I differ with my esteemed Fellow Freeper.
OK, I’m an optimist, and I think we can turn this around.
I have been thinking about what Pres. Romney and a conservative Congress can do to FIX the country when they take power. Here are a few ideas:
1. The USA is BANKRUPT. Therefore, we need to declare CHAPTER 11 just like a corporation would. In this type of BK, debt holders get first priority. Note that Chapter 11 is most appropriate where the BK entity has ASSETS and expenses that can be cut. The USA has HUGE assets that no one is considering.
All contracts, promises, and ENTITLEMENTS are on the table.
Appoint an all-powerful National Bankruptcy Judge and National Bankruptcy Trustee Council that will dictate the changes and kill ALL the SACRED COWS! That way we only have to pass ONE BILL to make all of the painful changes.
2. Lay off 80-90% of all federal workers. Eliminate departments, agencies, and commissions. Examples include Dept. of Education, most of the Small Business Administration, most of the EPA, HUD, National Public Radio, National Endowment of the Arts, et al.
3. Privatize every function possible. Fire the union TSA and hire a contractor with a free hand to “profile” terrorists.
4. Sell off assets. SELL, don’t lease, mineral rights offshore. Why the hell does the federal government have to own 50% of the land West of the Mississippi? Sell the BLM and most National Forests. Sell federal office buildings and lease back the ones truly needed. Sell off every technology that is not classified. Sell off dams and powerplants. Sell Amtrack.
All proceeds from asset sales must be used to retire federal debt. Get the national debt down to a fraction of the current $16T so that we can afford to pay market interest rates.
Also note that privatization of all BLM land, offshore mineral rights, etc. would cause a huge economic boom as resources and land are developed and sold.
5. Reduce all Congressional pensions to ZERO. Both the Republicans and Democrats bear responsibility for the mess they got us in. They can go work for a living. Cut civil service pensions to a minimum. Regardless of rank, pensions should be what the lowest civil servant gets. Raise the retirement age for federal employees.
6. Invalidate all federal union contracts and their right to represent federal workers.
7. Eliminate farm price supports, dairy cartels, etc. Let the free market drive down prices.
8. Obviously, eliminate earmarks, aid to cities and states, and other pork barrel spending.
9. Allow elderly people to have private HMO coverage or catastrophic insurance instead of Medicare.
10. Raise the retirement age for Social Security gradually. We are living longer, healthier lives.
11. SEND THE ILLEGALS HOME. No benefits for illegals.
12. CUT TAXES AND REGULATION TO RE-START ECONOMIC GROWTH
13. COLLECT ALL DEBTS OWED. Audit all foundations and non-profits to see if they are doing political activism not in their charters. If they are, freeze their assets and bill them for back taxes.
Investigate and PROSECUTE all the Wall Street/Bankster scam artists and SEIZE ALL OF THEIR ASSETS. (Rudy Giuliani for Attorney General!)
Audit the unions for illegal political contributions. Prosecute and SEIZE THEIR ASSSETS.
Just recovering the assets ripped off by white collar criminals could repay a good chunk of the national debt.
I’ll think of a few more areas to cut later. How are the above for a start?
Okay, let’s start with the law of diminishing returns. That is, tackle the biggest problems, that will provide the best solutions, first.
To start with, there is the $17T national debt, and the perhaps $235T future “unfunded liabilities” that the government has promised to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This dwarfs everything else.
Much of the debt is held by private sector, but about 40 percent is held by public entities, including parts of the government.
1. Federal Reserve and Intragovernmental Holdings $6.328T.
2. China about $1.2T.
3. Other Bond-Bill Investors/Savings Bonds $1.1T.
4. Japan $1.038T.
5. Pension Funds $842B.
6. Mutual Funds $653B.
7. State and Local Governments $500B.
8. United Kingdom $430B.
9. Depository Institutions $300B.
10. Insurance Companies $250B.
Now if you examine the US federal budget, it is clear where the money is going:
So the question becomes one of downgrading and eventually eliminating Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
The USA is BANKRUPT. Therefore, we need to declare CHAPTER 11 just like a corporation would.
