Friday, August 13, 2010

Earmarks and Taxes. 

     I was meditating on the budgetary mess that the US is in these days.  While I realize it is an enormously complex problem to solve, I have an idea or two.  These are not new ideas, but I still have to get them off my chest.  With our budget deficits spiralling out of control, we need to get a grip in it somehow.

     So - we need to declare an immediate moratoriam on all earmarks.  Period - no exceptions, no matter how seemingly critical.  Like a person with maxed out credit cards, the first thing is to stop spending.  Then, go to plan B.

Plan B is a national sales tax.  Oh now, everyone is howling regressive tax and its hard on the poor.  But I feel that  a crashed economy, a second-rate country, a dsimal outlook will be harder on the poor than a 1 or 2 percent sales tax ever would.  The national sales tax will do several things.  It will show the rest of the world we are getting serious about our budget problems.  It will make those poor think a bit harder before spending any unneccesary cash on things like tobacco or alchohol.  And it will provide extra funds, which should be designated as deficit redution money, and Nothing else - not social security, medicare, defense or anything.  The national sales tax money would be to pay down the national debt - period.  It is Americans finally owning up to our collective debt.

     Lets face it - we have all benefitted from the constant earmarks applied by our congresspersons.  Our government is a huge bloat-ocracy, trying to feed too many greedy fish at once.  This has got to end.  It can end, if we show some spine and do what needs to be done.  Perhaps the end of earmarks and the sales tax could be in one single bill - a two-headed axe chopping away at our humongous debts.   C'mon Congress, time to get serious about paying the bills.  Thanks for reading.

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