Top 10 Reasons to Support Rep. Connie Mack's Penny Plan (A Simple plan to balance the budget)

Top 10

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1. It Would Cut Federal Spending By One Percent for Six Consecutive Fiscal Years.

The Penny Plan would require Congress to cut just one penny out of each dollar it spends every year for six years. These gradual cuts over the next six years will balance the federal budget.

2. It Would Cap Overall Spending at 18 Percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Starting in Fiscal Year 2018.

Congressional spending consumes approximately 25 percent of GDP. Federal revenue from taxes over the past 40 years has averaged about 18 percent of GDP, making 18 percent a reasonable limit for spending if Congress is in fact interested in balancing the budget for the long haul.

3. It is a Very Simple Plan.

The Penny Plan is simple and straight to the point. Cutting federal spending by one percent every year for six years is clear enough for everyone to understand. Unlike many Washington schemes, it’s not a complicated proposal.

3. It Would Reduce Overall Federal Spending by $7.5 trillion over the Next Ten Years.

Federal spending has risen to unprecedented levels which threatens our economic freedom. The Penny Plan would significantly cut government spending overtime and set us on the path towards fiscal responsibility.

4. It Would Balance the Federal Budget by 2019.

The current U.S. budget deficit is an unprecedented $1.6 trillion. The Penny Plan would bring the federal budget into balance this decade.

5. It is a Popular Idea with the American People.

The majority of Americans support balancing the federal budget. The Penny Plan which would balance the federal budget by 2019 should gain widespread support.

6. It is a Modest Plan.

The Penny Plan is far from radical. These gradual cuts are more likely to gain bipartisan support rather than a big dramatic cut. With our national debt at $14.4 trillion, everyone should agree that we can cut just one percent of federal spending over the next six years.

7. The Plan Contains No Gimmicks or Budget Tricks.

The Penny Plan would cut real spending. Many other proposals only “cut” spending from a bloated Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline. The CBO baseline predicts what would happen over the next decade given current projections of taxation and spending. These plans don’t actually reduce spending since these “cuts” are just reduction in the amount they had hoped to increase spending. The Penny Plan would cut from current amounts being spent and not anticipated spending off a phony baseline.

8. It Gives Congress Some Discretion on What to Cut.

The one percent spending cuts will be achieved one of two ways. The first way is that Congress and the President could work together to cut federal spending by one percent each year. This will allow them to prioritize what cuts are the most important.

9. It Will Trigger Automatic, Across-the-Board Spending Cuts If No Deal Can Be Reached.

The second way that the Penny Plan reduces spending is through an automatic, across-the-board cut. If Congress and the President are unable to reach a compromise, the bill triggers automatic, across-the-board spending cuts to guarantee that the one percent reduction is met. This plan would then force lawmakers to cut any of their sacred cows.

10. It Will End Washington’s Unprecedented Spending Spree.

The Penny Plan will ensure that Washington cuts spending and balances the federal budget. We cannot afford to continue Washington’s reckless spending spree. It’s a good step in the right direction to get our fiscal house in order.

For the uninitiated....

In a nutshell, The Penny Plan balances the budget by:

a) cutting total federal spending by one percent each year for six consecutive years;

b)Setting an overall spending cap of 18 percent of gross domestic product in 2018; and

c) Reducing overall spending by $7.5 trillion over 10 years.

EDIT TO ADD: Herman Cain is on record as saying that he supports a plan similar to this one IN CONJUNCTION with his 9-9-9 plan and a Chilean Model for Social Security.

Thanks for posting... I’m afraid it will be greeted here on the Freep with “balance the budget NOW” and other over-the-top demands that are completely unrealistic.

I’m also disappointed that none of the presidential candidates has stepped up to embrace this elegantly simple and yet comprehensive approach to getting our spending under control. Can’t they see the appeal of something simple and forthright as in Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan as something worthy to embrace?

But I’m sure Freepers will call you and me RHINOs and sell-outs for thinking such heresy.

JMHO, Folks!

First of all, if the base assumption is that no matter how great an idea might be, DC politicians will find a way to corrupt it… why is the Penny plan singled out for special treatment? What makes anyone think that Romney’s 87-page PDF Economic Plan for instance won’t also be instantly corrupted and changed?

If the assumption is always that Congresscritters will instantly transform it into a basket of giveaways and boondoggles then ANY plan to balance the budget will also be corrupted. WHAT’s the POINT of making any proposals then?

We might as well lie down and die.

If the starting point of evaluating any policy proposal or plan is that Congress will get in there and mess it up, I honestly don’t see any reason to support any candidate on the basis of any issue. Because we’d have to assume that his/her great idea would just be transformed into a steaming pile of dung by Congress.

C’mon people; are we seriously contemplating that we’d all go to work trying to get the GOP nominee elected President, but skip out on all of the other races such that we’d end up with a GOP President and a Dem Congress?

The larger point — one which I’ve raised — is that the only way that the Penny plan (or any other plan on any other issue) is not transmogrified into some atrocity is the vigilance of the electorate.

There is simply no way to trust a politician — no matter whom, no matter what — to do the right thing time and again. Absolute the only way we as a nation can defend our rights, get the policies we want, and prevent corruption by politicians is to be vigilant against such things and to keep up the pressure on all of them to do the right thing.

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