5 ways to cut the deficit

[Horse with no Name]

1. Legalize marijuana. Tax it.
2. Release non-violent offenders out of prison and let them take care of their families. Make them do community service and pay fines.
3. Rescind the tax cuts for the wealthy.
4. Abolish tax-free status of churches.
5. Tax the use of the roads by weight of vehicle. Different sliding scale for 18-wheelers and personal vehicles. For example, 18 wheelers hauling food and needed commodities pay a % less than 18-wheelers hauling luxury items. Light cars pay less than heavy trucks and SUV's.

Anyway...what other suggestions?

[SCDem]

1. Stop funding illegal wars

[iconoclastNYC]

2. #5 will raise the cost of food and products, which will

fall disproportionately on the poorest among us.

#4 is a violation of the constitution.

#1 is a non-starter. The best we could hope for is a federal law handing this power to the states.

#2 would kills Democrats at the polls as being soft on crime.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. I don't agree with your take on #4.

Churchs have most definitely become political entities. A great deal of them have taken direct political action against specific candidates (ie. John Kerry and communion) and many more incorporate politics in their weekly sermons.

Further, taxing churches in no way violates a separation of church and state. Taxing churches would put them on equal footing with every other political entity in this country.

[Horse with no Name]

8. #5 allows for food and commodities to be taxed lesser than an

18-wheeler hauling luxury yachts and automobiles thus eliminating that argument.
#4 could be fixed with an amendment.
#1 needs to happen...it is the regressive environment of this country.
#2 would save money and cut down on the welfare that the wingers hate.

Our country is on it's knees at the foot of the master--the only question is if it is going to spit or swallow. Jobs aren't coming into this country, they are leaving. Airlines and automakers are in financial trouble. We've never seen times such as these, and different, possibly unthinkable before, solutions may become the thinkable.
No matter how religious a family might be...do you suppose if it meant their family bearing the burden of more taxes that they would choose to do that or choose to let these mult-million dollar corporate churches bear some of that burden? I have a feeling when push comes to shove, people are going to push the burden away from their already strained budgets.

So what are your suggestions? Or do you just randomly tear down other people's ideas without injecting your own?:eyes:

[cassiepriam]

3. Cut back on Condi's shoe allowance NT

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. I don't agree with #2

Just because someone is non-violent, that does not make them non-threatening. Frauds and thieves can have an equally dangerous impact on society.

Now, non-violent victimless crimes should not be punished with jail time. Someone with a heroin problem shouldn't be going to jail - they should be going to a mandatory clinic.

[Warren DeMontague]

9. Pot smokers yes, Ken Lay no.

So I agree with you partially, in principle- if we're going to let dangerous thieves out, we should keep an eye on them.

Oh, wait, Ken Lay is already a free man!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

16. Actually, you agree with me in full.

Pot smoking is a victimless crime, whereas Ken Lay's crimes do have victims.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Although I've said elsewhere I think the most appropriate punishment

for Ken Lay, as opposed to a stint in a martha stewart style federal institution, would be to take away ALL his money and his stuff, and sentence him to ten years in a minimum wage, paper hat job.

[Horse with no Name]

10. Perhaps the wording is better

Non-violent victimless.
Yes, I like that better.

[Yupster]

24. Man, we just have too many people in prison though

For one thing, we just can't afford them, and for another, these young to middle aged males need to be working and contributing to society, not burdening it.

I'm for finding better punishments for non-violent offenders than sitting them in a prison cell.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

25. Anything that allows con-artists and thieves to continue screwing people

is NOT a valid option.

[Egalitariat]

6. # 5 is already in place when you consider federal highway tax

is per gallon and heavier vehicles use more gallons (and thus pay more taxes) to use roads.

#6 would be spend less money. Rescind the most recent Pork Bill and don't allow politicians to use federal tax dollars to buy votes in their districts.

[melissinha]

7. make off-shore tax shelters illegal

Can we even fathom how much money in taxes these guys are not paying that lawfully should be contributed???? I am no expert in these matters but use the whole "we stand with the small businessman" approach and point out how small and medium businesses have a larger proportionate burden.

this alone could shore up the defecit.

[MADem]

11. BINGO, tell the lady what she's won!!!

That's the ticket--small businesses don't hide their money in tax shelters, they plow it into their business, their salaries, their health plans. It's only these corporate megapigs who pull that kind of crap....

[melissinha]

21. thanks

wish it were easy, the pigs will just continue to abuse foreign labor and make loads abroad.... but there's got to be some way, its not all black and white....

[catmandu57]

13. And make corporations

pay their way like everyone else, install a real progressive tax system and a small but meaningful measure put every pay raise of elected officials to a vote of the people.

[DanCa]

12. Have your state reps make miniumun wage.

For the life of me I can't figure out how your representative can make more money than you. Besides if Denny Hasterate made minimum wage he might just loose some weight.

[MsTryska]

14. end corporate welfare.....

no more bailouts, subsidies, or tax shelters allowed.

[Zynx]

15. Cut defense expenditures by $100 billion.

That is much larger than numbers 1,2 and 4 put together.

[Horse with no Name]

17. While this is true

I would enjoy #1 so much more.;)

[melissinha]

23. by-products are usefull too

see? an added beenfit.

[melissinha]

18. Recommended, great thread.

Seriously, these issues may seem simple to US, but we can't let Congress just sweep them under the table. I know these issues will be MOST difficult to tackle, but for the sake of the future, they MUST be addressed.

Like we have been told, keep in contact with your representatives and if they are low-life Repugs like mine, contact the CBC. They've got our backs.

[OneBlueSky]

19. stop spending money on phoney backdrops for Bush speeches . . .

no, it won't save all that much . . . but it would be symbolic of a real commitment to manage expenditures . . .

and stop paying for perpetual vacations by the President of the United States! . . .

[Warren DeMontague]

20. HUGE fines for surly teens who spit on the ground

and even bigger ones for assholes with obnoxiously loud motorcycles who blast past my house at 3 am and shake the walls... and monster-truck driving morons with shaved heads should pay increased Vehicle License fees based proportionally upon the size of those ridiculously outsized tires.


Well, a man can dream, can't he?

[DarbyUSMC]

26. Introduce a national lottery and while they're at it, take a minute to

figure out who the hell made gambling illegal in the first place. Probably the same people who got prohibition going or who decided that prostitution was a crime. A woman now can do anything with her body but can't rent it out. What a bunch of hypocrites we've been throughout history. Tame the savages? Oh, yes, we've just been batting a thousand for hundreds of years. Now we are on a fear kick. There isn't a night on the news where there isn't a new warning about something "bad" for us. Our children have to be so well protected to skate, ride a bike or play ball etc., that many of them have given up going outside to play. Yes, I exaggerate somewhat but does there have to be a law for every single part of our lives? A child accidentally uses a numbing cream on his toothbrush instead of toothpaste and wham, it's recalled and off the market while they put warnings on the label. As if a five year old is going to read the label. Fine. Keep out of reach of children wasn't good enough? It was an accident and yes, the mother should have put the medicine away. The Schiavo case is a prime example. Jump right in there and make a legalistic mess of it.

Sorry for the wordy suggestion. It's probably something in the water. Oh, no, Mr. Bill, look out. No doubt a man in a lab coat is on his way here as I type. Arrrrgh.