
6) Mandatory annual payments on national debt after year 4 of cuts mentioned in step 1.
7) for every new regulation proposed, another regulation of similar scope must be repealed.
8) no government insurance for individuals or organizations in compensation for losses for any reason.
9) elimination of welfare dollar payments. payments in vouchers only, to be used with identification
10) voter rolls to be maintained with input from mospitals.morgues, etc. voters to have theirr finger dipped in ink to preclude multi-voters. increase voter fraud penalties including jail time, and prohibition from holdign public office.
Ramesh is another one who just doesn’t get it.
RE: Ramesh is another one who just doesn’t get it.
Elaborate please.
,
Let’s start with this:
“To be blunt, the plan is a tax hike on the rich and makes the tax code even more progressive than it is today.”
Add the “temporary aid to states”
How about keep tax rates low, drastically lower the corporate tax rates, (highest in world), secure the border, expand e-verify to all fed agencies and all employers, facilitate nuclear power plant construction through streamlined regulatory process (not loan subsidies), drillbabydrill, shutter forever Fannie and Fred,etc.
I do like some of his ideas: repeal obamacare, etc.
No mention of farm subsidies?
Republicans have found still another leader to set the agenda! Ah sh’t.
More like a 50% to 75% reduction in the
non-military Gov payroll. By body count
or pay rate.
Benefits set at 75% of the national private
sector average.
2) Bills must be available for public viewing for a minimum of 72 hours or 1 hour/5 pages of the bill, excluding emergency legislation. So a 10-page bill would require 72 hours, but a 2,000 page bill would require 400 hours (a little more than 2 full weeks) before it can be voted on.
3) Emergency legislation: To qualify as emergency legislation, a bill must be less than 20 pages, and all sections of the bill must deal directly with the main point of the legislation. For example, Hurricane relief in the Gulf does not include provisions for a wellness center in Montana.
For #7, add a mandatory sunset clause - not to exceed 4 years. #1 - cutting entitlement programs (over 80% of current mandated spending) will be a bloody battle - just say'n
#2 OK, but count on cash based businesses and the self-employed cheating like the very devil or a Greek
#3 OK. Consider that most CONgress-critters have large staffs that do most of the work and -in some cases - make the real decisions. CONgressinal staff migrate from critter to critter - like fleas or other vermin. Something will need to address the core of Professional Bureaucrats as well.
#4 OK - and two year, forward based funding for the newly re-named War Department.
#5 and 6 - OK # 7 as above #8 - OK as far as it goes - but what about a region devastated by an industrial accident, like Bhopal the BP oil spill?
#9 Why not go back to issue of foodstuff like the old Ag Dept? I would support that - hard to trade cans of mystery meat for crack.
#10 Voters re-register every four or eight years. Updates from sources listed. Cheaters go to Sheriff Joe's new National Camp for cheaters in the desert....
Now - when do you plan on running for your two terms in office?
i propose cutting all programs. that way nobody suffers more then the next guy, and nobody has to suffer extra to spare someone’s sacred cow.
and a cut is a cut. if you got 100 last year, this year you get 95. YOU root out the waste and inefficiencies, and show us your priorities.
by the same token, your program will not be eliminated (yet), so you can’t say you’re gettign singled out for politrical reasons - everybody gets the same hit. everybody.
In a Nation that thinks a freeze is a cut, you have the long row to hoe.
I would be happy with a freeze — Medicare is so riddled with fraud it is past a joke...
no freezes. cuts! if I’m gonna go down, it’ll be worth the agony.
teh cuts will have to be relatively modest in order to minimize the effect on the overall economy.
I've been saying this for nearly 20 years. Just freeze all budgets at their current actual level, and over about a decade revenue increases will eventually wipe out the deficit and turn it into a surplus.
Of course, that only addresses the financial side of things.
Which I predict will derail before I ever get close to collecting a single dime.
The bigger concern is the legions of parasites current SSI recipients that collect a wide range of "disability" payments for being anti-social (crazy checks) and being fat - along with a host of other BS issues. They, their parents and likely grands-parents have never paid a dime into the system, so it is no real loss to them....
When these folks get cut off - the burning will begin.
One reason I live in Los Anchorage - a shorter drive to safety....
Please let us know how that conversation goes with your CONgress critter...
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