The National Debt, it effects us all, how to become free from it and end up with a surplus?

Question

Heres how I would eliminate it, any suggestions?
1. Don't pay the debt! Tell them screw off! We seldom get repayed.
2. Eliminate the Space program, we can't take care of our country, let private industry handle it if they want.
3.Bill Iraq for the costs of their "liberation and occupation" we could take it in oil!
4. Bill all countries we liberated or occupied since World War II, if we're running a protection racket or playing cop then lets get paid.
5. Execute all death sentences within 90 days.
6. End the war on drugs, legalize maraijuna, prositution and tax them.
7. Reduce congressional, senatorial, presidentual, and federal judges, prosecutors, salaries by one half.
8. Limit congressional staff to 5 per congressman or senator.
9. Tax companies for out sourcing American Jobs, and windfall profits on gas gougers (Exxon still hasnt paid the cost for clean up in the exon Valdez, yet the made record profits again)

10. Withdraw our troops in Iraq to the oil fileds, and docks,sieze their oil until their debt is paid.
11. Invade Sauid Arabia and take their oil, the 911 attackers were mostly Saudi, Bin Ladden is Saudi.
12. Stop all foregion aid, at once take care of us first.
13. Allow prescription drugs to be purchased over the net from any where with a prescription.
14. Eliminate the endowment for the arts, and all governement grants, grants are not repaid loans are, if you want to study cow farts then pay the costs! If you want an education then pay the costs.

5.- one appeal case should be over in 90 days and sentence carried out
7- if you cut congressional , and other salaries they would be true servents, servents make less than the master, service should be an honor not a money thing.

Answer 1

Well since a lot of people seem to think the war was about "oil" that would be common sense to go with their accusations and go with the oil. But the list is full of great ideas. Limit the congress members terms, and salaries is another great idea. They need to prove their worth instead of being "career politicians"

Answer 2

OK here we go....

1> The World Bank would devalue our money so fast our economy would never recover. You think the Peso is valueless, see how far the Mexican Government got with the non-payment plan.
2> The Space program is important, it would take too long to go through why, but the advancements made in everything from polymers to medical research is invaluable.
3> As if they could really pay.
4> See #3
5> Commute all death sentances to life in prison without the possablility of parole. Death costs more, and is morally wrong.
6> This alone could do it. Nearly 1/3 of the US population smokes pot. Let's be conservative (pun intended) and say 1/4 of that is the hard core potheads and they smoke on "pack" of pot a week, taxed at $2 per pack. That is 2.6 billion in just one year. Not to mention that pot also makes the best ethanol, reduces greenhouse gases, and makes the best paper, and can be used for textiles. It's just too smart for this country to do.
7> OK except for the Prosecutors, they should get more. Lawyers in public service make a lot less than private/corperate practice.
8> Sorry, but I am against cutting any jobs, even for those dregs.
9> No problem there.
10> Wouldn't that cost us more in the long run? It would stir up a hornets nest and make great recruitment for terrorists.
11> See 10 and 6. Hit them where it hurts, get off oil.
12> Make the pothead tax $3 a pack if a big wave slams a poor country, hello 1.3 billion.
13> Gee, the Democrats have been saying stuff like that since Bush 41 was in office. Reagan really let the drug companies rape us with his deregulation, and now we are paying for it through the nose.
14> Let's put it this way the budget is like the Mall. Defense is Sears, JC Penney, and the anchor stores, the NEA is the gumball machine on your way out.

I do however like your liberal/conservative blend, kind of looks like a progressive reformer type platform. The trouble is that the religious right psycho would never let the pot & hookers part fly. The super-liberal wouldn't like the continued dependance on oil. The fiscal conservative would freak over the taxing of corperations for anything, especially the current neo-con outsourseing programs. The defense minded would flip out over the instability that your mid-east ideas would stir up.

Overall it's great you took the time to do this. Sure Clinton did great when he was in with the budget, but that was 15 to 6 years ago, might as well be a hundred with the way things have changed. (Fiscal conservative will hate this next statement) The strategies that worked for the best economic Presidents will not work for our future great economic presidents.

