I was thinking, as I typically do, about the dire situation of America and exactly what measures could be taken to fix it.
To me it’s very simple;
Eliminate corporate taxes
Streamline regulation
Have a constitutional amendment that would limit fed, state and local spending and tax collection to a cumulative 15% GDP
and a bunch of other things, but in short unleashing the private sector, the animal spirits and the productive capacity of human nature to grow us out of this recession and dwarf our debt woes.
If by “streamline” you mean take a chain saw, a blow torch and a heavy infantry assault vehicle to the gazillions of over lapping & conflicting rules & regulations and all the snivel servants who apply them, then I think your list is a great start.
Cutting the taxes and fees collected at all levels of government by two thirds would be a good place to start the process. Then just let the sonsab1tches fight it out over the crumbs.
B-52 strike on government ain’t enough. No half measures, no rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Nuke ’em from orbit.
Its the only way to be sure.
I have 4 extra tickets for the Robbie Knievel (son of Evil Knievel) event at the Ford Center next weekend in Beaumont, Texas, if anybody wants them. They are available on a first come first serve basis
Robbie is going to attempt to jump over 10,000 Obama supporters with a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer. It should be a good time
the team over at Blackwater just can’t keep out of the news.
or out of the pockets of TAXPAYERS. this is what you get when you privatize gov’t services.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/world/middleeast/04blackwater.html?_r=1
well, if your a working stiff in this country, you know you are taxed to the max.
try and buy something used….taxed again
half the wastefull programs should be scrapped.
one is the long gun registry, it has done nothing but waste tax dollars for years.
The only dam thing it has saved is snivel servants jobs and coyotes.
scrap the damn thing and fire the snivels…let’em get a real job….one that doesn’t live off my tax dollars.
if jack and iggy ever in their lives had had a real job…one that pays taxes they would know this.
you know beagle, over the last two short years we’ve been treated to the spectacle of the American government destroying the economy of their own country. Systematically wrecking what it took two hundred some years to build. Whether by abject incompetence or by evil design, it really doesn’t make much difference to the outcome.
Call me crazy, I just don’t think politicians should have the power to do that kind of thing.
BTW the NY Slimes is not a credible news source. Blackwater could be holy nuns on a mission of mercy and the Slimes would still paint them as baby killers. Its called media bias. They got it bad.
I mentioned on a CBC thread that the people that want more spending provide a list to their pols. what programs to cut to find the money. Cool reception…real cool.
Same thing here in Alberta for regulations screwing productivity. Private sewage permits for disposal/farm and rural septic systems now have a list of bs ten pages long because some clown from Karachi or somewhere where the sewage flows raw saw fit to open another can of clowms to suck up dollars to inspect and waste millions telling us dolts that have been doing the same thing forever how now to do it. Poly/ means many/ tics, well you guessed it.
First I will address the topic.
Governments are out of control and no longer represent the people. They buy our votes and then do what they want and most of them are too stupid to be leaders of a civilized nation.
The people have come to expect the dole and the hand outs and the molly coddling when they misbehave so that won’t change easily.
It will eventually take a complete revolution and a rewrite of the rules before we can recover from this quagmire that we are now in.
Another topic … and it may be an indicator of why the younger generations are not up to the task.
I know I am getting pretty old and a lot has changed in the past few decades, but I like to keep up with the lingo so I can have some clue about what younger people are saying. So…
Speedy said “cool reception…real cool”.
I looked it up and here’s what I found ..
–noun
1. the act of receiving or the state of being received.
2. a manner of being received: The book met with a favorable reception.
3. a function or occasion when persons are formally received: a wedding reception.
4. the quality or fidelity attained in receiving radio or television broadcasts under given circumstances.
I still don’t know what speedy said. I don have some theories though.
Oh wait I just got it. … Speedy was treated in a not so warm fashion at the CBC thingy … sorry. I am getting old.
Sorry Speedy. I just woke up. I really should have a couple of drinks before I comment on anything.
