How to eleminate our deficit without having to raise any taxes?

Question

I believe I have to best and quickest solution. Utilize the Constitution to identify EVERY Goverment program, agency or department not specifically authorized by the Constitution. If any of those eleminated programs are an actual necessity then we create them property via a vote of the people and a constitutional ammendment.

What do you think about this idea.

Answer 1

i say put major cuts into bullcrap thats giving my money to some crackpot on the street without a job or people who didnt go to college and is paying for it

Answer 2

your math is off. The problem with eliminating the deficit is that the single largest spender by far is Military. Welfare and other social programs are insignificant compared to war spending.  

An arguement may be made for medicare, as the costs are going up. But there is a question of basic humanity and morality involved.  Social Security is not part of the general fund and cannot be used to balance the budget as voters won't tolerate any cuts in the program (nor should they).

Three main factors are creating a huge deficit.

1. A war that costs $1B/week.

2. Huge tax breaks for the top 3% of the wealth in the country. The arguement is made that this group already pays 75% of taxes, but considering they hold 98% of the nation's wealth, this arguement won't hold water.

3. Erroding of the tax base via errosion of payscale for citizens, aka offshoring.  Interesting thing about offshoring, did you know the Bush administration subsidizes offshoring by giving tax breaks to companies that move jobs offshore?

Answer 3

All we have to do is charge everbody a 10% flat tax...no deductions. Eliminate ALL subsidies to big corporations. Get all of the welfare people to do community service(I grew up on welfare...so...don't even go there). Take away the salaries and perks of all of our elected officials. Tagger

Answer 4

nice theory exactly what the government needs.. won't happen.

which congressman is going to go back to his home district and say we balanced the budget.. but MY district lost X number of jobs...

everyone wants to balance the budget right up to the point where it costs their friend/family member a job!

Answer 5

Good idea. However, I support the current "POLICE ACTION" in Iraq. (The war is long since over. It officially ended years ago. and we already won the war.)

However, when the govt. brings home the troops from Iraq, that will give us Billions of dollars to spend some other way. Why not use it to pay off the debt.

Then  use Clinton's idea of having a balanced budget amendment.

Also, we can stop sending so much money to other nations who never do any thing for us and don't ever pay us back. Maybe even make them other countries do some thing for us in return and give our money back.

We need to spend all that money on our own country first, before we worry so much about some one else who doesn't really care about us!

Answer 6

The special commitee to determine the constitutionality of federal programs woul spend billions of dollars before it finally concluded that the commitee itself was unconstitutional to begin with and it would eliminate itself.  There would be no effect on the deficit at all

Answer 7

The biggest problem as I see it with government spending is that "one mans trash is another mans treasure" What I might think of as useless and wasteful spending may be quite crucial for another.

I also posit that so few of us actually realize what the government actually does pay for and how it impacts our daily lives. No offence to those who rant against welfare etc, but I would argue that they are overall ignorant to government programs and apending.

I have always favored a non-binding plebacite attached to our taxes.  simply put The government would be required to publish a list of spending which we would be asked to identify what programs we support. With technology today, it could even be customized by congressional district) The reasoning for this would be two fold. First and foremost, it would more clearly inform us the taxpayers as to actually where our money is going, Second it would allow our elected representative to get a bellweather on the opinions of the taxpayers.

Answer 8

I totally agree.

Answer 9

Nicely done.

Answer 10

The best ways to reduce the deficit is as shown ove and over to LOWER TAXES adn encourage Business to grown and thereby provide jobs thereby providing more tax revenue.

NOT raising the budget (called cutting) for expenditures and holding legislators accountable for spending is an important part.

Answer 11

Exactly. I believe it's called strict constructionism, which the Libertarians support. A strict interpretation of the Constitution. It says to have 3 branches, designates their responsibilities & powers, then gives everything else to the states.Most of the amendments deal with clarification of rights. I don't see anything in there about Welfare, sugar subsidies or Fannie & Freddie.

Answer 12

Stop paying farmers not to farm. Stop subsidizing social institutions such as marriage and corporations. Stop giving away tax credit money for having children.

Answer 13

Well, Ron Paul went on about this for months and no one listened. Except for the amending the ones we want that are no already in there part.

Ron Paul 2008

Answer 14

Legalize Marijuana

Answer 15

It amazes me how many answers see programs the government does as good. They do nothing well. I can tell you from experience. The founding fathers knew the corruption & ineptitude that would occur in a democratic government & strove to limits its powers, clearly defining what it was to do. Fight wars, defend the borders, make treaties. The farmer/sugar/business subsidies would make George, John, Ben & the rest achieve Mach 3 in their spinning. The best thing for this country to do would be to stick to the constitution & get rid of all the "interpretations" that spawn these useless, expensive & really unconstitutional programs.

Answer 16

That's the most clear, concise idea I've heard.

I agree totally.

Answer 17

I like your idea! But to be honest the chances of cutting a program would be slim. I feel a strict monitoring of who is getting the assistance and mabie setting rules and LIMITS... one more time.....SET LIMITS on how much is being given to one household, who is in the household, making sure each individual over the age of 18 has some sort of income. If these set guidelines can not be met, than all assistance is pulled. People need to understand the :help me help you" idea. Instead of sitting at home collecting.

Answer 18

Cut welfare, unemployment assistance, and food stamps.  Stop rewarding people for being poor and/or lazy and/or unemployed.  There is ALWAYS a fast food restauraunt or grocery store hiring.  

We need to stop handing out help to everyone who is crying for it.  Make people get a backbone like the people who founded this county.  I highly doubt settlers expected welfare and unemployment from the government to survive.  They were just happy to have freedom.

Answer 19

I disagree, I think our government needs to stop paying foreigners to build stuff for us and pay American's to do the work.  Outsourcing is little better than hiring an illegal alien in my opinion.  Our system is messed up, a person that's worked hard their whole life just to get by gets cancer and cannot work but can't get disability for 2 years, but a lazy family just has to get pregnant again and they do.