Posted on 11/17/2011 9:32:38 AM PST by mdittmar
Scoffing at Washington's troubled effort to cut just $1.2 trillion in federal debt over 10 years, the Tea Party's own debt commission today unveiled a shocking plan to slash nearly $10 trillion over the next decade, in part by eliminating several federal agencies, balancing the budget by 2015, and killing foreign aid to unfriendly nations.
"Go bold or go home," says the report from the Tea Party Debt Commission. "Are you listening, Washington?"
The FreedomWorks-led effort started months ago by asking Tea Party members for ideas on what to cut from the federal budget. They ended up going much further than Congress or the president wants.
Their plan would cut spending by $9.7 trillion, and shrink the federal government from 24 percent of GDP to 17.5 percent, in line with the post-war norm.
Key initiatives include:
"Imagine a plan that cuts, caps, and balances federal spending without raising taxes; that gives future generations control over their own retirement security; and that lifts the massive debt burden from our children's shoulders so they can know the American dream of ever-higher freedom and prosperity. And on top of all that, imagine that it's a serious, credible, plan generated by the grassroots. This is that plan," said the report.
I like this plan. Bump for longevity.
YES! This is what I’m talking about!
It’s an excellent first step!
Replace the tax code with 999 and you are talking.
It’s a real start.
Now they’re talking. Eliminating those redundant and ineffective agencies is a must. And docking the pensions as long as we’re running a deficit is a great idea. Pay for performance!!
I can hear the howls from the Leftards already.
A small start
All we need to accomplish what? We have 2.5T in tax revenue and a 1.5T deficit. We'd have to grow tax revenues almost 10% a year to get to a zero deficit in 10 years, and by that time we'd be close to another $10T in debt, $25T in total.
And in the mean time, we would have wasted all that money on HUD, DoE, etc. We are also going to see government expenses rise as the boomers retire. There is no easy answer any more in the idea of 'freeze and grow our way out'.
What growth in tax revenues we can expect as we continue to clean up the current banking mess (if we actually do clean it up) will be sucked up by growing payments on debt alone.
The government needs to stop issuing new bonds, and immediately.
What kind of “INVESTMENT” is a government bond ?
What is the investor who buys a government bond “investing” in ?
INTEREST PAYMENTS PAID OUT OF TAX REVENUE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is that helpful in any way to economic prosperity ?
Me lighting my cigars with $100 bills would be a better use of capital.
Then I’m going to hear “infrastructure”.
But let’s go to back to the economic education equivalent of 4th grade: the “INFRASTRUCTURE” created by government building programs is not owned by private sector entities.
The infrastructure that is built by government is not owned by a profit-generating entity that a) has to financially stand on it’s own with no prospect of receiving taxpayer dollars to fund deficits and b) has no competitive pressure to lower it’s prices.
The design of quasi-government entities like power, bridge and tunnel, etc., authorities, invite the bilking of their customers.
Even in the manner where bonds are issued to build a specific project, where one can make the naive claim that the bondholders are getting a return from the infrastructure until the bonds are all paid off - even in that case, the private sector does not “own” the “authority” that winds up owning the infrastructure. So there is no real owner. Which is why the operating authority winds up spending a lot of money on itself and slowly letting the infrastructure maintenance fall by the wayside, despite all sorts of shouting that this is not true. Ultimately, someone who owns a thing cares about it. Someone who does not own a thing does not care about it. In the case of “authorities”, they know they have limitless funds from a) rate increases and b) taxpayer dollars.
Back to government debt: It has got to stop - completely. It is “quietly” spiralling out of control.
If the government could not borrow $1 more than it already has - that limits government spending to what government takes in.
Unless the government starts paying it’s bills with money that it just prints - but that would be transparent since government receipts and payments are transparent.
Remember, the government views money that it owes the Fed, OASDI funds (SS/Medicare), etc. for bonds that they own as money that government owes itself - and that is somehow different in the mind of Congress than money it owes to it’s ordinary bondholders.
If these intra-governmental holdings are treated ANY differently than government debt sold to the public (i.e., foreign banks, U.S. citizens, sovereigns, etc.), this means the government would consider the possibility of not paying those bonds back to itself.
If one thinks for 2 seconds about that - duhhh - then the cash it received for the “intra-governmental” bonds - WAS SIMPLY MONEY PRINTING. Can I get a duh ?
What does the government spending rule need to look like to allow wise@ss Congressman to take on fiduciary responsibility for government funds ? If the government takes in $2.2 trillion, spend up to $2.2 trillion, that’s it.
Incidentally, it is the only way to control government spending. Prohibit government borrowing in any and every way: no Treasury bonds, notes, bills, etc., ever again except if there is a declared war. And in that case, require that those bonds be paid off before 1 cent - NOT PERCENT - 1 PENNY - of increase is allowed in government spending.
IMHO, one frustrated, angry, crazy man. Disclaimer: who poses no threat because he’s given up, just laughing at the millions of idiots out there at all levels of the economic spectrum who are simply complete j@ck@sses. Some people need to run smack into a brick wall before they believe the warnings that they’re going to hit it. Then the consultants get called in to clean up the mess (and make a lot of money doing what should have and easily could have been done all along).
Thanks for this long-awaited, common-sense, soothing post!
“Go bold or go home,” says the report from the Tea Party Debt Commission. “Are you listening, Washington?”
The Feudal Lords of the Beltway could not care less about what we think. But now we have a workable plan to save America, and they do not or ever will.
A good start.
The road to ending our nation’s addiction to out-of-control spending and financial enslavement to the Chi-Coms need to start somewhere.
Imagine that. Who knew we could actually cut the spending and survive? LOL!!
Reduce Dept of Agriculture down to food safety/inspections, then send it to each state to manage.
Get us out of the U.N. sell the building and evict all the members from our country!
I just received this via e-mail from my local Tea Party chapter. I don't know what to make of it.
I have just been notified by a member of the Tea Party Debt Commission that the U.S. Senate Rules Committee has just CANCELLED the presentation of the TEA PARTY BUDGET REPORT to Congress!!! Supposedly, an alleged "suspicious package" has been found near the presentation area.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2808932/posts?page=77#77
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C-SPAN3 was supposed to cover their presentation live at 2pm (even had a crawler announcing the event). Instead C-SPAN3 is covering "Global Economy, Jobs & Deficit held at the Four Seasons, DC---to be followed by the next session of the Solyndra hearings.
No reason given for the change of programming.
“Are you listening, Washington?”.....IF NOT!
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
H. L. Mencken
Well, to be honest...
If you cut the government first, spending is then cut as a consequence (ie: no longer have to pay for what you don’t have).
Which then can lead to a cut in taxes.
Let’s not forget the actrocity that is the Department of Labor...
Ditto... A start.
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