Over among the Big Brains at American Thinker, Rhys Read offers these ideas for cutting back government spending and getting our spending deficit under control:
First, eliminate the fraud in the system, which is estimated at between $200 billion and $500 billion per year.
Second, end the subsidies and government control regimes implemented to “combat climate change.” Total spending on these programs total about $300 billion per year.
Third, moving to individual health accounts would reduce much of the middle-man expenses and regulatory expenses imbedded in the Affordable Care Act. Eliminating these unnecessary bureaucratic expense and bloated health care costs would save about $300 billion per year.
Then we need to tackle the big expense: the cost of the bloated bureaucracy. A one-third reduction in staffing plus a one-third reduction in average total compensation would save about $600 billion per year.
As for getting additional moolah into the system:
I propose increasing the Medicare tax from 1.45 percent to 2 percent and the Social Security tax from 6.2 percent to 6.5 percent. In addition, I propose tripling the FICA maximum, currently at $184,750, with a new 7.5-percent crediting rate to preserve the defined benefit nature of the payouts. Implementing these increases would generate about $300 billion per year.
And so on. As the man once said (adjusted for inflation): a (hundred) billion here, a (hundred) billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about serious money.
How much of this has any chance of ever happening?
Yeah, right.
“ I propose increasing the Medicare tax from 1.45 percent to 2 percent and the Social Security tax from 6.2 percent to 6.5 percent. In addition, I propose tripling the FICA maximum”
I’m 42. That makes me an old millennial. If I was born 2 years earlier, I would have been at the end of Gen X.
I know that many people before were pissed at me when I said this – and I’m guessing some here will be offended – however – Millennials and Gen X – have been the butt end of jokes from the baby boomers for years despite most of the Gen X and Millennials having worked very hard their entire careers, all while funding the retirements of baby boomers who had a much higher standard of living. (I have had a job since I was 15 years old. Starter as a cashier at a large retail store with a workers permit as I was under 18).
– inflation has destroyed the buying power of the dollar. Majority of the politicians in charge have been and still are baby boomers. While there are some Gen X and Millennial politicians, the baby boomer politicians caused this mess. And every president since WW2 has added to the national debt, including slick Willy Bill Clinton. Balance budget my ass Willy.
Social Security, even if you eliminated waste, fraud and abuse, is a Ponzi scheme. It’s a crime when Bernie Madoff runs this type of scheme, but somehow it is ok when the government runs this?
Social security was supposed to be a supplement to retirement income yet many who refused to live within their means during their working years now want the government to take from the young working and give to the older people. This is by the very definition, redistribution of wealth.
Payroll taxes were lower until 1990’s for baby boomers, now, most of the boomers who live into retirement are paid far more out of the system than they ever paid in.
FDR knew social security was a Ponzi scheme when he started it. But he also knew he would be taking a dirt nap when the whole thing fell apart. He would never be held accountable. The latest estimates I’ve read say around 2032, which isn’t far off, only around 80 percent of benefits will be able to be paid unless the program is “fixed”. Fixed likely meaning, let’s steal more money from working people to give to older people who did not plan properly for their own retirements.
And spare me the “fixed income” fucking bullshit. Working people have variable income. We could lose our jobs at anytime. The retirement programs are “guaranteed income”. Unless the government goes broke and “runs out of someone else’s money”.
I’m sure people will be pissed at me saying this. I do wonder why even many conservatives get pissed at these facts. Aren’t conservatives against “wealth redistribution” and Ponzi schemes??? I guess so, unless it benefits them…
Also, the pensions that many government jobs have are total fucking bullshit as well. People retiring with an inflated 140,000 a year salary and getting 80 percent of that until the day they stop breathing. WTF.
“…getting 80 percent of that until the day they stop breathing. WTF.”
And don’t forget they get a generous COLA. My cousin went to work for her uncle straight out of high school, was so incompetent he fired her within three months. She went to work for Social Security, stayed 40 years (=100% pension) and retired at age 58 with a $112,000/yr pension plus a generous Civil Service equivalent of an IRA savings plan. She was pretty much just a glorified clerk, and now gets $218,000/yr with her COLA. Bullfuckingshit.
My private sector pension is to the penny what it was when I retired 28 years ago, and it was capped at a max 35% of salary regardless of years worked. That’s workable. The Feral plan is not.
I think that several departments at the government should be phased out / eliminated to save money
IRS – 11.2 billion
ATF – 1.5 billion
Dept of Indoctrination (education) – 79 billion
More should be cut but these three bullshjr agencies take the cake for waste fraud and abuse.
During the Biden admin the ATF put a senior agent on TV for an interview and the fucking ass clown could not even field strip a Glock pistol easily. If you can’t remove the slide from a Glock in under 45 seconds you have zero fucking business overseeing and regulation firearms.
The IRS should be cut for obvious reasons.
The education system in this country is a fucking joke. The rot starts at the top
The problem is that the cost of a more efficient bureaucracy to police the granting of benefits, exceeds the cost of any benefits supposedly saved.
And while DJT ain’t perfect, he didn’t cause this mess. However many stupid ass people in this country somehow still blame him for all the ills of society or don’t want him to cut these useless agencies because somehow this is all caused by “ORANGE MAN BAD”
The real foundational rot was many decades of stupid ass and selfish fuck head politicians who bought votes from idiots using stolen taxpayer funds. And they created agencies like the dept of indoctrination and the ATF as “benefits”. These are not benefits. These are wastes of money and they are harmful to peoples constitutional rights.
If they never heard about it when Obama was the executive, then it isn’t real and never happened. I swear the Leftist media is always upset when a Republican is elected because they are abruptly awakened and have to run interference for the Soviets.
The problem is that the cost of a more efficient bureaucracy to police the granting of benefits, exceeds the cost of any benefits supposedly saved.
What benefit does the IRS give the taxpayer?
For the money spent WASTED on salaries for these hacks – the IRS should do everyone’s taxes and then we all don’t have to do them and then have some people get told they messed up and owe a penalty. On 2nd thought. Fuck that. The government hires the dumbest accountants.
What is the benefit of the ATF? So some government hack who can’t field strip a glock very well can tell me about how to safety use guns, what I can own and where I can protect myself?
There is ZERO need for a federal
Dept of education. First off – every time the govt backs a student loan tuition keeps rising. Second – states should fund their own education systems. The Feds should not be involved. If states like Massachusetts where I live want to give freebies to the illegals for free education – let those states go broke don’t steal money from the rest of the country to fund hack teachers and illegals.
Icing on the cake is half of the kids coming out of the education systems these days, both K to 12 and higher Ed colleges, are retarded and can’t do basic shit. Go to any store or fast food joint these days. Go to an office anywhere. Lots of fucking retards everywhere. Edumacated America.
Benefits? Fuck this bullshit. Cut the budgets big time.
As long as there’s even 2 cents of fraud, we don’t raise taxes. In fact, we eliminate taxes until the fraud disappears. Yeah, it doesn’t make sense when you say it out loud, but I’m fucking tired of paying half my salary to the fucking govt and then hear about millions and billions stolen by 60 IQ Somali retards. Fire 90% of the bureaucracy too. Fuck them all.
I agree 100% with all of the above commentators, but
I can pretty well guarantee that there will not be any reduction in either fraud or taxes until we re-introduce Madame Guillotine: every Sunday, in public in the town square, as punishment.
I’m trying to find fault with your reasoning, and while I would be satisfied with floggings plus no-bail prison terms, the guillotine is definitely not off the table, pour encourager les autres.