Obviously, no fiscal plan is going to be to everyone's liking, so all I need to know is whether I'm overlooking something essential in this budget plan. I call it a 2016 budget plan because, although I'd make the moderate cut in military spending immediately, I would phase out most of Social Security and government aid programs over a 10-year period. This would be the final result in today's dollars:

$300 billion in military spending
$100 billion in disability payments
$100 billion in Medicare payments for the disabled only
$100 billion for all other government spending

I would keep the current personal income tax in place until 2016, at which time I would switch to a 10% flat tax on all personal income regardless of family status. I already detailed how I would pay off the national debt. In 2016, I would eliminate all federal taxes except the flat rate on personal income. I appreciate all replies. Thank you very much.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

No. Force, I don't think you have enough respect for the complexities of government. You cannot make random changes to the system and then come out with a sane government.

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"The belief that nothing exists outside your own mind--surely there must be some way of demonstrating that it was false" - 1984

The complexities add to the cost and inefficiency.

The changes were far from random. My belief is that the current system is failing. The above annual budget would result in constant surpluses that could be saved for a crisis. Right now we are increasing the annual deficit.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

Your going to have to quintuple government spending on homeless shelters under that plan. And triple spending on prisons.

I wouldn't spend government money on homeless shelters. If you were correct, the crime rate would have been three times higher before Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

This observation seems obvious, but I will point it out anyway: If the government can't be trusted to honor it's I.O.U.s to people who have payed into S.Sec., than it cannot be trusted to honor any of it's I.O.U.s including the one's held by foreign nations. Thr Chinese and Japanese would be justifiably compelled to move their investments elsewhere and the U.S. economy would immediately collapse.

No private insurer wants to provide health insurance to the chronically ill and the elderly. Will they all be put into the category of "disabled"? If you don't mind rationing health care for the poor, the chronicly ill and those at the end of life, well maybe ..... but you are clearly opposed to rationing of any kind so who will take care of old and sickly people??

As for 100 B for everything else- are you forgetting that government provides all kinds of services that make a prosperous democracy possible?? Do you want to have a viable legal system? Do you want to make sure that poor people have legal representation? How do you feel about toxic waste? Do you mind eating salmonella infected chicken? Shall we do away with watch- dog functions that enforce anti-trust laws, make sure big pharma does not price fix, keep Wallstreet honest? Do you prefer to live in a country where the water is drinkable and children are vaccinated? Do you want to have our waterways charted and safe? Shall we maintain the infrastructure? I have no idea how much money is necessary to provide all the services that make this country great but 100 billion does not sound like alot -how did you come up with that particular figure? 3x as much for the military- a branch of government which is so badly managed that it regularly loses billions and gives us "star wars" programs? Hmmm

In my experience, libertarian ideas look pretty good until someone actually puts them down on paper.

Force, i think it would be better if you started with a model of what government spending was like in the 50s or whenever, before government expanded, then compare it to today and make note of the differences, then propose a way to slowly phase out the differences.

Its like going on a diet to lose weight. The goal should be to remove the fat, not cut off the arms and legs.

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"The belief that nothing exists outside your own mind--surely there must be some way of demonstrating that it was false" - 1984

QFT. also Its unemployment and re-education time for:

1) government workers
2) government managers
3) government contractors,
4) ( heh ) tax professionals.

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"The belief that nothing exists outside your own mind--surely there must be some way of demonstrating that it was false" - 1984

Believe me, I've thought about this for a long time. Since there seem to be no practical objections to my idea, I stand by it and I'll elaborate on it. I would reduce medical costs in a number of ways. First, I would eliminate the FDA and regulations on foreign medications. Second, I would end malpractice lawsuits. Then, as I mentioned earlier, I would eliminate the requirement for a prescription except on medications that are the equivalent of hard drugs. The national debt is a far more serious issue in the eyes of foreign investors than our government's Social Security plan. Moreover, I oppose Star Wars. $100 billion would be more than enough for all other expenses. Federal public defense doesn't take up much of the budget. Private charities can provide basic medical care for those who don't qualify for insurance. As for clean water and a clean environment in general, the federal government spent $8.4 billion on the EPA in 2004. To prevent wars for profit, I would nationalize the arms industry. I would also have the government build the infrastructure for alternative energy. I would have that infrastructure put in place well before 2016. So no, the sky wouldn't be falling. In fact, we would have an efficient economy for the first time in decades.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

... And how would that be a bad thing? I'm not a libertarian and never will be (I'll prove that in future threads on social issues). The above figures are, if you hadn't guessed as much, estimates. Perhaps I would spend $295 billion on the miltary or perhaps $305 billion, but you get the general idea.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)