Posted on 12/27/2024 6:09:30 AM PST by NetAddicted
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy being in charge of the incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is perhaps one of the most exciting ideas from President-elect Donald Trump.
Through it, you could have a true change in government. That's likely one of the reasons that the powers that be are fighting to separate Musk and Trump, and back him out of the equation. They're afraid of free media and they're afraid of the change this could bring to government.
Javier Milei has shown what can be done. He's turned a deficit into a surplus for the first time in more than 100 years in their country, and in such a short time in office.
It may take a little longer for us, but how do you do it? With commitment, will and afuera!
These are not new thoughts, it's just the will that's been missing.
Musk cited remarks from Ronald Reagan from 1975, before he was president. But it's all kinds of sense when it comes to tax policy as he explains that even then the government was taking about half of what Americans earn. Reagan spoke out against taxes on businesses that the left pushes but then end up landing on the people.
"We oughta have tax reform, and we oughta start by making it so simple you don't have to hire a lawyer to figure out how much you owe every year," Reagan said.
"We live in the only country in the world where it takes more brains to figure out your income tax than it does to earn the income," he quipped.
"There's very little that government can do as efficiently and economically that people can't do themselves. And If government would shut the doors and sneak away for three weeks, we'd never miss 'em."
That is so true and takes on special meaning when the powers that be are always threatening government shutdowns to try to get bad bills passed.
Then Reagan really nails the problem of the "unelected bureaucracy" that truly determines more policy than the Congress of the United States (and now, may just have been running the country for the last four years).
Reagan foreshadows DOGE and Sen. Rand Paul's Festivus report when he explains how they spent $249,000 on a study about the "Demography of Happiness."
What did it find? He explains it found out that young people were happier than old people, they found out that people who earned more were happier than people who earned less. And they found out that well people were happier than sick people. "That's $249,000 to find out it's better to be rich, young and healthy than old, poor, and sick."
The answer to curing inflation is a balanced budget, Reagan declared. He knew that then, we all know it. Yet Democrats and many in Congress of both parties are contend to spend like it's going out of style, without any consideration for the effect. The effect under Biden was crushing prices on everybody.
Carson said you have to spend less than what you take in.
Reagan responded, "It's like protecting your virtue. You have to learn to say 'No.'" That killed Johnny Carson.
Then, Reagan said why can't we have a law that every time a member of Congress introduces a spending program, he has to introduce a tax program to pay for it, and let the people find out. Then you'd really have a slowing of spending if it always had a consequence that people could see.
How much of a tangle is everything in? The Office of Management and Budget can't even tell you how many "boards, commissions, agencies, bureaus, and departments there are in the federal government."
We've been talking about this for almost 50 years. We're at a point where the words are more true than ever and where we now have a golden opportunity.
You finally have Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy with the force and the will. Now, they need to harness that same common sense and make it happen.
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“Reagan said why can’t we have a law that every time a member of Congress introduces a spending program, he has to introduce a tax program to pay for it, and let the people find out. Then you’d really have a slowing of spending if it always had a consequence that people could see.”
My Florida county property tax bill lists the various assessing agencies.
mosquito control
school operating
school capital
general county
hospital
paramedics
garbage
stormwater
intercoastal waterway
SWF water management district
Well worth my time. Thank you. Pithy and humorous.
“The answer to curing inflation is a balanced budget, Reagan declared.”
And ignored David Stockman
“President Jimmy Carter’s last fiscal year budget ended with a $79.0 billion budget deficit (and a national debt of $907.7 billion as of September 30, 1980)”
“He[Stockman] serves on the board of directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Stockman
“CRFB launched the Go Big Initiative after The Budget Control Act of 2011 tasked a bipartisan 12-member Joint Congressional Committee on Deficit Reduction with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_a_Responsible_Federal_Budget
Is Elon still handing out H-1B visas to Indians by the thousands?
