A few suggestions
We have been inundated with debt-and-spending chatter in the media. We do have a serious problem, but both sides think they have the only solution. As an independent, here are my suggestions:
We should go to a flat tax or a national sales tax (The Fair Tax). This would eliminate all loopholes and guarantee that everyone pays their "fair share." This would eliminate the need for the IRS at its current size. Rather that laying off all those people, they could be assigned to finding and eliminating fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and all other social programs.
If the tax loopholes were eliminated, it would eliminate the need for lobbyists — they would have nothing to lobby for, and our congressmen would have to buy their own dinner.
If set properly, it would give the U.S. one of the world's lowest corporate tax rates. This would allow all these companies to repatriate those profits they are holding overseas to be invested here, plus it would attract more companies to the U.S.
We should declare victory in Iraq and Afghanistan, bring home the troops and stop throwing away billions. These returning troops would have trouble finding jobs, but we are already paying them, so we could offer their services to all the towns, cities and states laying off people.
Finally, implement term limits, a balanced-budget amendment and require all federal and state employees to have the same Medicare, Social Security and health plans that we, their "bosses," have.
KEN HOGLUND
Clemmons
Hard life
I was greatly affected by the July 15 Thomas Friedman column "Adapt or die," in which he explains how America's workers need to become more adaptive and harder-working to make it in today's work world. I have no doubt that what he says is at least partly true, and that's what saddens and scares me.
Why are we all working ourselves to death? Is it just to have more stuff? I don't think so; it seems to me like more and more people are working harder and harder just to get by. Never mind the unemployed, that's a different topic — those who are lucky enough to have jobs are going crazy from stress.
This used to be known as the "rat race," as if we were mice circling around in mazes hunting for the cheese. It's no way for decent people to live. We should be able to put in a decent day's work that doesn't lead to early death, and then we should be able to relax and enjoy the fruit of our labor.
America leads the world in productivity. And the price we pay is to burn ourselves out. And now we find politicians threatening our Social Security and Medicare, so we can't even rest when we get old.
What does it get us? Does life really have to be so hard?
There's got to be a better way to run our society.
MARK B. HOWARD
Winston-Salem
Out of touch
I beg to differ with the letter "Seeking solutions" (July 14). The writer's statement about Democrats rejecting any reduction in Medicare is unfounded.
I, too, am on Medicare and Social Security. I am also a registered Republican.
What I understand while watching and reading about the debt-crisis negotiations is that the word "compromise" is not recognized by the Republican leadership.
President Obama and Democratic leadership have said all along that they are willing to discuss entitlement reductions as long as there is also discussion on bringing in new forms of revenues. But all that I hear is "No new taxes, Mr. President."
We need to stop worrying about next year's election and start thinking about the American citizens. If everything is on the table, then everything should be on the table. As far as Social Security and Medicare go, those are entitlements that millions of people have been paying into, expecting something in return when they reach their retirement age. They have no choice in whether to pay. It is deducted directly from their paychecks.
This letter writer is misleading the readers of this newspaper.
I also think that our elected representatives need to start representing the citizens who elected them. It's really a shame that the average citizen couldn't afford to run for a $170,000 job that also pays them when they either retire or get voted out.
Our elected representatives don't know what reality in America is. They are totally out of touch.
ROBERT SPIEGEL
Winston-Salem
LTE1: A bit simplistic, perhaps, but I generally agree with the tone. Folks should understand that the flat tax may well INCREASE people's taxes in many instances. And there are many questions to answer about its implementation, and what is actually to be taxed. How does one pay taxes on the sale of a house, either new or used? Were taxes paid on the construction materials? If so, is the sale of the house itself taxed? Is a resale taxed? That would appear to drive up the price of used houses, ditto used cars, etc. Bringing our soldiers home is what we are doing now. It would be counterproductive to pull them out more quickly.
ReplyDeleteLTE2: Interesting LTE, but the LTE writer seems to be (perhaps unwittingly) a great social upheaval, a new Great Awakening.
LTE3: I agree with the LTE writer's comments re Republicans v. compromise. The R's aren't playing this very well. They should give somewhat in exchange for concessions elsewhere, like stopping the depredations of the NLRB. Elsewhere, I disagree with the LTE writer's implication re the our Congresspeople receive. It isn't enough for people who have to live and work in two places. We get what we pay for, and judging by performance, we aren't paying enough.
No comment yet. Like a leopard crouched on a limb, waiting for my brother roblo to walk underneath.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: My main question about the Flat Tax is will the amount assessed be enough to meet the US obligations without being so onerous that it affects demand? A 1% tax wouldn't have much effect on the demand for goods, but if the required pct to replace the income tax winds up being 10% or higher, that would definitely have an impact. I can see a 1% tax assessed to replace corporate taxes which would encourage job creation here, but I don't see income taxes going away. The final paragraph requires amending the Constitution which just isn't a practical solution.
