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

I wanted to start a thread about how do we as a nation fix our economy and get our nation out of debt?

Please don't make this political because the thread will be shutdown. I have my own ideas but, being from a conservative, construction background, I wanted to see what other people around the country thought.

 

Simple, Spend less than you make. Just as individuals do. I will admit I have done this before and now I wish I didn't.

Cuts need to be made across the board. Maybe some more than others. The problem is that everyone is OK with spending cuts until it affects "their program."

Trying not to get too political here but I think it's pretty evident that The private sector does not like the Obama admistration, and Dem's policies. Government is not the answer, it is the problem. The government needs to back off and let the market/economy heal itself, This also means they need to stop with all of this legislation and additional regulations. I'm not saying stop all together but wait until things start to get better. They have tried enough intervention and need to leave it to the market.

 

It should be obvious that you can't fund two wars and give tax cuts at the same time. ..at least it was obvious at any other time in the Nations history...

Regardless of that little piece of common sense, wasted / unaccounted for tax payer money dumped in to a black hole yearly is killing us. ...especially when we have to borrow a large percentage of the money before we dump it in that hole.

...and the money for ridiculous out of control health care costs, and those of us paying for the Cadillac health plans and pensions for government workers when many of us don't have either ourselves makes me understand the whole 'Going postal' thing.

All of these things need to be fixed as part of the 'solution'.

 

Fire of all the communists and socialists in gov't.
Kill entitlement programs.
Reform or disband the Dept. of Ed.
Reform or disband the IRS
Get back to our Founding Father's princples.

 

I think it all comes down to the basics. It's time to cut back on personal spending. Even if one person can't save the country on their own, by living more within your means you help keep you and your family financially secure.

I myself started taking the bus to work more then like 60-70% of the time, I only drive when I have errands to run or really want to get home earlier one day.

Always remember, it's always the little things.

 

Cuts need to be made to all programs and all areas of government. Businesses will leave our country if they see it collapsing because of uncontriable debt. The Debt is the number one issue. Basically without getting politcal for cuts and keep the tax the way it is for now until we heal. Im a Califonrian i already see half of my paycheck ithink i would cringe if i actually brought home less than half of my gross income.

now yo actually contribute to the post I personally am saving some of my money and spending it and really tryng to "BUY AMERICAN". simply taking the extra effort to find something that is made in america will really help boost the economy.(obvioulsy not american vehicles we all have toyotas lol). wont really help our debt thats on the poloticians heads. from food thats processed in america to appliances to couched to oil to napkins and toiletries, just flip the package over if it doesnt rock the "made in america stamp" try to atleast make an effort to find the product that is.

LESS DEBT and BUY AMERICAN.

 

End the fed, no matter how much money you save you can't out save inflation

 

Unfortunately I cant say that I agree with this. The way I look at it is that I work hard to make the money I do so that I have money to do the things I want to do. I don't see why I should have to not enjoy my life just because our politicians have turned our economy in to a shit hole. They preach and preach for kids to go to school and get a good education to get a good job to make lots of money. Oh but wait, when you make all that money, don't spend it on anything. That doesn't make sense to me. Now I'm not saying that I go and blow my whole paycheck on material things, I've got bills to pay just like everyone else. But once all those bills are paid, why should I not have fun with the rest of my hard earned money?

 

make gas $1.00 a gal ?

 

we should hire more contractors and send the troops home would give people private sector jobs and bring the troops home and would cut costs! A Funny true fact it takes 3 soldiers who need people to tell him what to do who have people to tell him what to do who have people who tell him what to do. to do the work of 1 civilian contractor. think about it no cost of boot camp living costs training for almost 5 to 7 people that one person can accomplish on one salary. I support our troops they serve our country in no way anyone can! But contractors win wars lol. sorry for the bad joke hope no one takes offense.

 

You should be able to do whatever you want with the money you make (on legal things) after you pay your taxes. The government cannot tell you what to do with your money.