from page 4:
Mandatory Spending
Options for Reducing the Deficit
Agriculture
Option 1. Reduce Subsidies in the Crop Insurance Program
Housing
Option 2. Raise Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Guarantee Fees and Decrease Their Eligible Loan Limits
Education
Option 3. Eliminate the Add-On to Pell Grants, Which Is Funded With Mandatory Spending
Health
Option 4. Establish Caps on Federal Spending for Medicaid
Option 5. Limit State Taxes on Health Care Providers
Option 6. Reduce Federal Medicaid Matching Rates
Option 7. Increase the Premiums Paid for Medicare Part B
Option 8. Reduce Medicare Advantage Benchmarks
Option 9. Adopt a Voucher Plan and Slow the Growth of Federal Contributions for Federal
Employees’ Health Benefits
Option 10. Introduce Enrollment Fees in TRICARE for Life
Option 11. Introduce Minimum Out-of-Pocket Requirements in TRICARE for Life
Option 12. Change the Cost-Sharing Rules for Medicare and Restrict Medigap Insurance
Option 13. Reduce Medicare’s Coverage of Bad Debt
Option 14. Consolidate and Reduce Medicare Payments for Graduate Medical Education at Teaching Hospitals
Option 15. Modify Payments to Medicare Advantage Plans for Health Risk
Option 16. Reduce Payments for Hospital Outpatient Departments
Option 17. Reduce Payments for Drugs Delivered by 340B Hospitals
Income Security
Option 18. Eliminate Subsidies for Certain Meals in the National School Lunch, School
Breakfast, and Child and Adult Care Food Programs
Social Security
Option 19. Reduce Social Security Benefits for High Earners
Option 20. Establish a Uniform Social Security Benefit
Option 21. Raise the Full Retirement Age for Social Security
Option 22. Require Social Security Disability Insurance Applicants to Have Worked More in Recent Years
Veterans
Option 23. Introduce Means-Testing for Eligibility for VA’s Disability Compensation
Option 24. End VA’s Individual Unemployability Payments to Disabled Veterans at the Full
Retirement Age for Social Security
Option 25. Reduce VA’s Disability Benefits for Veterans Who Are Older Than the Full
Retirement Age for Social Security
Option 26. Narrow Eligibility for VA’s Disability Compensation by Excluding Veterans With Low Disability Ratings
Multiple Programs or Activities
Option 27. Use an Alternative Measure of Inflation to Index Social Security and Other Mandatory Programs
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
“The answer to curing inflation is a balanced budget, Reagan declared.”
Not if it is realized with future taxes and poaching on other earmarked funds like social security and medicare to name a couple that are yet to be put in the system. And as long as the government can rely on selling services they can’t pay for until they get the money from “somewhere” to pay for those they aren’t really balancing the budget. They are investing in their future. And doing it at the pocketbooks of the citizens while they are punishing them for being irresponsible. To be honest, I don’t understand how any elected government official, at a start, can say they balanced the budget as a tool to getting votes when it is a blatant, outright, lie! So they lied about how they got there, and lied about doing it.
wy69
Reagan’s CPAC Speech: ‘Government Is Not The Solution To Our Problem’ (Mar 20, 1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unb7tzd-JkQ
page 5:
Discretionary Spending
Defense
Option 28. Reduce the Department of Defense’s Annual Budget
Option 29. Cap Increases in Basic Pay for Military Service Members
Option 30. Replace Some Military Personnel With Civilian Employees
Option 31. Stop Building Ford Class Aircraft Carriers
Option 32. Cancel the Long-Range Standoff Weapon
Option 33. Cancel the Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft
Option 34. Reduce the Size of the Bomber Force by Retiring the B-1B
Option 35. Reduce the Size of the Fighter Force by Retiring the F-22
Option 36. Reduce the Basic Allowance for Housing to 80 Percent of Average Housing Costs
International Affairs
Option 37. Reduce Funding for International Affairs Programs
Education and Social Services
Option 38. Eliminate Federal Funding for National Community Service
Option 39. Tighten Eligibility for Pell Grants
Veterans
Option 40. End Enrollment in VA Medical Care for Veterans in Priority Groups 7 and 8
Federal Civilian Employment
Option 41. Reduce the Annual Across-the-Board Adjustment for Federal Civilian Employees’ Pay
Multiple Programs or Activities
Option 42. Reduce Selected Nondefense Discretionary Spending