AFro:
the revolution you describe will NOT happen in the developed world (where it is most needed according to the right) because by the time conditions are so bad, the technology to monitor our every move, word and expenditure will be firmly in place. the powers-that-be will simply lock up the ‘ringleaders’.
ALL governments are jumping on THAT bandwagon to protect ‘national security’.
bygeorge: “half the wastefull programs should be scrapped”
Why stop at half and why stop at programs? Half of the federal and provincial ministries could be scrapped and no one would notice.
“Something to consider that even if we do the right things and implement the right policies, the society itself has become so degraded and decayed, it wouldn’t matter. ”
The writer has a valid point. We may have a few more years where the economy and the Country could be saved by capitalism and entrepreneurs, but after one more generation of the “entitled”,there won’t be any free thinkers left.
View the current U.S. as the mirror image Soviet Union in the ’80’s, struggling economy,mass unemployment,in search a new system to turn the Country around.
But whereas the Soviets took a few tentative steps in the right direction,the U.S. has jumped on a slide in the wrong direction and looks to government to solve all it’s problems.
That’s like asking the Hell’s Angels to clean up the drug trade.
Let’s understand that the capt’s solution will never be implemented prior to 2012 at the earliest.
What can be pushed for and has been are two tax cuts:
Payroll taxes and capital gains.
Gingrich is proposing (and has been since the crisis began) eliminating both on a temporary basis until the economy turned around and regained the jobs and GDP that were lost. Newt knows darn well that it would be very difficult for the dems and rinos to reimplement them just as they now having difficulty getting rid if the bush tax cuts.
Several prominent dem policy guys have recommended reducing both of these tax cuts as opposed to outright eliminating them and there is talk that they could be part of the Obama admins October surprise package to try and save the dems in the upcoming November midterms.
So it is possible.
What is also at least remotely possible on a state by state basis is bringing in what other states – the ones that have prospered the most in the last thirty years – the ones that have seen their manufacturing actors grow have had for sometime now. Something that may be even more decisive than lower taxes.
RIGHT TO WORK legislation
Michigan and Ohio and PA would likely undergo a huge Renaissance – not to mention companies like GM and Chrysler and Ford.
Gord, I’ve always been confused by the “right to work” thing. They have it in Arizona, but I’ve never had it explained properly. Does it have something to do with having a right to work at Company X even if you’re not in the union?
Kathryn a 10:53 AM
Wrong Kathryn, it would be noticed. As 53% here in ontario work dirrectly or indirectly for the “man”, so the unemployment/welfare lines would become huge, and stay that way because most gov’t trough feeders don’t know how to work
Kate’s Topic
Glad to see the thread is getting back on it:
“Something to consider that even if we do the right things and implement the right policies, the society itself has become so degraded and decayed, it wouldn’t matter. ” Captain Cap
What’s wrong with abandoning the entire Government of the United States and Washington DC and setting up shop elsewhere?
A little competition is a good thing.
Tort reform and selling health insurance across state lines.
Yeah GYM
When the Harris government contracted out maintainence of the 400 series…..the contractors had to hire the former DHO guys first…they did but they didn’t stay….they migrated to the county road crews which had taken over the balance of the provincial highways.
today’s quote:
“When you see that in order to produce,
you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing –
When you see that money is flowing to those who deal,
not in goods, but in favors –
When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work,
and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you –
When you see corruption being rewarded
and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice –
You may know that your society is doomed”
Ayn Rand
The only thing that might help the Economy & Democrats is if they dump Pelosi before the end of September…..
The lost Confidence will be found “only” if the Progressive Democrats are defeated..
Obama will not have a legitimate mandate to exercise a progressive veto
JMHO
To show you what we’re up against, let me contrast all the bright, common sense things you’ve all been saying with an interview I heard on a podcast this morning. It featured John Batchelor talking with Newsweek columnist, Jonathan Alter. In case you’re not familiar with Alter, he’s the author of The Promise, an “analysis” of Obama’s tenure in 2009.
