The U.S. National debt. Ideas how to help bring it down...

[HeyYou]

 

There is simply no way to decrease the national debt while keeping people happy.

Now as you're asking me, I'd:

 

Eliminate our standing army and cut future defense spending by 3/4

Work on the deportation of illegal workers

Remove the minimum wage

Decrease gas taxes

Cut the corporate tax rate by 1/2 for companies that maintain more factories on the US mainland than offshore

Cut foreign spending by 3/4

Eliminate most of the bureaucracy surrounding medicare and medicaid and get the paperwork required for hospitals down to a single sheet in order to help them cut costs of healthcare

Place a cap on interest that can be accrued from loans to 5%

End the federal reserve, place the responsibility and accountability of printing capital back to the US Congress

No more interest on student loans

Deflate the artificial price of university education

 

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

These are all good ideas, but most of them would never have any hope of being be implemented. Here is why:

 

Eliminate our standing army and cut future defense spending by 3/4

Cut the corporate tax rate by 1/2 for companies that maintain more factories on the US mainland than offshore

Cut foreign spending by 3/4

Eliminate most of the bureaucracy surrounding medicare and medicaid and get the paperwork required for hospitals down to a single sheet in order to help them cut costs of healthcare

Place a cap on interest that can be accrued from loans to 5%

End the federal reserve, place the responsibility and accountability of printing capital back to the US Congress

No more interest on student loans

Deflate the artificial price of university education

 

....would all be lobbied out of existence by the companies that would stand to lose if these measures were implemented. Congress will not act in the interests of the US public if doing so would upset their corporate financial backers or interrupt the support that they receive from them.

 

And this is EACTLY why we need some serious campaign finance reform.

[TRoaches]

And this is EACTLY why we need some serious campaign finance reform.

 

True, but you may as well add "Reform Campaign Finance" to the list of stuff that congress will never allow. Why would they want to limit their ability to profit personally from their office? As long as they can keep the people occupied by putting on a big show of arguing about whatever else is happening in congress the Republicans and Democrats will be united in their support of the campaign finance gravy train.

[HeyYou]

 

And this is EACTLY why we need some serious campaign finance reform.

 

True, but you may as well add "Reform Campaign Finance" to the list of stuff that congress will never allow. Why would they want to limit their ability to profit personally from their office? As long as they can keep the people occupied by putting on a big show of arguing about whatever else is happening in congress the Republicans and Democrats will be united in their support of the campaign finance gravy train.

 

And once again, Exactly. :D It will never happen, as the only folks that CAN change it, are also the very same folks that profit the most from it.

 

We are doomed. Doomed I say. :)