Option 43. Reduce Funding for Certain Grants to State and Local Governments
Option 44. Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
page 6:
Revenue
Individual Income Taxes
Option 45. Increase Individual Income Tax Rates on Ordinary Income
Option 46. Impose a Surtax on Individuals’ Adjusted Gross Income
Option 47. Raise the Tax Rates on Long-Term Capital Gains and Qualified Dividends by 2 Percentage Points
Option 48. Eliminate or Modify Head-of-Household Filing Status
Option 49. Eliminate or Limit Itemized Deductions
Option 50. Limit the Deduction for Charitable Giving
Option 51. Change the Taxation of Assets Transferred at Death
Option 52. Eliminate the Tax Exemption for New Qualified Private Activity Bonds
Option 53. Expand the Base of the Net Investment Income Tax to Include the Income
Active Participants in S Corporations and Limited Partnerships
Option 54. Tax Carried Interest as Ordinary Income
Option 55. Include VA’s Disability Payments in Taxable Income
Option 56. Reduce Tax Subsidies for Employment-Based Health Benefits
Option 57. Further Limit Annual Contributions to Retirement Plans
Option 58. Eliminate Certain Tax Preferences for Education Expenses
Option 59. Lower the Investment Income Limit for the Earned Income Tax Credit and Extend
That Limit to the Refundable Portion of the Child Tax Credit
Option 60. Require People Who Claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit to
Have a Social Security Number That Is Valid for Employment
Payroll Taxes
Option 61. Impose a New Payroll Tax
Option 62. Increase the Maximum Taxable Earnings That Are Subject to Social Security Payroll Taxes
Option 63. Expand Social Security to Include Newly Hired State and Local Government Employees
Taxation of Income From Businesses and Other Entities
Option 64. Increase the Corporate Income Tax Rate by 1 Percentage Point
Option 65. Tax All Foreign Income of U.S. Corporations at the Full Statutory Corporate Rate
Option 66. Repeal the “Last In, First Out” Approach to Inventory Identification and the
“Lower of Cost or Market” and “Subnormal Goods” Methods of Inventory Valuation
Option 67. Require Half of Advertising Expenses to Be Amortized Over 5 or 10 Years
Option 68. Repeal the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
Excise Taxes
Option 69. Increase Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages
Option 70. Increase Excise Taxes on Tobacco Products
Option 71. Increase Excise Taxes on Motor Fuels and Index Them for Inflation
Other Taxes and Fees
Option 72. Impose a 5 Percent Value-Added Tax
Option 73. Impose a Tax on Emissions of Greenhouse Gases
Option 74. Impose a Tax on Financial Transactions
Option 75. Increase Certain Fees Charged by Citizenship and Immigration Services and
Customs and Border Protection by 20 Percent
Option 76. Increase Federal Civilian Employees’ Contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
The federal government provides grants to state and local
governments to finance local projects, encourage policy
experimentation by state and local governments, and
promote national priorities. This option would reduce
new funding for the following grants by 25 percent in
2026 and by 50 percent after 2026:
The Department of Energy’s grants for energy
conservation and weatherization, made through the
Office of State and Community Energy Programs.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s grants for
wastewater and drinking water infrastructure as well
as other grants that help states implement federal
water, air, waste, and chemical programs.
The Department of Housing and Urban
Development’s Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) program. The reduction includes
only base CDBG funding and does not include any
possible funding for future disaster recovery efforts.
Certain Department of Education grants, like those
for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers,
that fund nonacademic programs that address
students’ physical, emotional, and social well-being.
Certain Department of Justice grants to nonprofit
community organizations and state and local law
enforcement agencies. Those grants include State and
Local Law Enforcement Assistance programs, Juvenile
Justice programs, Community Oriented Policing
Services grants, and grants administered through the
Office on Violence Against Women.
pages 58&59 of:
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
The earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax
credit both provide assistance to certain taxpayers with
low or moderate income, but the eligibility rules differ.