To say that Alter is a Rah-Rah-Rah cheerleader for Leftist policies would be the understatement of the decade! Though not officially on the Journolist mailing list, he is clearly the Poster Boy for Radical Left Journalists who threw professionalism and some semblance of neutrality out the window long ago.
If you want a Canadian comparison, think of every single person you know at CBC except for Rex Murphy & Don Cherry!!!
To show you what we’re up against, let me contrast all the bright, common sense things you’ve all been saying with an interview I heard on a podcast this morning. It featured John Batchelor talking with Newsweek columnist, Jonathan Alter. In case you’re not familiar with Alter, he’s the author The Promise: http://www.amazon.com/Promise-President-Obama-Year-One/product-reviews/1439101191/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar
It’s an “analysis” of Obama’s tenure in 2009.
To say that Alter is a Rah-Rah-Rah cheerleader for Leftist policies would be the understatement of the decade! Though not officially on the Journolist mailing list, he is clearly the Poster Boy for Radical Left Journalists who threw professionalism and some semblance of neutrality out the window long ago.
If you want a Canadian comparison, think of every single person you know at CBC except for Rex Murphy & Don Cherry!!!
[quote] Does it have something to do with having a right to work at Company X even if you’re not in the union?[/quote] Phantom
The definition may be different in each State, but it basically removes NON-UNION membership as a bar to employment in a union shop. The Employee must pay the same dues, for he benefits by the Contract, but he does not need to join the UNION..
Put another Way:
The Union does not have jurisdiction to insist that an employee must become a member and pay Initiation fees that may run 2-5 K
Not a small issue if OT is the reason for the high fees; discourage new hires
A great bit on Beck a while back with Art Laffer – he of the Laffer curve.
He makes a great illustration of the Laffer curve in this video segment, and near the end says that if the US implemented a flat tax of 11% on income, and the same 11% on business profits, that you would eliminate all other taxes and collect the same amount of money.
Now that would unleash the beast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN8iC5iBqXQ
Methinks the Captain is being quite negative. I’m 28 and I’ve owned my own business since 21. Never taken a penny of any sort of social assistance. I find *not* having any sort of social safety net is liberating.
Back in November of 2008 my contract was cancelled. Contracts in my industry only need 30 day notice(usually, depends on how the contract is written). No safety net, no EI(haven’t paid into that in years).
So what did I do? Went out and found a contract that not only pays better than the last one, but it’s the most money I’ve ever made. All during a recession.
Back when he was first elected, and leaning to the right, Premier Campbell here in BC eliminated 80,000 government regulations on business – leaving “only” a quarter of a million. That was a start, too bad he then swung to the left and has frittered away his majority to the point he would be out on his ear if an election was held today. His first actions do show that there are a lot of people who approve of reducing government intervention.
As a fellow entrepreneur with no guaranteed employment, let me be the first on here to offer you heartfelt congratulations, Allan!!!
Eliminate corporate taxes
Captain have you really thought this out?
Consider the effects of eliminating corp. taxes:
1.) Eliminating the Corporate income tax would hugely boost the returns on private pensions, and public sector pensions. With higher returns,it would be easier to find a solution to these unfunded public pension obligations. It would also help with that unfunded pension known as social security; people would be less reliant on their SS checks, if suddently their 401k’s dividends, (and underlying stock values ) increased by the approximately 60% they would increase if corporate income taxes went to 0. 2.) Eliminating the corp. tax would cause an enormous increase in investment in the US to build new facilities, and start up entirely new businesses. This would cause an increase in demand for labor, pushing laborer’s wages up, without govenrnmetn having to do anything. A multitude of low-income support programs, would suddently be threatened with extinction, if we really started to see growth like their was in the 1980’s, and people became too well off to qualify for benefits.
Cutting the corporate income taxes would likely then result in far less reliance on government. When has any Democrat ( or Republican in the last 20 years or so, for that matter ) done anything other than try to get people hooked on some form of government income support?
