Free Republic

Congressman Connie Mack did not vote to raise the debt ceiling before the August recess. He was looking for a long-term solution to the nation’s deficits, which are leading to unsustainable debt. After working with some grass-roots groups, Mr. Mack designed the “One Percent Spending Reduction Act,” or, the “Mack Penny Plan,” which, he says, will cut and cap federal spending, and balance the federal budget in eight years. In short, the “Mack Penny Plan” would: • Cut federal spending by 1% each year for 6 years • Cap spending at 18% of GDP in the 7th year • Balance...

Now that the national debt-ceiling deal is done — and liberals like me are unhappy and conservatives deservedly have more to cheer about — Thanksgiving 2011 will be more than about good turkeys. This is the deadline for the so-called “super” congressional committee of six Democrats and six Republicans from the House and Senate to cut at least $1.2 trillion in the projected budget deficit for the next 10 years. I favor at least one-half of this $1.2 trillion to be funded by a combination of tax reform — closing tax loopholes — and increases in marginal tax rates of...

The debt deal that passed Congress yesterday fails to address the fiscal crisis. How does it fall short? No Balance: The plan fails to achieve a balanced budget, or even to lay out balance as a meaningful goal. Without this goal, deficit spending will continue and the American people will fail to coalesce behind the effort. Too Small: As advertised, the spending cuts in this package are less than one-third of the total projected deficit over the next ten years, and the deficits ten years from now will still be measured in the hundreds of billions. Revenues: The plan opens...