Go ahead with Sequestration cuts

Maybe it would be best to let the Sequestration spending cuts to take effect.  It appears that elected politicians are unable to make significant cuts to any specific federal spending items.
If cuts could be prioritized, here would be my short list in order of priority:
  • The Medicare eligibility age should be coupled with Social Security and they both should be gradually moved to age 70.  The federal government should not be responsible to pay for 15 – 30 years of retirement for healthy adults.  (see below)
  • Freeze the dollar amount of federal spending on Medicaid – block grant the money to the states and let States decide on the priorities.  There will always be more demand than there is supply for free medical care.
  • Cut military spending, in actual dollars, by at least 5%.  Let the defense department decide on priorities to give us the best defense that the budget can buy.  We would still have greatest defense on Earth.
  • Eliminate the Dept. of Education – leave education to the states entirely.
  • Limit farm subsidies to $50,000 per farmer maximum, $100,000 per family maximum.  Phase out all subsidies for farmers who have a Adjusted Gross Income between $100,000 and $200,000.  Require 100% of the cost of crop insurance to be charged to the farmers.  Why do we keep paying subsidies to farmers when they have record profits?  Something is wrong.
  • Cut the FEMA budget by 50%, and make States pay a 50% co-insurance payment for all federal money that flows into any State.  States would be much more efficient, and there would be much less abuse and fraud.
  • Eliminate subsidies and special tax breaks for all forms of energy.  All energy producers fight to protect their subsidies by claiming that the other forms of energy get subsidies and all they want is a fair playing field.  Well, lets make the playing field very fair – no subsidies for anyone.
  • Eliminate spending on arts, and humanities, public broadcasting, etc.  Contributions to these kinds of organizations should be left to charitable organizations.

I’m sure the list would be different and much larger if I took enough additional time.

According to data compiled by the Social Security Administration:

  • A man reaching age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 83.
  • A woman turning age 65 today can expect to live, on average, until age 85.

And those are just averages. About one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one out of 10 will live past age 95.

Obama needs to lead on budget cuts.

Thanks to the Des Moines Register for printing the editorial by Peter Morici on 2/16/2013.  (Obama blackmailing taxpayers to stick blame on Republicans – see link below.)  President Obama and other politicians and pundits who say the sky will fall if the sequestration cuts are allowed to go into effect are using misleading fear tactics.  Politicians at all levels of government who don’t want to see spending cuts always say that the services that will be cut are those that are the most needed and the most visible.  Examples include President Obama’s statement in his State Of The Union address: “These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military readiness. They’d devastate priorities like education, energy, and medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery, and cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs.”  Agriculture Secretary Vilsack has warned us that layoffs of food inspector will result in food shortages.    A top general stated that troops in Afghanistan will have their stay extended because there won’t be enough money to train replacement troops.  Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano said the we should expect increased wait times in airports due to mandatory furloughs of security staff.

 As Morici wrote:, “It puzzles me how $85 billion in a $16 trillion economy could make such a difference, especially when tax increases of similar size, implemented on Jan. 1 at the President’s behest, had no such similar effect in his mind.”  Why can’t President Obama prioritize the cuts so that less needed services are cut?  President Obama got his tax increases on the wealthy as part of the negotiations to extend our borrowing limit.  Now is the time for him to take the lead and implement meaningful cuts based on priorities.  Everything is not a top priority.  Even entitlement changes, such as continuing to raise the normal retirement age for both Social Security and Medicare, should be on the table.  The debt that we are piling onto future generations is immoral and unsustainable.  It must stop.
Link to Register article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302160059

We are united!… in loyalty to our Country.

In the Dec. 12, 2012 issue of Cityview, in the “Your View” column, the Rev. Vernon Naffier bemoaned that we are no longer a united nation.  The Pledge of Allegiance, from which several parts of Rev. Naffier letter were taken, is a pledge of loyalty to the United States, not a pledge to agree on collective goals.  I believe that we, the people of the United States, are united in our loyalty to the United States, and against any person or group who would try to harm our country.  But, we are not united on domestic social goals, and there is no reason that we should be.
“Liberty and justice for all” means that our government should treat all of us equally, (no special political privileges for anyone), and that our government should mostly not interfere with the activities of honest and peaceful adults.  The primary and proper role of our government is to protect our pre-existing natural rights and liberties against those who would use force or fraud against us.  “Equal opportunity for all” means that our government should not do anything to prevent or disadvantage any individual or group from exercising their rights and liberties to their own best advantage.
On the other hand, our government should not give special favors or preferences to politically favored groups or individuals.  Unfortunately, throughout a large part of the history of our country, our government has used its force to provide political advantages to self-serving crony capitalists, (as opposed to free market capitalists), and well intentioned collectivists, all under the guise of “providing for the common good or promoting the general welfare.”  We are facing the “fiscal cliff” and can’t agree how to fix it because so many people and groups are recipients of government largess and no one wants to give up their benefits.
We need to dramatically reduce the size and scope of our government.  There are many proper roles for our government.  But, what is considered immoral for an individual to do does not, somehow, become moral simply because it is done by our government and approved by a majority of the people.  Taxes, which are taken by force, should be used only for things that truly are for the common good and promote the general welfare, not those things which benefit politically favored groups.  Unfortunately, I think it will require a major financial crisis, like that being currently experienced by Greece, for us to make the changes necessary for us to have a stable, sustainable government.
Link to Cityview article: http://www.dmcityview.com/your-view/

Obama needs to compromise.

President Obama has built his own wall to prevent agreement to avoid the “fiscal cliff”.  There is no public outcry to raise the 35% top income tax rates on those with the highest incomes.  The outcry is against the 15% – 17% average tax rate paid by the super wealthy like Warren Buffet and Mitt Romney, not against high wage earners who pay 35% on most of their income.  If the 1% paid taxes on most of their income at the current top rate of 35%, there would be no problem.  We need eliminate special interest tax breaks.  For example, carried interest (otherwise known as bonuses for hedge fund managers) should be taxes at regular rates up to 35%, not as capital gains at 15%.  Capital gains should be taxed at 15% only if the gains were earned over a much longer period of time, say 10 years.  Currently, the 15% tax rate is applied to gains on assets held for only 1 year or more.  Eliminate the home mortgage interest deduction on second homes.  Cap the  home mortgage interest deduction to loans of up to $250,000.  There are many other special cases where income is taxed at less than the top rate of 35%.  Those are the special tax breaks that we should look at ending – not raising the top rate.