LTE 2: There have been books and life courses devoted to this subject. "Live to work vs. work to live". Americans are a highly materialistic and ambitious lot and we do pay the penalty in terms of stress. Unfortunately, it usually takes burnout or a physical breakdown for most of us to stop and realize what our ambitions are doing to us. There's a lot to be said for being content with what you have.
LTE 3: This "my way or no way" act being played out is no way to run a country. It's a direct result of gerrymandered districts and the TB's who put other TB's in office. If the debt ceiling raise fails due to these shenanigans, there should be an immediate recall election for every member of Congress.
Good PM, O. T. and dotnet!
ReplyDeleteI am receiving tweets from Jamie Dupree reporting that the bipartisan group of Senators called the Gang of Six has released a proposed deficit plan that calls for $3.7T in spending cuts and $1T in revenue increases, along with changes in tax rates. It looks reasonable on the face of it, and doable if the R leaders will display some courage.
Reminds me of an old school Supreme Court tradition of calling fellow justices "brother". i.e., my brother Marshall, my brother Warren.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading an especially contentious case where Brennan and Rehnquist totally tore each other apart, all the while saying "my brother Brennan" and "my brother Rehnquist". It was pretty funny stuff.
Yes, I like that warm fraternalism, both in the USSC and on our message boards :)
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon all
ReplyDeleteBy Jove, I think I've got it.
ReplyDeleteHi Buffcoach! Glad you made it. If you could note the pitfalls in trying to sign on that I have missed, that would be helpful. I know a couple of folks are having trouble.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Professor Higgins, my brother
ReplyDeleteFirst I unchecked the "keep me signed in" box on my gmail account and signed out, then when I signed in to this account I also unchecked the "keep me signed in" box.
ReplyDeleteMoravian upbringing...Unitas Fratrum...or as the Navy put on my dog tags...Bohemian Moravian Brethren...got sisters too.
ReplyDeleteSo, O.T., your ancestry includes those first Moravian settlers in this area?
ReplyDeleteMore from Jamie Dupree: he reports that MoveOn.org has slammed the Gang of Six plan. Now, if the No New Taxes crowd slams it, we'll know we've got a good compromise.
ReplyDeletelol, good afternoon, brother Rush
ReplyDeleteWell I show up and all the bugs come out. As to OTR's 1055 post, I'm not surprised he has no comment, actually thats about the most truthful thing he has said in quite awhile.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to like the national sales tax more and more as time goes on.
I guess I did lump "foreign aid" and humanitarian aid into the same pile, my bad, so do away with foreign aid, and I dont care if the percentage of the national budget is large or small, so OTR take that as your answer. Do that and lets see how long it takes all those who dislike the mean ole USofA to come crying. There is no requirement we give money to other countries.
I think we can count on a negative from the No New Taxes crowd, so we've got a winner if we can just figure out how to get it moving. Maybe a massive march on Washington by angry citizens made up of hippies, ethnic groups, NAZIs, Klansmen, cops and firefighters and teachers, soldiers, sailors, airmen, dog lovers and haters, blue collars, white collars, gray collars, and any sensible Democrats and Republicans who want to tag along.
ReplyDeleteI believe Moody's has said today that even the Gang of 6's plan would not keep them from lowering our credit rating because it does not have enough in reduced spending. Moody's said that only a plan that reduces spending over $4 trillion over 10 yrs will satisfy them. I beleive none of the plans mentioned to date will reach that level of spending reduction.
ReplyDeletedotnet-" This "my way or no way" act being played out is no way to run a country." I couldnt agree more but sadly that is how Obama and the democrats have decided to rule since Jan 2009.
ReplyDeleteSo you attract bugs, I believe it.
ReplyDeleteI guess so, I 1st posted last night and you showed up today! lol. hope all is well
ReplyDelete:), doing well, thanks, hope you are.
ReplyDeleteI should sleep well tonight.
ReplyDeleteAs Dave Ramsey says, better than I deserve!
ReplyDeleteOops...leopard was taking a nap when brother robby boy walked past.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter, he's still standing there, so pounce:
1. Moody's said no such thing, today or any day. What they did say was that the plan would certainly put off any downgrading of US rating, but that there was still some doubt that the plan would bring about enough change down the road to prevent another review.
2. Your grade on the Harvard entrance exam is F. A s always, you love to natter on about things, but when called, you always say you don't really care to avoid revealing your lack of knowledge of the very subject that you have been nattering on about.
Of course, Stab was right. The correct answer would have been NONE OF THE ABOVE. In polls, Americans like robby boy typically guess that foreign aid eats 25% of our budget and say that they think that 10% would be more reasonable.
Well, the actual amount is about 1% (that's ONE percent for the numerically challenged). And it works more often than not. Aid is constantly being reviewed and changed to produce better results.
