A radical idea... pay off the National Debt

[iiibbb]

Should there be a tax administered like FICA to pay down the national debt over the next 20-30 years? The money would go strait to the principle... congress wouldn't be able to siphon it off.

It would have to accompany a balanced budget amendment.

[phantom power]

1. That is a pretty interesting idea.

I'm going to stick my neck out and guess that it might be difficult to truly enforce the "straight to principle" mandate, but maybe not. Simple in principle, but you have to trust the account oversight.

[stray cat]

2. First we have to get the number going in the right direction since we are still increasing it

[aquart]

3. "Strait" is right.

[lapfog_1]

4. The math is really ugly.

we are running $400B+ deficits every year, plus "off budget" items (like the entire Iraq war), plus there are a number of unfunded mandates coming up.

Our current national debt is around $10T (not including those mandates like Social Security for the baby boomers).

To get to a balanced budget we need an additional $400B in new revenue, that's like a $1000 per year for each person (actually $1333). Per taxpayer, it's more like $4000 a year. Now, for a 30 year payoff of the debt, add another $3,333 per taxpayer, plus another $2500 or so for the unfunded mandates and off budget expenses...

Figure about $9,000 per year per taxpayer for 30 years.

And, of course, it won't be per taxpayer, but on a sliding scale to target the middle class, upper middle, and upper class. For someone that makes, say, $100,000 a year, instead of paying 36 percent for income tax, this would add at least 50 % more tax or make it 54 to 55 percent. All the other brackets would have to adjust as well. Not to mention capital gains, etc.

It's what is needed, but I don't think we have the political where with all to force it through.

[galileoreloaded]

6. Thats what I was going to say...

monetization and hyperinflation are much easier, quicker, and ensure a 90%/10% have not/have ratio. This is much more likely the scenario in which this will be handled, proof of which is the ungodly amounts the government has been injecting to manage deflation with the oops factor of, sorry, we forgot to pull cash out, your really poor now.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

10. how about we cut the spending...

i mean, when my family runs low on cash, we CUT BACK...but not the gov't...they just keep on blowing up the bucks...

sP

[lapfog_1]

11. Sure, cut what?

You remove ALL "discretionary" spending which is not DOD related (i.e. not Medicare, not Social Security, not DOD, not interest, and not mandated) and you have about 18% or the budget. That's everything... like the FBI, NASA, DOE, Education, HHS, Homeland Security and FEMA, DOJ, etc, etc, etc. Zero it and we are still running a deficit, and we still haven't addressed the "off budget" spending like the $100 B a year for Iraq.

[RC]

15. Don't forget to rein in the Pentagon. They are the biggest budget waster in the world.

[lapfog_1]

16. Unfortunately, unlike the Clinton years,

we can't really claim a peace dividend this time. The military has been hammered by overuse in the last 6 or 7 years. They actually need more money to restore basic equipment. Now, it's true that we could probably cut a number of "gold plated" programs, like the missile defense shield (star wars)... and use that money to rebuild the basic military... we could also cut all of the contracts that we have outsourced to private contractors like the chow service and the base building (bonus, we will quit electrocuting our soldiers as well). Give those jobs back to the G.I. (they need something to do when we wind down the wars). But I don't foresee any big cuts from the military... not to mention that we now have a new generation of 40,000 or 50,000 vets that will need continued care for years.... which will only add to the budget woes.

[RC]

20. How about we use our military as it was originally designed...

For the common defense of this country and not the world police force with several hundred military bases all over the world.
Also just think of how much money we could save if we would quit meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.
And maybe negotiate with other countries instead of toppling their governments so that years later they become our hot enemies. Amazing how that works.

[gravity]

5. I could be wrong, but I thought a balanced budget will do that

[rucky]

7. I thought the budget just covers the interest.

but doesn't pay it down.

[lapfog_1]

12. And interest is taking more and more of our annual budget.

9 % of all federal expenditures right now.

[galileoreloaded]

9. Balanced budget only handles current year..

debt keeps growing. Paying interest only on the loans. Clinton is falsely held up as a president who "started paying down the debt". Untrue. National debt has been a 70 degree angle up since Reagan, Clinton had some current year surpluses, but the debt never really got paid down, just abated slightly. Nothing against Clinton, just facts.

[anigbrowl]

8. It's a cool concept, but first...

we need to start making money again, ie get past the recession and into positive economic growth, which will take a year or two.

[Initech]

13. Get one of those debt consolidation companies that advertises on late night Comedy Central to do it.

[TahitiNut]

14. A 1% tax on all equities transactions would bring about $500 billion per year ...

... and pay off the public debt in 20 years. I say do it.

[JackRiddler]

17. No. Fucking. Way.

After this junta produced trillion dollar deficits with a 1001 giveaways to the rich, fear campaigns and genocidal wars, even while allowing the casino to run wild and giving assurances that the inevitable losses would be paid off with house money from the taxpayers, you want to hit the people with a FICA-type tax (FICA's on everyone's payroll) to cover for these crimes?

Expropriate the financial sector and reboot a democratic economy of the stakeholders.

[Chemical Bill]

18. No, abolish the Federal Reserve.

The government should issue money, instead of borrowing it from private bankers. The national debt is just an income redistribution scheme, taking money from middle class taxpayers and giving it to ultra rich bankers.

Bill

[Kansas Wyatt]

19. As long as only the Wealthy Elite pay it.

After all, those greedy bastards are the ones who have been benefiting from federal deficits for years now. They are quite proud of all the gains they have made... Well it's time for them to pony-up for a change.