To be eligible for the EITC, claimants and their qualifying children must all have Social Security numbers that are issued by the Social Security Administration solely to people authorized to work in the United States. (There are exceptions for some Social Security numbers issued before 2003.)
By contrast, eligibility for the child tax
credit currently requires only the qualifying child—not
the claimant—to have a Social Security number that is
valid for employment purposes. After 2025, noncitizens
will be able to claim the child tax credit if they and their
qualifying child have Social Security numbers (with
no restriction on the reason for issuance) or individual
taxpayer identification numbers, which are issued by
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to anyone who is
required to file a tax return but cannot obtain a Social
Security number.
Under this option, people who are not authorized to work in the United States would not be eligible for either the EITC or the child tax credit.
For both credits, taxpayers, spouses, and qualifying children would be required to have Social Security numbers issued to U.S. citizens and noncitizens authorized to work in the United States.
The IRS would be authorized to deny the
credits using “mathematical and clerical error” (math
error) procedures when taxpayers and their children did
not have Social Security numbers that were valid for
employment purposes. Using math error procedures
would prevent the credits from being paid to those
taxpayers and would not require the IRS to take further
action, although the taxpayers would retain the right to
dispute the IRS’s determination.
page 77 of:
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
The Medicare Advantage program allows Medicare beneficiaries—people age 65 or older and younger people with long-term disabilities or end-stage renal disease—to enroll in private plans for their Medicare coverage (a Medicare Advantage plan) instead of the publicly administered Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program.
About 31 million Medicare beneficiaries (or 52 percent
of beneficiaries) were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage
plan in 2023. The federal government pays a fixed
amount for each beneficiary to insurers offering those
plans, and the insurers bear the cost of any health care
expenses incurred by the beneficiary for services covered
by the plan.
Insurers submit bids indicating the amount they will
accept for providing the benefits covered by Medicare
Part A (which primarily covers inpatient services provided by hospitals and care in skilled nursing facilities, home health care, and hospice care) and Part B (which
mainly covers services provided by physicians and other
practitioners and by hospitals’ outpatient departments)
for a beneficiary of average health. How much the federal
government pays insurers depends on those bids and
how they compare with predetermined benchmarks set
by the federal government. Benchmarks are currently
tied to the projected spending for an average beneficiary
in Medicare FFS in the same county.
This option would reduce benchmarks in the Medicare
Advantage program by 10 percent, beginning in January
2027. That reduction would be applied uniformly across
all counties. All other methods for calculating payments
to Medicare Advantage plans would continue as required
under current law.
This option would result in higher cost sharing, higher
premiums, and fewer supplemental benefits for Medicare
Advantage enrollees. Other effects would depend on how
the change in outlays for Medicare Advantage affected
the benefits passed through to Medicare recipients and
the profits of Medicare Advantage insurers.
from page 20 of:
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
Let us hope this spells the demise of powerful interests colluding with government to enrich themselves, which has been a curse on the nation since before the Civil War, and was even the cause of the Civil War itself.
Option 37
The budget for international affairs funds diplomatic
and consular programs, global health initiatives, security assistance, and other programs. Most funding for international affairs programs is administered by the
Department of State or the Agency for International Development.
This option would reduce the total international affairs
budget by 25 percent.
Option 38
The Corporation for National and Community Service
(CNCS), which operates the AmeriCorps and Senior
Corps programs, receives public funding—from federal,
state, and local governments—and funding from private
entities. CNCS programs provide financial and in-kind
assistance to students, seniors, and others who volunteer
in their communities in areas such as education, public
safety, the environment, and health care. Participants in
those programs receive one or more types of compensation, which include living allowances, training, health
coverage, and child care. In addition, upon completing
their service, participants in certain programs can earn
education awards, paid from the National Service Trust
(NST), which is managed by CNCS.
This option would eliminate all federal funding for
CNCS except for funding for the NST. In the absence of
federal funding, the volunteer programs would continue
to operate only to the extent that state and local governments and private entities chose to fund them.
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-12/60557-budget-options.pdf
¡afuera! ⧫ Out of the way! ⧫ Get out!
Now that's one thing from South of the Border that we can live with.
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