ECONOMY AND TAXES
Universal Exchange Tax (UET)
Implement a tiny Universal Exchange Tax of 0.05% (50 cents per $1000) and 0.1% (1 dollar per $1000) on all automated financial transactions of any kind. With a tax base estimated to be in excess of $4 quadrillion, this tax should raise between $2 trillion (half the federal budget) and $4 trillion (the entire federal budget).
Not only would it eliminate the deficit, it would create a surplus large enough to eliminate or dramatically cut all other forms of taxation at both the federal and state levels.
NOTE: We do NOT take credit for coming up with this idea; it was found posted on an anonymous website. Also, economist Dr. Edgar Feige apparently thought of a similar idea back in 2005.
Individual Income Tax
Overhaul and simplify the federal tax code by repealing the regular income tax while retaining and tweaking the AMT to reflect the following:
Absolutely no income tax on those making less than $20,000 per year, period.
Ideally, no income tax on those making less than $50,000 per year.
With preferably the following marginal income tax brackets for individuals:
Below $20,000 -- no income tax
$20,000 to $50,000 -- 5%
$50,000 to $90,000 -- 10%
$90,000 to $150,000 -- 20%
$150,000 to $250,000 -- 30%
$250,000 to $1,000,000 -- 40%
$1,000,000 to $10,000,000 -- 50%
Over $10,000,000 -- 70%
With no loopholes and no deductions other than state/local taxes and a limited amount of charitable donations.
All forms of income would be taxed equally at the normal rates, including dividends and capital gains. For capital gains, the basis will be indexed to inflation (which is currently not the case). The exclusion for capital gains below $250,000 from home sales will remain as is.
If the Universal Exchange Tax (UET) is implemented and set at a high enough rate, we could theoretically reduce the income tax to only 10% on each dollar above $100,000 and 50% on each dollar above $1 million. We propose a UET rate between 0.05% (50 cents per $1000) and 0.1% (1 dollar per $1000) on all transactions, which would most likely be high enough to do so.
Corporate Income Tax
Overhaul the tax code to eliminate all loopholes and favoritism of any kind. Then implement the following tax brackets for corporations:
Below $100,000 -- no income tax
$100,000 to $1,000,000 -- 10%
$1,000,000 to $10,000,000 -- 20%
$10,000,000 to $100,000,000 -- 35%
Over $100,000,000 -- 50%
Unlike the current law, only undistributed profits would be taxed. Amounts distributed as dividends would not be taxed at the corporate level, but would be taxed at the normal rate for the individual shareholders.
Tax US corporate foreign income as it is earned, rather than when the income is repatriated.
Payroll/FICA Taxes
Remove entirely the wage cap for Social Security portion of FICA tax, for as long as we still have a FICA tax.
Reduce FICA tax rates to the lowest possible level needed for long-term solvency, or better yet eliminate FICA entirely (if an alternative funding source such as the UET is implemented). If no alternative source is present, then raise the FICA tax by an additional 0.2%.
Luxury Tax
Similar to a sales tax, 2% on all new items priced at $1000 or more, and only on the amount over $1000. For vehicles of any kind, the exemption amount would be $30,000. For new homes, the exemption amount would be $1 million. Items purchased overseas would be considered "new" and taxable upon entering the country if purchased within the past year or two.
Estate Tax
Resurrect the estate tax ("death tax"), this time as a progressive one. The exemption amount would be $3.5 million, then 45% up to $50 million, 55% up to $500 million, 65% up to $1 billion, and 75% for $1 billion and above.
Excise, Vice, and Other Taxes
Bring back the Superfund taxes that expired in 1995, and expand it to cover ALL harmful and toxic chemicals.
Increase and equalize the federal alcohol excise taxes to $24 per proof-gallon for all alcoholic beverages, equal to the liquor tax in 1991 adjusted for inflation. Microbrewers (those who produce less than 6 million barrels) would continue to pay the current rate of $0.58 per gallon ($18 per barrel) on the first 2 million barrels.
Equalize the federal tax for all tobacco products by weight to $1.55 per ounce, and tax the tobacco itself at the producer level. Set a national price floor for cigarettes of at least $5.00/pack to encourage low-tax states like Virginia to hike their own tobacco taxes.
