How Can We Have An Almost Balanced Budget By 2015 Without Hurting The Poor and Middle Class American

[Joel thakkar]

CBO (Non-Partition) estimates budget deficit around $378 billion in the year 2015.


Here is the major OUTs (expenses) of Budget 2013.

1) Department of Defense - $673 Billion
2) Department Of Homeland Security - $55 Billion
3) Social Security Admin - $882 Billion
4) Department of Health (Includes Medicare/Caid) - $941 Billion
5) Foreign Aid Across All Departments - $52 Billion
6) Department Of Agriculture (Including Food Stamps) - $155 Billion

Here are the easy steps

1) Cut defense spending by 1/3 (33%) - $225 Billion. We can close foreign stations, buy less tanks, planes, ships etc, close foreign military assistance and lots of other things.

2) Raise minimum wage to $10 per hour. This will automatically reduce the medicaid and Food stamps budget.

3) Implement The 30% Flat Millionaires Tax Rule. According to a report, it will increase federal revenue by $37 Billion

4) Reducing farm subsidies, extra health care spending - $60 Billion (WH Budget estimates 2014)

5) Reducing Foreign Aid By 50% - Savings $26 Billion


Total Savings : $225+$60+$37+$26 (B) = $348 Billion + Reduction of welfare programs of medicaid/Food stamps due to increase in minimum wage.
Deficit Projection (if current policies are continued) : $378 Billion

[Xipe Totec]

1. Make the rich pay their fair share of taxes. nt

[Joel thakkar]

2. yes 30% Flat Millionaires Tax Rule is included so that we can have a balanced budget

and we have still not explored the option of having same tax rate for Long term gains/dividends income

[malaise]

3. Simple

Tax the fugging rich

[cali]

4. none of it is simple and there are things more important to the economy than

having a balanced budget within 14 months.

as for your suggestions, cutting the military by a 1/3 just isn't realistic. Never going to happen, particularly with so many jobs reliant on the MIC.

[Joel thakkar]

5. Yeah i agree that most important thing is not balancing the budget

but still i think it should be in top 5 important things. We can reduce the military budget with least jobs affected and train them for new fields/or other defense sector jobs.

[Laelth]

6. OK, but. What if I don't want a balanced budget by 2015?

Why should I participate in the right-wing two Santa Claus strategy by pushing for a balanced budget only when Democrats control government? Personally, I don't want to play that game. We're in a recession (most of us are, anyway). I think the Federal Government should be spending more, not less. Interest rates are at historic lows, so it's less painful than ever for our government to borrow (and it should continue to do so until interest rates rise significantly).

So, I'm out on the balanced budget B.S. If and when the Republicans ever come back into power, they can worry about balancing the budget on their own time. You'll notice, however, that they never do. They cut taxes, launch expensive wars, and drive the deficit sky high every time they get into power so that Democrats will have to take the electoral punishment for cuts in government services.

No, thank you. I am tired of playing that game.

-Laelth