Answer 3

1. Nope, pay the debt. Non-payment would have an economic ripple effect around the world.
2. No, not eliminate. Make it a joint venture between government and private industry.
3. If they ever get the full operation up and going. As it is, with the Sunnis continuously attacking the operation, this will not happen for a while.
4. I'd rather just move out of those countries. Germany, England, Japan, Korea, etc.
5. Yes!
6. Agree with ending the criminalization of these. But taxing pot? That stuff grows like weeds - anybody can raise all they can smoke and more in their own homes.
7. Not only their salaries, but end their special retirement and medical plans. These people need to be put on Social Security and Medicare. Same with the rest of the government employees.
8. Limit congressional staff to 5 per congressman or senator.
9. Outsourcing is not necessarily a bad thing. Essentially, this will force companies to either close down or to pack up and move completely off-shore. Absurd tax policies that hamper competitiveness already force international companies to move their HQs off-shore. As for profits, there is absolutely no reason to tax them if they are large. Are you going to subsidize them if they are small?
10. Uh, no.
11. Uh, no.
12. Should be considered.
13. This has wide-ranging repurcussions that will affect the development of new drugs. Bad idea.
14. Amen!

Add:
15. End all government welfare programs. These are not constitutionally authorized spending by the government, violating the 10th Amendment, and the seizure of our money (property) to give to other people is a violation of our 4th Amendment rights. The Supreme Court has already ruled that you have no entitlement to social security payments.
16. Make the sponsorship, enacting and approving of an unconstitutional spending bill an impeachable act.

Answer 4

# 5 is the only problem for me . Well # 9 just causes inflation and will be passed along to the people who buy the products .#7 is a start but an end to salaries would be better . A stipend and housing would be enough .# 4 is a dream and no one would pay .# 8 should allow volunteers and as many as each Congressman could get at the expense of the volunteer .# 3 is just wrong because it is not ours to take . # 1 would cause the dollar to become worthless lol like it is worth anything now but the perception would be a weaker dollar on the world market .# 6 is the best suggestion you make and a step in the right direction towards returning freedom to the enslaved people of America . # 2 if we do that then what good is a rocket scientist to us . I think we need to work on getting of this rock . If the white man wants to save himself then build self sustaining space ships with a fleet of shuttles and equipment to raid other worlds .I am sure purple people on planet x187 are all killers and deserve to be looted .
We can fix the problems here but I doubt people can put aside differences long enough to get the job done . Besides we could start prison colonies in space . Make the rules simple on earth you can do whatever you want except hurt someone else . That means the sky is the limit ,Gamble ,sell drugs ,prostitution by independent contractors .,Let the buyer beware of overdoses and herpes and end all medical treatment and let people die for God sake and go to meet Their maker . Seems most of this God forsaken planet believes in this crap so why delay the inevitable .

Answer 5

1. Act like a Third World nation and make the US uncreditworthy from then on out?

2. Agreed.

3. I don't recall Iraq asking to be liberated. We went in to get weapons of mass destruct...err, I mean to liberate them from a cruel dictator. In any event, we were allegedly invading for our national security. Besides, they aren't pumping that much oil.

4. I'd start with Grenada.

5. Yeah, we know the courts always get it right the first time; who needs appeals?

6. Agreed with the war on drugs being a loser.

7. Why? Is their value to our society so little? If so, don't have them at all. Reinstitute a monarchy.

8. Eh, how many do they have now?

9. Tariffs on imported goods would help protect American jobs, especially in key industries which contribute more to American security than invading countries. Who will build our tanks when the auto plants are all gone or owned by foreigners? Where will they get the steel needed?

Answer 6

Good ideas except for numbers 9 and 14.

9 - If you think that the oil company's 5% profit is gouging, then there are a lot of other industries that you need to target first. Many pharmaceutical companies make around 50% profit, and they have your LIFE in their hands.