Back to the original post.

Do what YOU need to do for YOUR own financial situation. At the same time don't crawl under a rock and believe the sky is falling. America as a society has lost a lot of it's self-sufficient ethic is used to have. Americans have become less dependent on themselves.

If you find yourself in a tough financial situation. There are two choices, Earn more and/or spend less.

 

I was more referring to those that live WAAAY outside their means. Those of us that do end up doing the responsible things then by all means. Go rock out! I just spent 2 weeks in the carribean a month ago and am leaving for a week in japan in 30 days.

whats the point in saving if its just a big number in an account somewhere? thats not living life at all. I'm reffering to those in massive debt (like the government) they should practice what they preach and save. To those of us that are still stable financially, buy that favourite coffee from your local shop, help stimulate the economy

 

Well, fighting two wars and recession at the same time hasnt been a regular part of history. Everyone talks about how great the economy was before W. entered the White House, but there were many problems waiting to burst at the seams when he took office. The dotcom bust, the housing bubble was growing and the accounting scandles that were starting to surface, not to mention the terror attacks. The lower tax cuts IMO brought us out of the recession shortly after the turn of the century. Wars obviously are a big cost to the government.

We need to hire some independent consultants to come in and reorg many agencies to eliminate redundancies. there is alot of inefficiences that dont make sense, and alot of it comes from unnecessary red tape in all forms. Eliminate wasteful spending. what good is raising taxes when its just squandered.

People who dont have SSN's should not be able to have more than ONE dependency exemption on their tax return (as compared to claiming a bunch of your relatives, even kids, when they arent living here in the United States. If you dont have an SSN, you can get whats referred to as an ITIN for filing your taxes. Its a number that is like a SSN, but only used for tax purposes. If you have an ITIN, you should be able to claim the standard deduction and one personal exemption. thats it. No Earned Income Credit, no Child Tax Credit and DEFINATELY, no Additional Child Tax Credit. If your here in the US you need to pay into the system that is giving you a great opportunity for work compared to where your from. The system should not be paying you money from other tax payers who are citizens.

 

Me likes this idea I do.

 

The USA should take care of their own and quit spending "our" tax money oversea's taking care of other nations. Billions saved.

 

As far as the 'bubble waiting to burst', you hardly needed to be an 'economist' to know the shit was going to hit the fan. ...and with the bought and paid for politicians (of all parties) allowed special interests to turn our economy into a service based one, we were more vulnerable that we were in past recessions. Logic suggests it would be harder to work your way out of a recession with the number of decent paying jobs lost forever in this country. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians. (See 'House of cards')

Perhaps, knowing the huge cost of wars (in money alone) and the fact that it is a hell of a lot easier to start one that to finish one, more thought needed to go into starting two wars in the first place with the firm grasp of the obvious that the shit was going to hit the fan. Anyway, no end in sight on either of those fronts, and the sucking sound continues...

Politicians predictably do what they need to do so that that hitting of the fan happens after they are out of office, regardless of what is good for the long term health of the country.

We are obviously taking on water fast, and tough decisions need to be made in a lot of areas. Lets hope these a-holes will finally have the courage to do whats right for THIS country, instead of the continued whining back and forth about the 'other side' that continues to contribute to the ongoing impotence as we swirl down the toilet.

 

Tax reform. 45% of americans pay $0 federal income tax. Complete tax overhaul, not just individual but corporate as well. A bare minimum 5% bracket. Add a constitutional amendment that going to war must be paid for with an appropiate tax. Add a national sales tax to solely target the national debt. Once the debt is gone, that tax goes away. Cut every department, including DOD, 2%. We live in the best county in the world and each of must pay to enjoy that right.

 

Everyone should pay taxes...even the poor. That way everyone will watch the govt and what they spend our money on....I shudder to think what even the poor would say about the others who are riding the entitlement programs with their tax money. Making everyone pays gives everyone a vested interest....