I hope you reconsider your position on this. A lot of Congressman’s brilliant careers; their ” public service “, might come to a premature end, if it were ever implemented. Government really is all about THEM, you know.
Banking and monetary reforms – nothing less will stabilize the economy in the long term.
Clean up the insider market cartels that make investing a rigged game,
The government has to realise that enormous restrictions not only hurt small businesses and the economy in general but essentially say that the business owner’s will to succeed and training do not matter. Why study and work hard when the government will ultimately squash your dream of owning your own business?
Unfairness, indeed.
Yes, today’s and future generations do have the same drive that inspired entrepreneurs of generations past. They would be just as successful if regs and taxes were reduced. The explosion of black market in socialist/communist countries proves that this spirit never disappears entirely. Only the groups at the extremes, who benefit the most from the current system, would have difficulty. In particular, those at the top of the heap of entrenched interests, union executives and crony capitalists, know that their survival depends on preventing competition.
Once it was pointed out on SDA that “Dubya” is the only U.S. President with a M.B.A. I checked the background of the rest. A few Generals and a couple of Political Science Phd’s, but by far the balance are Lawyers. Generals; PHD’s; and Lawyers, giving some room for the generals who were not politco’s, the vast majority were all trained to misrepresent the truth, except for “Dubya”. No wonder the chattering political/media complex went after the decisive action trained President. People might expect more of the same. Cheers;
This is why there are no jobs in America . Sound familiar ?
Also – and this is *very* important – we need to outlaw unions for government employess at all levels. If tax dollars are funding it, unions should be barred. The converse should also prevail – if a private company/department is unionized then no tax dollars (tax breaks, grants, gov’t back loans, etc.) should be allowed to fund the company/department in question.
Finally, closed union shops need to be outlawed completely – they are counter to freedom of association.
Flat taxes raising more money.
True, but the politicians prefer the current Byzantine tax system as it’s a systems of rewards and punishments and a full-employment programme for accountants and lawyers. And as Rothbard argues, the key is not the type of tax but the the level of taxation as a perentage of GDP. Merely changing the method of taxation could just be a smokescreen.
Right to work: Mises argued that in a truly unhampered market there would be no voluntary unemployment. End minimum wages and end all talk about “fair” wages.
Lots of good suggestions above but all for nought without root&branch monetary reform, i.e., the abolition of the Fed/bank cartel (legalized counterfeiting operation) and a return to a gold standard or similar hard money basis.
Unless and until we have a separation of money and state, the state will expand infinitely like the universe.
Kill the Aristocracy. End pork-pimping political dynasties. Term Limits: NO, not two, ONE. To the rebuttal, “heh, you can’t get anything done in one term” I’d reply, “I rest my case”.
An end to all public sector unions. A unionized government monopoly is a monstrosity; set pay by state boards and always at least 5% below the private sector.
Cynical question: of the 300,000+ assembled at Beck’s wonderful Restoring Honour revival, how many, do you suppose, would be OK with a slashing of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Seniors Drugs Programme.
Shut all off shore military bases. Let regional conflicts play out. Stop being world cop.
Study what Harding did during the 1921 Depression: he cut government spending in half and the depression was over in little over a year.
I would go for a 3 for 1 judicial approach, the US 9th Circuit is a stinking Turd that has damaged the US beyond common reason & decency…The rule of Law must be stable to realize any economic advantage
1. Create the new 12 circuit, and task them to first deal with all the Illegal Alien deportation cases pending a hearing (deliberately backed up in the 9th), they then could also sort out the Environmental cases. Eventually the 9th Circuit would only deal with California
2. Immigration lawyers must have skin in the game. I don’t know why we consider them Lawyers as they simply sell access to America. They act & sound like members of a Social Engineering racketeering Scheme…
2. Tort Reform…I would favor the Canadian/British legal balance of “loser” pays to discourage frivolous lawsuits…
WE have so many laws, too many, that determine the economic interconnect that a very serious analysis must be undertaken. (Look what happened to Obama Care). It’s not a quick fix, but increasing taxes would be a disaster…
JMHO
Re: flat taxes raising more money. That’s the Laffer Curve thing, which seems to work.