14 - While government money for arts is a bad idea, helping people who can't afford an education get one is the only way that the vast majority of Americans can lift themselves to a better life. Perhaps no-interest loans instead of grants would be a good idea?
.

Answer 7

1. Don't pay off on the zillions of dollars out there in savings bonds and T-Bills? I'm sure the Japanese and Chinese (who hold a bunch of 'em) would love that. But there isn't much they can do except cause worldwide economic chaos. What about the Americans who hold these securities? Whoever decides that the U.S. is going to bankrupt out of its debt will end up hiding in a spider hole like Sadam.
2. The space program uses a small percentage of the national budget. It wouldn't make much difference to get rid of it. Exploration of the unknown is a part of the human spirit. To completely eliminate the space program would have a profound effect on the hearts of the American people. Private enterprise will eventualy get into the act, don't worry about that. But there are still military applications to the space program and that part ain't going away.
3.Not a bad idea to take back the cost of the war from Iraqi oil, but who are you going to give the oil to? Big american companies? Set up government run gas stations in the U.S. Sell it on the world market and hope there isn't a boycott? Sell it at a steep discount and hope there are some profits? It gets complicated. I hope you have the solution.
4.We can send them a bill, but do you think they will pay up. What are we going to do about it? Maybe we can tow Germany away like a reposessed car?
5. That is a fairly good idea, but we will need to hire thousands more judges, and build a bunch of courtrooms to clear up the backlog of trials and appeals. That's the problem now. Nobody wants to spend the money it takes.
6.There is too much money to be made in the drug and prostitution business. Can you imagine attractive, disease free women as legal prostitutes? The young men of this country wold never be able to find a girl to marry. A tremendous amount of drug and prostitution money goes back into the hands of politicians, law enforcement officials, and even back into the neighborhoods of our cities. The sudden economic loss would cause chaos.
7. Again, not a bad idea, but do you realize how much it costs to live in DC? A Congressman or Senator, who is worth anything, needs to keep a home in DC and also in his home state. If he just moves to DC, then he no longer serves his voters and shouldn't be trusted.
8. Limit congressional staff to 5? You don't have a clue how much work is involved. 5 people isn't enough to read all the legislation that passes a Congressman's desk. That's one of our problems now. They don't read all the nonsense they pass on as laws to the American people. Ad to that the need for local offices to serve the needs of the people back home.
9. Tax companies? You seem to forget that corporations don't pay taxes, they collect them for the government. Don't think so? Ask yourself where their money comes from. Corporations will do what it takes to make money. We will end up paying.

All of your suggestions are good ones as far as ideas go. But as usual when our government solves a problem, it usually creates two more in the process. Greater minds than yours or mine are working on all the suggestions you have made. One day I hope we will be able to find the solutions.

Answer 8

I don't think so, Bill Clinton had a plan and had the country moving forward in just 8 years, it didn't take long for supply side economic policy of the present administration to change all that and go back to a negative spending budget while all along enriching themselves. I like the pay cut idea, take the money out of public service jobs and you create true public servants.

Answer 9

you forgot: reform the social security program, you should get out only what you pay in, also did you read that they just reduced the fine again (by about half) for the Exon Valdez disaster and it didn't even make network news, I guess it's good to have politicians in your pocket, I like the idea of actually killing death row inmates and ending the war on drugs, is there anyone in America who wants drugs and can't find them, they should just give up

Answer 10

Points 3 & 11 r so stupid & not logic or fair!!!
Invading & destroying other countries is a big mistake & a crime against humanity,how do u expect ppl who had their countries destroyed by U to pay for u for destroying their country and kiling their ppl???!!!Thats sooo cruel.

and for SA,nobody can invade SA cause it have the Most Holy places for Muslims in the world ,unless u wana start a ww3.
and Osama being from Saudi does not mean that u have the right to invade it,if u go by this logic then u'll have to start with israel,cause they was the first to carry terrorists attacks against usa in egypt in the 1950s when they bombed us offices in Egypt and in 1967 when they attacked a us warship and killed even all the survivers in the liferafts!!!
So,can u invade israel???