The facts are clear:
- We had a record budget deficit of $1.2 trillion for 2009, and projected to be $1.5 trillion this year.
- We have a national debt of $12.4 trillion and growing, which is now 85% of our GDP.
- The interest on the debt alone is an average $400 billion per year, and will grow further with the debt.
- We have unfunded liabilities of $70 trillion and growing, primarily Social Security and Medicare.
- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone have cost nearly a trillion since 2001, and that only includes direct and short-term costs.
- Many states have record deficits as well.
- Much of our national debt is owed to China, Japan, the UK, and South Korea.
- Our trade deficit is $40.2, and $20.5 billion with China alone.
- We import over 2/3 of our oil, much of it from unfriendly regimes.
We must pay off our national debt, balance the budget, and return to a favorable balance of trade. And we need sound money to back it all up. How do we do it? The following must be done ASAP:
- Levy a wealth tax on those with a net worth of $10 million or more, at 15% of net worth, for two years in a row.
- Create a new 50% bracket for those who earn $1 million or more per year, and repeal the Bush tax cuts for those who make $200,000 per year or more. And eliminate all loopholes as well.
- Bring back the estate tax to pre-Bush levels.
- Eliminate the Social Security wage cap entirely, making it a flat tax and not a regressive one, and limit benefits for wealthy retirees.
- End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and remove 100% of troops within a year.
- Cut the "defense" budget by 50%, and remove our troops from most countries. Maintain armed neutrality with respect to all foreign wars.
- Put heavy tariffs on all imports, and tax the hell out of any and all companies who engage in outsourcing/offshoring.
- Vote out all incumbents in the 2010 congressional elections who do not support all or most of the above.
- Replace the income and payroll taxes with a 25% value-added tax (VAT) on virtually everything, with a prebate equal to the tax on basic necessities.
- No income tax on those who make below $100,000 per year, but levy 25% on every dollar above $100,000 and 50% on every dollar above $1,000,000, simple and loophole-free.
- With the payroll tax replaced by the VAT, have 7% of each paycheck deposited into a personal retirement account. Keep Social Security as a means-tested fallback option.
- Stop raiding the Social Security trust fund and using it as a slush fund.
- Replace Medicare and Medicaid with single-payer healthcare for all Americans.
- Bring back the gold standard, and abolish the Feral Reserve. Let the market set interest rates, and let Congress control the money supply as per the Constitution.
- Cut as much government waste as possible.
- End the War on Drugs, at least for cannabis, and tax the hell out of any newly legalized substances.
- Raise the excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and gasoline, and create new ones for other vices.
- Create a tax on currency speculation.
- Create a "carbon tax and dividend," taxing carbon at the source and giving everyone an equal share of the money collected.
- Reduce overpopulation by limiting immigration to the previous year's emigration (about 200,000 people per year) and removing all barriers to birth control and other reproductive health services.
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