I would replace the current tax code with the following A 20% flat tax on all individuals and corporations on all income earned beyond the first $20,000 A 20% goods and services tax A 2% National Land Value Tax A 0.1% tax on derivatives Increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco A targeted capital gains tax I would then allocate spending as percentages of the GDP like this Social Security/Pensions (5%) National Defense (5%) Health Care (5%) Education (5%) Rebuilding America's Infrastructure (5%) General Government (2%) Criminal Justice/Homeland Security (2%) Research and Development (1%) Interest on the national debt (2%) Principle on the national debt (3%) Tax credits (5%) Under this plan, the national debt will be retired in ten years saving the USG $400 billion in interest on the national debt. This plan will also enable the US economy to grow at an annual rate of at least 20% as the debt is being paid down, millions are put to work rebuilding America's infrastructure, and the employer-based health care system is replaced with a system of universal health vouchers. - - - Updated - - - The tax credits will also come in the form of a $2000 rebate on the goods and services tax for every man, woman and child legally residing in America
The 5% dedicated to health care will initially go to fund Medicare, Medicaid and other existing federal health care programs. However, as the economy grows, surplus funds will be deposited into a "health bank" until we can afford a universal health voucher system which will replace Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and the entire employer-based system of health insurance which will help the economy continue to grow. The 5% of the GDP dedicated to rebuilding the infrastructure will put 16 million people to work rebuilding and expanding America's infrastructure and will add $3 to the GDP for every $1 invested. A National Infrastructure Bank will be chartered to administer funds to shovel ready and shovel worthy projects. The WPA, PWA, and a newly created "Green Corps" will put the able-bodied unemployed to work rebuilding America. The 2% of the GDP going to criminal justice and homeland security will go to funding all federal, state, and local police, fire and rescue agencies to hire more police officers, firefighters, EMTs, evidence technicians, and others instrumental in keeping our nation safe.
What about funding for volunteer fire departments, which save this country billions in salaries, benefits and administrative costs? Particularly in rural departments who rely strictly on donations to purchase equipment, insurance, maintaining whatever building(s) they have to house their vehicles? Many of these departments cannot even meet OSHA standards due to a lack of funding.
That is the people we want to rally. We want to rally all those who serve and have served, part-time or full time as guardians of our way of life.
As a caveat, I always thought it would be a good idea to have some form of employment tax break. For example, for every employee making more than $35,000 but less than $100,000, the company could write off a set amount (which can be changed to manipulate unemployment rates in the country). The only "problem" with this idea is that it will reduce tax revenue. However, if you could lower unemployment by even 1%, that translates into over a million jobs which, according to Keynes, will help boost the economy.
If the intent is to get control of Federal government spending and Federal debt reduction, I think repeal of both the 16th and 17th amendments would be much more productive. Much of the Federal debt is a result of returning to the States more than the tax revenues received from their citizens. If the money is to be spent in the States, why should it need be sent to the Federal government first? The House members should represent the citizens of their districts, and the Senate members should represent their State who should be responsible for collecting the portion of tax relative to their population as a percent of the nations total population by whatever means they (the individual States) find acceptable, and then the House and Senate members could be held more accountable by those who provide the votes putting them in office as a result of the work they do in producing a Federal budget. Better decisions are usually a result of making them as near the source as possible rather than from a centralized location having fewer facts and looking for a single solution, or a very complex solution attempting to resolve differences of facts which remain unknown.