But we don’t want to do that here. What we need to do is -starve- the government. Give them less money so they have less ability to meddle. I’m talking entire ministries being cut here, due to lack of funding.
Its the only practical way I can see of doing it. Anything else, you’re hiring Al Capone to guard the mint.
Phantom and philip:
RTW via wiki:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law?wasRedirected=true
Taft-Hartley act of 1947
Almost all of the 22 states that have it have done very well economically over the decades.
“A unionized government monopoly is a monstrosity;”
AGREED!
Public employee unions are a conflict of interest. There is no mechanism to bargain in good faith. What is the true value of government service? I certainly don’t know but I bet we are over paying.
Are governments keeping us poorer that we should be? You bet!
They use dependency as a means to control.
The system’s broke and nobody with the power to fix it wants to because the status quo is what keeps them in power. The fundamental problem is the culture of entitlement and vote-buying welfare payments. If a citizen slacker can get more money from the ‘system’ than they could doing the jobs illegals will do for less, then why should they get a ‘job’ when they get paid not to work and ‘get-by just fine’ in the cash based gray and black-market economies. The govt knows that welfare money goes right into the economy from the landlord to the gas pump to the corner store for booze, smokes, lotto tickets…. it doesn’t get placed in savings plans or investments.
As long as the entitlement payments keep the fat-assed slackers in the cities, then the low-paying zero-benefit jobs in industrial agriculture and food processing will continue to go to illegal immigrants who are willing to risk their lives for a much better life than they had ‘back home’. North America’s poorest welfare citizens live better than 95% of the rest of the world.
If all the illegals are rounded up and deported and the border patrolled well enough to keep most from sneaking across, then it would cost much more to legally employ citizen workers with govt mandated benefits. The cost of everything we eat will rise significantly to pay for the added labor cost.
No politician in their right mind is going to make the hard choices and tough decisions to fix the system. They’d be out of a job at the next election and someone more crooked will get elected to fill their shoes.
Snivel servants work for us … we the people, not the politicians.
If we had a referrendum whether or not to allow public service to be unioinized what do you think the outcome would be.
I think the majority would vote down the public sector unions.
They don’t need to bargain, the government should have a pay scale that everyone agrees to when they are hired. The benefits can be no better than you might find in a private sector union.
Increases should be in line with private sector.
If this were the case, there would be a lot less fear and loathing between the public and private sectors.
The advantage of working for government is that it is a career opportunity that you can still retire from. There isn’t much of that left outside the government.
We do need a revolution.
A few weeks ago, I read a screed elsewhere which I will attempt to repeat (no doubt poorly) here:
“Hi! I want to be your business partner. I’m not going to come up with the idea, or do the market research, and I’m not going to provide the capital or effort to get it going – that’s all on you. But I’ll take 50% of what you eventually earn, I’ll tell you who you can hire, and what you have to pay them, and then I’ll charge you an extra 12% on top of that. Oh, and I’m gonna charge you some more for health care later, except I haven’t figured out how much yet. By the way, if you don’t pay it, you’re going to jail. I’m going to tell you how much CO2 you can emit but not right now, and if you pump out more than what I eventually decide, I’ll charge you whatever I feel it, and I’ll do it retroactively. Now, go start a company!!”
[quote]If all the illegals are rounded up and deported and the border patrolled well enough to keep most from sneaking across, then it would cost much more to legally employ citizen workers with govt mandated benefits. The cost of everything we eat will rise significantly to pay for the added labor cost.[/quote] John Galt
Not really John.. The need for Legal Hispanic labor would still exist, but the Nancy Pel**i Grape Grower types would need to account for those “temporary” workers & jobs (may need a Labor Board Certification). The simple fact is that the Nancy types now have a long-term arrangement with Illegal Aliens that DUMPS the workers onto the entitlement programs of taxpayers when Nancy’s harvest season is finished. They stay in the US..