Enjoy cliff diving school, brother robby, because that is exactly where your beloved GOP is headed...off the cliff.
Why'd the little moron drive the bus off the cliff? Because he wanted to test its air brakes.
otr since I didnt answer or even guess you assume too much and you know what they say about those who assume. There once was a time in the past where we as a country didnt give out foreign aid and the world turned quite well. If we cut out the aid it would continue turning. Even if the Gang of 6 proposal was adopted it is several weeks away from being in a form to vote on. It cant make the Aug 2 date, not deadline but date.
ReplyDeleteBrother robby boy, in your case there is no assumption about it. Every time you are backed into a corner that requires a specific answer, you always come up with the "I don't really care" line, which tells us all we need to know.
ReplyDeleteJousting with brother JohnG was far more fun, because whenever he found himself in a tight spot, he simply reframed the debate by saying "Well, what I actually meant was..."
Here's one that applies to Congress:
One night a passerby found the Little Moron searching frantically on the sidewalk beneath a street light.
"What are you doing, Little Moron?" he asked
"I dropped my wallet," the Little Moron said.
"Did you drop it here?" the passerby asked.
"No, I dropped it down near the middle of the block," the Little Moron said.
"Well, why aren't you looking down there?" the passerby asked.
"Because there's better light here," the Little Moron said.
I guess JohnG is gone forever. He was an interesting and very thought provoking poster.
ReplyDeleteI didnt say I didnt care, I said I didnt care if the percentage was large or small....either way it is too large. Other than foreign aid to Israel cut it all out. You obviously have me mistaken with another when you say,"Every time you are backed into a corner that requires a specific answer, you always come up with the "I don't really care" line,". There's not much I dont care about or voice my opinion on. I give answers, often with explanations to go along with my answers and opinions, you just dont like or approve of my answer. Thats your problem not mine. I dont gauge my answers as to whether you approve of them or not. You think much too highly of yourself!
ReplyDeleteO.T., we don't hear anything out of the Little Moron (he was a fixture of jokes when I was in elementary school). The reason is that he grew up and went to tour New York City. He rode up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. While he took in the view, he took out a stogie and smoked it. Tragedy ensued when the cigar burned down: the Little Moron threw the wrong butt off the observation deck, very sad.
ReplyDeleteSince I am clearly considerably older than you (no one my age could possibly attract such a stunner as Ms. Stab), I am delighted to hear that the Little Moron survived into your generation.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was around 2nd or 3rd grade that we decided that there could never be anything funnier than the Little Moron. Little did we know that lurking in the wings were Moms Mabley and Redd Foxx and Lenny Bruce and Bill Cosby (the original Cosby, one very obscene comic before he evolved into his later family friendly mode).
We were a bright bunch, fairly sophisticated for our age, so thought that the ultimate was "Did you hear about the Little Moron? He strained himself while running into the screen door." One that most of our classmates never really caught onto.
"Other than foreign aid to Israel cut it all out."
ReplyDeleteOh my brother robby, what sayest thou? Favoreth thou the children of Israel over all others?
Oh, brother robby boy, you're not one of those who believes that Israel must be preserved so that the red calf can come onto the scene and be slaughtered and its blood used to anoint the vast fields of the dead so that Armageddon can come and you can be transported to heaven...are you?
Dream on. Some rich fool in Mississippi kept sending his red calves to Israel for years, hoping to buy his trip to heaven. But the rabbis could never find one that didn't have a few white hairs on its body. And they never will, because science always prevails.
The people who created Israel were Europeans, who have no genetic connection to the Hebrews who were promised the "Promised Land". For religious purposes, the modern state of Israel is as phony as Newt Gingrich or Congressman Weiner.
Your chances of getting to heaven are about the same as mine of getting to Mars. But we can both dream, can't we?
brother robby boy, almost forgot. The leopard will be crouching on the same limb tomorrow. Maybe you ought to choose another path.
ReplyDelete" So, O.T., your ancestry includes those first Moravian settlers in this area?"
ReplyDeleteSorry Stab, somehow missed this earlier.
Yes, on my mother's side. The Moravians, first true Protestants, brought civilization to the back country, providing preachers and doctors to a godless and scientifically challenged land.
But from the same side, through my grandmother, also got a healthy dollop of brush arbor Methodism. When John Asbury and friends rode through in the 1780s, the Moravians had to lock up their young people, because the brush arbor meetings were way more exciting than what they were used to, what with rolling on the ground and speaking in tongues.
Also from my father's side, a legacy of pure redneck Scottish covenanters, i.e. Presbyterians, who eventually got tired of being persecuted and slaughtered by the king of England and moved to America.
So a total background of people who refused to knuckle under to whatever religion was favored by the powers that be. No longer practicing any of them, but proud as hell of all of them.