The first thing that needs to be done to improve the economic situation in the United States is a top-to-bottom review of every rule, regulation, law and government agency. Government employees CONSUME tax money. Private sector employees PRODUCE tax money. Every rule, regulation and law requires a government employee to administer and enforce it. This increases the requirement for more tax money to consume. This requires the private sector businesses and employees to provide more money to the government, which, in turn, leaves the private sector less money to reinvest in the private sector. The government is strangling research, development and productivity in the private sector. This leaves us vulnerable to international competition.
As American businesses are freed-up from the spiderweb of innumerable rules, regulations and laws, they can expand and hire more employees. These employees produce tax money which means the government will have to borrow less money. American government has grown to be fat and bloated. Trim down the government and the economy starts growing which provides more jobs which provide more tax money which means the government borrows less money and so on and so on. Our international enemies never had to militarily defeat us. They just had to have our politicians produce more rules, regulations, laws and government agencies to choke us to death.