The Cost to Nancy doesn’t change because the temp worker program would still only command a low rate of pay per Hr, therefore no significant increased cost of products… but the cost to Taxpayers is reduced exponentially because the Temp Workers would be required go home when the Work is Completed….
Streamline the tax system, especially the corporate tax. Kill all the loopholes and then impose a 2-3% flat tax on gross revenue (0% is an extreme form of this, and can be considered). Individual income taxes would likely retain the personal exemption, charitable donations and probably the kids.
Streamline the regulatory system. Laws regarding the environment and safety are not always wrong but they should be laws passed in a legislature, not mere regulations dreamed up by bureaucrats who are barely accountable to anyone.
Remove interference with the free market generally, including the minimum wage law.
Eliminate unnecessary government departments, which would include anything involving economic encouragement or twiddling, for starters. And eliminate unnecessary government positions in other departments.
Stop government funding of left-wing activist groups!
Once the economy is running smoothly again, we can start thinking seriously about how to abolish the welfare state.
Cynical question: of the 300,000+ assembled at Beck’s wonderful Restoring Honour revival, how many, do you suppose, would be OK with a slashing of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Seniors Drugs Programme.
Probably 299,999+. The small dead, teabaggin’,
angry right fringe, in it’s eternal egregious hypocrisy,
only wants to cut spending on groups and programs they don’t like.
For programs that benefit themselves and their friends, there’s no government
that is too big.
If it helps capitalism , the left will not like it.
Hell! if it makes sense the left will not go with it!
Ain’t it amazing that trolls like phil willingly demonstrate their complete inability to comprehend a simple English sentence, and then pretend they’re smarter than the rest of us?
My system would be simpler yet:
1. Corporations and personal income tax would be a flat tax of 10%. Income and/or sales tax included. To clarify, the tax you pay at the end of the year is 10% of your gross income. There are no deductions, tax credits or other baloney like that. Collect all your personal sales tax receipts during the year and you subtract that as “tax paid” from the 10% (Sales tax can be set at whatever level government wants then – people won’t care). Corporations could deduct the the taxes (capital gains, etc.) they pay from the 10% in the same manner. Pay the outstanding balance at the end of the year. Also, there would be no such thing as tax witholding.
2. There would be no need for RRSPs, and ATSVs would have no contribution limit.
3. Legislated limits on deficits and debt. Something like max. debt is 5% of GDP. Max. 2 year limit on deficit spending.
4. Direct democracy where all major changes to the law (i.e. all Supreme Court decisions) including the above tax code would require a referendum (I call this the Anti-McGuinty clause to prevent meely-mouthed politicians coming to power and dismantling things).
5. Over a period of 10 years all levels of government would convert over to post tax collection spending. Meaning they would not spend dollars before they are collected. This would be to further protect the taxpayers from deficit spending.
My system would be simpler yet:
1. Corporations and personal income tax would be a flat tax of 10%. Income and/or sales tax included. To clarify, the tax you pay at the end of the year is 10% of your gross income. There are no deductions, tax credits or other baloney like that. Collect all your personal sales tax receipts during the year and you subtract that as “tax paid” from the 10% (Sales tax can be set at whatever level government wants then – people won’t care). Corporations could deduct the the taxes (capital gains, etc.) they pay from the 10% in the same manner. Pay the outstanding balance at the end of the year. Also, there would be no such thing as tax witholding.
2. There would be no need for RRSPs, and ATSVs would have no contribution limit.
3. Legislated limits on deficits and debt. Something like max. debt is 5% of GDP. Max. 2 year limit on deficit spending.
4. Direct democracy where all major changes to the law (i.e. all Supreme Court decisions) including the above tax code would require a referendum (I call this the Anti-McGuinty clause to prevent meely-mouthed politicians coming to power and dismantling things).
5. Over a period of 10 years all levels of government would convert over to post tax collection spending. Meaning they would not spend dollars before they are collected. This would be to further protect the taxpayers from deficit spending.