How to fix the economy and get our nation out of debt?

People can prattle on about the war, and yeah, we should reduce defense spending and pull out of two wars where the end is not in sight.

OTOH, the REAL killer is our entitlement programs. Social Security / Medicare / Medicaid account for the largest part of our budget, hands down. They dwarf everything else, handily.

I wish they had never been created, to be honest, but now that they have, we need to find a way to end them while not screwing people who have paid in.

 

Thats True

 

Get the poor people off the governments teet.

Get out of stupid mini wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc).

Drill for oil.

Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. The government officials are making too many kickbacks to change anything. AKA we're fucked.

 

Hate to be the one to tell you, but those programs are never going anywhere. The names might change over time, but they will still be in effect.

 

The question was about how to fix our problem, not whether the solution is realistic.

Fact of the matter is, those programs are draining us, unsustainable, AND insulting to the American people. I can and am planning for my own retirement and healthcare, thank you very much. I'm not a child, I don't particularly want government help, I just want to be left alone.

 

1.drill for oil in our borders
2.DO NOT redistribute the wealth let the poor be poor and the rich be rich. if the poor want more money they can work for like everyone else.
3.we as a people need to unite straighten our goverment out. i.e. fairtax, dump the health care crap, obtain all the freedoms we once had and maintain a true democracy not a pissing match over power and wealth over all people.

just a few simple steps that could help.

 

Pay taxes

 

..Cut off welfare
..Everyone should pay taxes
... Buy more American made products

 

fucking print money

 

that will cause inflation and the value of money will drop severely. that why shit seems so expensive now because of inflation. the government has more money but then they give it us and it make every dollar we earn worth less. you try learning a little history before you make a dim witted statement like that.

 

I say drug test the welfare,that will cut it down a lot.
Agree everyone pays taxes
Not much made in USA anymore,not ever customer servive

 

i wasnt being serious....but it would help temporarily

anyways this is a losing thread..........

 

This isn't just a federal gov't issue, it also includes state and local gov'ts as well...and all "3" of them are as guilty of "skewed numbers" that would make WaMu, Enron and Bernie Madoff proud.

US: $700 Billion for 3 million temp jobs....that's an overhead of 95%...WTF?

AZ: Only $3 Billion in debt....there are states with debt 10 to 15 times that much....using loans to pay it's employee's. Why? because the loans don't show up on this years budget fooling people that the debt isn't as bad as it is. BTW, they are only showing the debt service, aka interest, on the books.

Phoenix: Police Chief "retires", gets a pension and rehired as "Public Safety Director"...essentially the same job...and get an even higher salary. Currently "reassigned" while the dept is under investigation for "cooking the books" on crime stats...to get more money from the feds.

This is just a small sample of the shenanigans that are going on, maybe we need to start twitering and facebooking for demonstations in the capitol retunda.

 

while contractors can save money in some places, it costs more in other areas. they will still need training before going overseas, especially if they are going to be in combat. they can skip boot camp but still need all the weapons training and courses. and they do get paid more (Im a contractor, I know).


fix the imigration problem. hit that shit hard and fast. the illegals are draining the economy bad for a lot of states esp AZ, CA, and TX.

this

and this.

 

​

Made In USA​

 

Part of fixing the economy is balancing the budget. You can do it yourself at the following websites:

http://crfb.org/stabilizethedebt/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...s-graphic.html

 

x1000000!!!!!

 

Contractors actually cost a great deal more then the average soldier. The use of private contractors saves the government in long term costs because they don't have to pay retirement benefits or health benefits, those costs are absorbed by the company they work for. Contractors, on average, earn more then twice and sometimes three times as much as their military counterparts. If the troops are brought home then the argument is made for a military draw down. This would result in a decrease of military spending but that burden is then shifted to the private sector as more unemployed individuals enter the job market. The added benefit to using civilian contractors is that it insulates the government when their actions turn bad. This country cannot be adequately defended by a mercenary fighting force. The things we do are more often then not for god and country not for the paycheck. Every single one of us has sworn an oath to support and defend this nation and her citizens from all enemies both foreign and domestic. A mercenary or "contract soldier" swears no such allegiance and is bound only by a paycheck.
The easiest way to cut government spending is through the elimination of Earmark spending in the budgets. I promise you we do not need to spend 5 million dollars a year to study the effect of cow farts on the environment.
Sorry for the long winded response but I've had the displeasure of dealing with "private security contractors" and it's just another sign of our government treating our nations fighting forces as a corporation and less like the dedicated, professional, honor bound group of warriors we really are!

 

Biggest single action that needs to be taken IMO

 

The only realistic solution is to raise taxes...

spending cuts are great... but where? the only effective spending cuts would have to come from

1. Military
2. Social Security
3. Medicare

trimming discretionary funding will not get us out a $1.4 trillion dollar deficit.

A matter of fact... if you completely eliminated the entire military budget you'd still have ~$0.5 Trillion dollar deficit.

Unfortunately, we are at the point where budget cuts are not enough... not to mention that budget cuts results in enormous political pressure from all sides and angles.

Look right now, they government is trying to cut $80 billion from the budget...a single drop in the huge $1.4 trillion dollar deficit (not even really worth the effort) and it has caused HUGE impasses... almost a government shut-down.

The cold reality is that if balancing the budget is such a national priority then taxes MUST go up along with significant (~25%+) cuts to major departments.

I'm sorry but three things got us into this mess
1. Bush Tax cut- that was $800 billion right there
2. Two costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the result degradation in our equipment
3. Medicare Plan D - $400 Billion right there...

combine that with the effects of a sour economy and now you're negative

This current session of the federal government is not doing a damn thing... they are always at loggerhead when action needs to be taken

if the bush tax cuts were left to expire... we'd only have a $600 Billion deficit... and the rich would only pay another 3% on income over $250k

most of us here... middle class to poor would only pay another 1-2%..............oh NO treason... sedition... SUCCESSION! :sarcasm: