12/14/11
The $8 Trillion
‘’Kitchen-Table’’ Budget Cut
I saved $8 Trillion dollars this morning. Yes – that’s a ‘’T” as in ‘’Trillion’’. It took me
less than one hour to make the
hard decisions to cut the Federal Budget deficit over the next ten years by nearly eight times greater
than what our Congressional ‘’Super
Committee’’ was challenged with, and has
abysmally failed to do, over many months
(nay, many years). You too can save this
kind of taxpayer money by taking the Pew Trust Budget Challenge at http://www.pewtrusts.org/.
If you are a voting US citizen - and you care
about the country you leave your children - you are remiss in not spending an
hour or two delving deeper into where and how our government spends our taxpayer money.
I
consider myself a liberal. I have been, and still am, an Obama supporter. After taking the Pew Trust Budget Challenge, no
matter your liberal leanings, you might just feel like joining the Tea Party or
perhaps backing Ron Paul. Our government has gotten too big, and our economy
overly leveraged.
Congress must truly believe
that the voting US population are woefully stupid and ignorant, and perhaps we
are. It takes real effort to be factually educated in today’s biased media
circus. With a single-digit approval rating, Congress is actually dependent on the voting population maintaining our
collective ignorance. Both parties would
make you believe that achieving a $1.2T budget cut over ten years is
impossible. If our congressman had the
same sense of purpose and achievement as our great industrialists, this would
be done by now.
Let me walk thru how I cut $8T out of the federal budget over the
next ten years. But first, let me tell you what I believe in:
· * I
believe in providing security for the aged, and the less fortunate in our
society. I grew up with a brother with Down’s Syndrome and watched a mother slowly decay with Dementia. They could not, and
many others simply cannot, pull
themselves up by their bootstraps.
· * I
believe strongly in the rugged individualism
and self-determinism that built this great country, but I also believe that in a future of increasingly strained resources, we must balance this with a much stronger sense of community (not
communism, community). Public
transportation just makes sense. It
improves quality of life for all. More income equality is good for society.
· * I
believe in protecting our environment.
Our most basic right is clean air and clean water, and I believe the
federal government has a responsibility to ensure our way of life is sustainable,
and our environment is protected for future generations.
· *
I believe in government advancing progressive
policies to achieve the above. However, backing
a specific technology and company like Solyndra was ill-advised and a waste of
taxpayer money. Establishing a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard or a
Cap-and-Trade system to foster renewable energy development and weaning the US from
fossil fuels is smart government. It bolsters our energy independence, disarms
our terrorist enemies, reduces reliance on the most instable region of the
world, slows global warming, and fosters a sustainable environment.
I
* I believe in a strong defence and strong military, but not a bloated military-industrial
complex pushing their wares draped in an Amercian flag. A strong America that promotes democracy, the
rights of individuals, and a pluralistic, secular society still remains the
brightest beacon in this world. Our ''allies'' should all pass a litmus test. Democratic, Pluralistic, Secular, with Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press and subscribe to a basic Bill of Rights.
·
* But most
of all, I believe in handing off a better world to my children. A crippled and over-leveraged American economy will further weaken America, our American ideals and our future way of life. We are currently getting a
short-term reprieve with low borrowing costs because we are the ‘’tallest
midget’’ due to the Euro crisis. This will not last. The current deficit/debt
crisis is hawking the future for our children.
It has to stop. We would not think twice about jumping in front of a
train to save our child, but we seem unable to make even the simplest sacrifice
to preserve their future.
You may fundamentally disagree on many of the items that I chose
below , but keep in mind I cleared the bar by 8X the challenge put to the Super Committee, and nothing I
chose would I consider Draconian in measure.
Even if you do half of the below,
that is 4X the failed goal of
the Super Committee. Here are the budget
items I cut. Most are not eliminations of programs, but modest cuts or freezes. The savings are calculated
by the Pew Charitable Trust.
MANDATORY SPENDING OPTIONS
Mandatory National Defense M1:
Introduce Minimum Out of Pocket Requirements Under TRICARE For Life:
-$43.0 billion
Mandatory Energy M2: Transfer
the Tennessee Valley Authority's Electric Utility Functions and Associated
Assets and Liabilities
-$3.6 billion
Mandatory Agriculture M6:
Reduce the Premium Subsidy in the Crop Insurance Program
-$11.8 billion
Mandatory Agriculture M7:
Reduce by 20 Percentage Points the Share of a Farmer's Base Acreage Eligible
for USDA Payments
-$9.6 billion
Mandatory Commerce & Housing
M8:
Lower the Loan Limits on Mortgages Guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
-$3.5 billion
Mandatory Commerce & Housing
M9:
Increase Guarantee Fees Charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
-$26.5 billion
Mandatory Health M13:
Limit Medical Malpractice Torts
-$64.0 billion
Mandatory Health M14:
Adopt a Voucher System and Slow the Growth of Federal Contributions for the
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program
-$73.2 billion
Mandatory M15a: Index the grant to
changes in the ECI
-$287.5 billion
Mandatory Health M16:
Reduce the Floor on Federal Matching Rates for Medicaid Services
-$182.0 billion
Mandatory Medicare M18:
Raise the Age of Eligibility for Medicare to 67
-$124.8 billion
Mandatory Medicare M20:
Require a Copayment for Home Health Episodes Covered by Medicare
-$40.2 billion
Mandatory
Medicare M22: Increase the Basic Premium
for Medicare Part B to 35
Percent of the Program's Costs
-$241.2 billion
Mandatory
Medicare M23: Reduce Medicare's Payment
Rates Across the Board in High Spending Areas
-$46.7 billion
Mandatory Income Security M26:
Base Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal
Civilian
and Military Pensions and Veterans' Benefits on an Alternative Measure of
Inflation
-$24.0 billion
Mandatory Social Security M27:
Base Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustments on an Alternative Measure of
Inflation
-$112.0 billion
Mandatory Social Security M29:
Raise the Eligibility Age for Social Security
-$143.9 billion
Mandatory
Social Security M30:
Raise the Full Retirement Age in Social Security
-$119.9 billion
DISCRETIONARY SPENDING OPTIONS:
CATEGORY NAME
Discretionary D1b:
Freeze funding at 2011 level
-$610.7 billion
Discretionary D14c:
Reduce funding by 1 percent annually
-$931.8 billion
Discretionary Transportation D20:
Limit Highway Funding to Expected Highway Revenues
-$85.6 billion
Discretionary Transportation D22:
Increase Fees for Aviation Security
-$20.8 billion
Discretionary D33b:
Reduce 2012 Funding Level and Allow Growth at Rate of Inflation
-$37.8 billion
Discretionary Multiple Functions
D37:
Reduce the Across-the-Board Adjustment for Federal Civilian Employees' Pay
-$50.3 billion
REVENUE
OPTIONS:
Revenue R1e: Raise the top two
ordinary tax rates by 1 percentage point
-$115.0 billion
Individual Income Tax R4:
Gradually Eliminate the Mortgage Interest Deduction
-$214.6 billion
Individual Income Tax R7:
Limit the Tax Benefit of Itemized Deductions to 15 Percent
-$1.2 trillion
Revenue
R14b: Eliminate the child tax
credit
-$116.8 billion
Disagree w/ my choices. But go ahead. Take the challenge - http://www.pewtrusts.org/.
Just don’t let Congress fool you that $1.2T (and a hell of a
lot more), cannot be achieved.
joe.mcgrath65@gmail.com