Posted on 05/29/2010 4:19:47 PM PDT by sten
over the passed couple of years, i have become more and more worried about the state of our country. in particular, the size of the debt and the speed at which it has been increasing. and that speed has been increasing most recently with no end in sight. if this continues, as it did with the USSR, there is no doubt the country will cease to exist in its current form.
here are the basic facts as of 2009:
gross domestic product: $14,000 b
national debt as of today: $13,000 b
annual federal receipts: $2,105 b
congressional budget: $3,518 b
these numbers are out of whack. the budget of the US exceeds all monies brought in by $1,413b or 167% of all receipts. this would be similar to making $50k/yr and spending $84k on your credit cards... which are already at $40k.
to fix this situation, congress and the federal government needs to be reigned in. unfortunately, there are NO controls that currently exist within the framework of the Constitution to restrain congress from committing financial suicide.
as such, i would propose the following amendment to the US Constitution in order to save the country and insure its future.
| "During years where the national debt exceeds 25% of the GDP, the budget of the Congress shall be restricted to no more than 75% of federal receipts brought in the year before. The remaining 25% shall go to repay the national debt in an effort to reduce the debt below 10% of the GDP. During years when the debt exceeds 5% of the GDP, but is less than 25%, the budget of the Congress shall be restricted to no more than 85% of the federal receipts. At no time shall the budget of the Congress exceed 125% of the federal receipts." |
if this amendment were in place today, the congressional budget would be forced to stay within $1,579 b, while paying off the debt @ $526 b per year. this would continue until the debt reached $3,500 b, which would take about 18 years. at that point, the federal budget would be allowed to grow from 75 to 85% of the federal receipts, which would be $1,789 b, while paying $316 b to the remaining debt. it would take roughly 9 years until the debt is reduced to $700 b, or 5% of the GDP. once that occurs, Congress would be able to increase their budget to no more than $2,630 b on receipts of $2,105b, or 125% of all federal receipts. in roughly 27 years the country will have climbed out of the hole.
i believe this plan would resolve the impending financial crisis, reassure our debtors that we are serious about repaying the debt, while also insuring we never return to such a situation.
so... emergency provisions? the congress should run at or just below 100% of the federal receipts. in times of crisis, they would be able to bring it up an additional 25% or roughly $500b on receipts of $2,105b
of course, there could also be the concept of a ‘savings account’ were the congress, having only spent 95% of the receipts and the debt was below 5%, could have saved the 5% for a rainy day... like the rest of us do.
We need a federal recall amendment, also term limits for congress.
they have found a way around the voting booth by stuffing the ballot boxes in a massive way... then shutting down the investigations once they take office.
0bama set a very dangerous precedent when he did that
Who gets to decide what a “time of crisis” is? Is the war on drugs a crisis? swine flu epidemic? war on terrorism? war on fat kids? war on poverty?
how about a recall capability within the language of this amendment? if they blow the budget, they are immediately gone. no hearings required. special election held within the month for all districts effected
but i think term limits are outside the scope of where i’m trying to go with this one
An amendment that bans government from spending any money on anything but itself would be a good idea. That would send all welfare programs and education spending to the states.
I think it’d be a good start anyway.
a war is not a war unless congress declares it officially.
and the extra money/credit that Congress would have available, the extra $500b, would be all there is... thereby making them stingy on handing it out for frivolous projects
kind of hoping the people would almost demand such an amendment and the government might not have a choice but to amend the Constitution.
thinking if the tea parties could get behind something like this... that would be a driving force
I think they should be banned for handing it out period. If it is not a Constitutional part of government it shouldn’t get a penny.
If the project is worthwhile, the private sector or the states should fund it.
true... but i’m thinking we’d want to leave a little leeway... some slush money... so they can do their government thing.
keep in mind, once they break the 5% GDP line... the congressional budget would be put on a diet and dropped down to 85% of the federal receipts
yes... we’d prolly carry that 4 to 5% balance for the life of the country... as congress would rather play with the slush money than square away all debts... but at least it’d be manageable and we’d be nowhere near the 90% GDP we are now.
Fortunately most of us are smart enough to know better than allow the idiots in DC start tweaking the constitution.
Open up the constitution to change and the dealmaking between parties will begin and we’ll be screwed.
happened in 1913 .. which is how we got here.
i don’t see amendments that limit government as being a bad thing.
OK sure whatever.
If we gutted all the unconstitutional spending programs, including, but not limited to, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, farm subsidies and the like the budget would be balanced.
which.. if you put a set of teeth in this thing (recall congressional types when the budget is blown)... which force congress to trim off the items that are not supported by the Constitution
and if something happens... and the GDP is reduced... then congress will be forced to reduce their budget. it’s in their best interest to pass laws that would increase the GDP as well as salaries (since federal receipts rely heavily on personal income taxes)
You are such a patriot! I think this link will help explain why this is so important.
http://www.businessinsider.com/federal-debt-as-a-percent-of-gdp-by-president-2010-5
You had best check http://pushbackuntil.com. The amount of money the government spends should be pegged to a set percentage of our cumulative adjusted gross income. Period. End of story. We, the people, should be deciding how much government we “want,” and that is about the fairest and best solution.
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