If and when cannabis and/or any other currently illegal drugs are legalized, tax them as well. For example, cannabis could be taxed at a flat rate of $10-$50 per ounce, or perhaps set proportionally to potency (e.g. $5 per ounce, multiplied by percentage of THC).
Raise the gas tax by 1 cent/gal each week until it is $0.50/gal higher than it is today. "A Penny for Progress."
Enact the following "menu" of new taxes:
- coffee beans or grounds ($0.10/lb)
- pure caffeine ($1.00/lb)
- refined sugars ($0.10/lb)
- salt ($0.10/lb)
- hydrogenated fats ($1.00/lb)
Enact a financial crisis responsibility fee (leverage tax) of 0.15% of covered liabilities of so-called "too big to fail" banks with more than $50 billion in assets.
Enact a Wall Street Gaming Tax of 0.5% specifically on derivatives and any other exotic financial products designed primarily for the purpose of speculation or gambling.
Other vices not listed above (e.g. casino gambling) should be taxed at the rate of 10% of the price or gross receipts therefrom.
Adjust all excise taxes for inflation from now on.
Monetary Policy
Abolish the quasi-private Feral Reserve immediately, and replace it with a fully public national bank modeled after the Bank of North Dakota.
Pay off the National Debt entirely via money creation, saving taxpayers over $400 billion per year in interest payments. The Noble Solution.
Any new money created should be given directly to the people, not the banks.
From then on, all government borrowing should be from its own public bank(s), interest-free.
Any failed private banks in the future shall be taken over by the new public banking system, and absorbed into it.
Citizen's Dividend
Tax the use of various natural resources, especially fossil fuels, and give every American citizen an equal cut of the revenue, similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund. Note that this can also be considered a type of carbon tax.
As noted above, another method for paying a citizen's dividend is through money creation by the government.
FOREIGN POLICY
War and Peace
Cut defense spending by at least 50%.
End the war in Afghanistan, with all troops removed within a year.
Close at least a third of our overseas military bases within a year, and at least half of them within five years.
Phase-down America's vast arsenal of WMDs, but keep enough to defend ourselves just in case.
Avoid policing the world from now on, and instead adopt a policy of armed neutrality or non-belligerence (but reject full-blown isolationism). Do not pull out of NATO or the United Nations, though.
Establish a Department of Peace.
Tariffs and Trade
Pass the Outsourcing Prevention Act, written by Senator Bernie Sanders, to discourage offshoring of jobs.
Use protective and punitive tariffs only as a last resort, as they are ultimately a negative-sum game.
Reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Create a carbon tax on all domestic and imported fossil fuels at the source, and distribute 100% of the revenues directly to the people in equal amounts (see Carbonomics by Steve Stoft). Start with a very small tax, and gradually raise the rate every year until CO2 levels in the atmosphere are reduced to 350 ppm or lower.
Raise the federal gasoline and diesel tax by 1 cent/gal each week until it is $1.00/gal higher than it is today. "A Penny for Progress."
Implement feed-in tariffs for alternative energy producers.
Bring back the Superfund taxes that expired in 1995, and expand it to cover ALL harmful and toxic chemicals.
Increase overall funding for environmental protection and alternative energy significantly.
Remove ALL subsidies and giveaways to the fossil fuel industry immediately, and redirect such funds toward clean energy instead.
LINKS THAT MAKE YOU THINK
Monetary Sovereignty
Electoral College Is Vestige of Slavery
A Load of KHUY
Cancel Everyone's Student Debt
Climate Catastrophe
What is Labor vs. Work?
The Leaden Age
A Reckoning With Women Awaits Trump
Make the Left Great Again
Mint the Coin
Free Energy (also here and here)
Why Labor Unions Matter
Oh Blackwater
PIMPOTUS
Oligarchy
Peak Inequality
The American Economy Is Rigged
Wall Street's Failed 1934 Coup
What The Deplorables Don't Seem to Get
The End Is In Sight
The New Leaders
America: The Farewell Tour
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