Last night the candidate for change we can believe in that voters overwhelmingly elected to office let us know in no uncertain terms he has little intention of changing anything. He has rightly acknowledged that the electorate is plenty mad at the way Washington does business. And then he unashamedly went on for over an hour restating his campaign points and laying blame on everyone except himself. His only admission of failure was that he couldn't sway the public to support vastly increased socialism, on the premise apparently that the voting public is just too ignorant to get it. That means our defiant president still doesn't get it.
Mr. Obama wants to know how long we should just hold on before moving forward. The answer sir, is as long as we can to prevent you from doing irreparable harm. What ticks the voters off isn't that unemployment is at 10%, or that health care costs are rising, or that property values have dropped a little. What makes us all angry is that these problems are worsening despite massive amounts of government spending to "fix" it. The government, for all its supposed good intentions, has fixed nothing and is bankrupting the future of our nation. We get that. We get that in order to keep funding an ineffective government we have to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars from China to pay for it. Soon, if Obama has his way with his agenda, we will owe them trillions. We get that our great grandchildren will eventually be paying half of their income in taxes just to pay the interest on debts incurred now.
When the economic bubble burst a few years ago people realized that they had erred. You couldn't just keep borrowing money indefinitely, eventually the piper had to be paid. We are now suffering the hangover from those mistakes. It was a valuable learning experience. One completely missed by those in Washington, who continue to borrow at record levels.
Mr. Obama, the American people agree in principal with a lot of what you have to say. It is not that we just don't get it. We know the government is wasteful and inefficient. We learned it with FEMA after Katrina. We learned it with bank bailouts and bonuses. We are learning it with steadily declining quality of education despite increased funding.
You should not be surprised that you couldn't convince the people to support your 1,000 page health manifesto. Even without all the secret deals we knew it wouldn't work, and that the government couldn't be trusted to run such things. We get it Mr. President. It's time you did. You are an intelligent man, learn from your mistakes.
This is what you should have said in your state of the union:
"My fellow Americans, I screwed up. I promised change that you believed in but delivered only more of the same. There is plenty of blame to go around, but I am the president. You elected me to change things and I did not so I will accept the responsibility and learn from our mistakes. It is obvious that Americans do not want an expensive complicated health care bill passed in secrecy that we can't trust. So I promise to veto it if it gets to my desk. Still, we need to fix the health care system, so I have a 100 page proposal available for everyone to read that will fix most of the problems and cost the taxpayers half of what we have currently been spending.
It is tax time across our nation, and I am pleased to announce that for most of you your taxes are lower now than they were last year. Even the republicans should be clapping for that one. Unfortunately, our tax code is so complicated it is hard to tell how much you are benifitting. That is going to change. Tomorrow I will send a proposal to congress that greatly simplifies the tax code and not only will your taxes not be increased, but for most of you they will be even lower next year than they are now.
Before I was elected president I was a senator from Illinois. I supported then President Bush's plan to bail out the banks. We all thought it was necessary at the time to save the economy. We now know better. I have learned from this. It will not happen again on my watch. Some of the loans we made are being repaid. I have instructed the treasury department to immediately take every cent we get back and pay back the loans we had to take from foreign countries to pay for it. I will not pass the bill for our problems onto my children or future grandchildren.
Our heirs will not have much of a future if we don't do something about jobs. That is why I am sending a jobs bill to congress tomorrow that will encourage manufacturing to come back to this country. Our economy will not become healthy again until we return to being an exporting nation. China knows this. India knows this, Germany knows this. We are a great nation, I will not accept being second or third or fourth behind any other nation. Furthermore, my proposal will encourage green energy growth, putting us at the forefront of a growing world economy, and protecting the environment for future generations. To ensure we have the energy to fuel our resurgent economy I have included proposals that will allow safe tapping of new domestic reserves of oil and gas, build new nuclear and cleaner coal powerplants, and new refineries and infrastructure to get us back on top. This will all be done without raising a single tax, and will not add a cent to our national debt.
In an increasingly technologically advanced global world, we cannot achieve or maintain greatness without a good education system. Unfortunately, despite massive increases in government spending, the quality of education here continues to decline. I could not in good conscious enroll my children in public schools here. Third world countries are beginning to have better results than we are getting. That is why I plan to scrap the system as we know it, and replace it with one that works and rewards those that get good results.
Folks, I am a product of Chicago politics. I know how the game is played, and it was foolish of me to think I had a mandate that would transcend partisanship. I also know the American people are sick of all the partisan bickering and the 'me first, party second, state third, and country last' that pervades Washington. That is why today I am leaving the Democratic party and following in the footsteps of our greatest president, George Washington, who had no party affiliation. In November we will have the chance to really change things. Every representative will be up for election. One third of our senators will be up for election. If you want to get rid of all the waste, corruption, and earmarks in Washington, throw them all out. Don't vote for a republican or a democrat. Vote for someone that cares for their country first. Or at least third behind God and family. For now let your senators and representatives know that you do get it, and demand they they start getting it too.
My fellow Americans, the state of this union isn't as great as it should be, but this is still the greatest of nations and a beacon to the world. We have seen darker times, terrible depressions, bloodier wars; and have come back from all of them to rise up to new levels of greatness. We will do so again. I have heard your message loud and clear and want you to know I do get it. I promise I will start to deliver the change you can believe in. Thank you, and God Bless America."
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Social Security
This is a hot button topic no one seems to be able to handle. I think we might have been better off if socialist security had never existed. The fact of the matter is that it does exist, though it won't last much longer as things sit. I have a plan to save it, and make it work without bankrupting country. As an added benefit, my reforms would stimulate small business job growth and consumer spending.
First, and let me make this perfectly clear, any one currently vested with 40 "credits" would be allowed to remain in the current system with no changes to benefits. My reforms would target primarily those that have not yet earned those 40 credits (generally 10 years of employment). Those that already have their 40 credits but would like to enroll in the new program would be allowed but not required to do so.
Payroll taxes would change. The rate would be reduced from 6.2% to 5% from both the employee and employer. This would put more money in the pockets of the American worker and lower the tax burden on small business owners. The 5% collected from the employer would be used to fund a significantly reduced benefit program similar to the current benefit program. The minimum age to receive these benefits would be fixed at 65. The 5% collected from the employee would be placed into a separate regulated account, similar in style to current 403b annuity plans. These plans would allow the employee to choose between various investment options. No withdrawls from this account would be permitted until age 60. (With very limited possible exceptions for certain medical expenses.)
To make up for the shortfall in funds caused by these tax cuts, social security disability coverage would be eliminated. So would the tax cap, meaning all earnings would be subject to the payroll tax. All workers earning income and employers paying wages would be required to participate in Social Security. Congress' retirement plan would be replaced by Social Security, as would certain other government pension plans that currently exempt workers and employers from paying into Social Security.
First, and let me make this perfectly clear, any one currently vested with 40 "credits" would be allowed to remain in the current system with no changes to benefits. My reforms would target primarily those that have not yet earned those 40 credits (generally 10 years of employment). Those that already have their 40 credits but would like to enroll in the new program would be allowed but not required to do so.
Payroll taxes would change. The rate would be reduced from 6.2% to 5% from both the employee and employer. This would put more money in the pockets of the American worker and lower the tax burden on small business owners. The 5% collected from the employer would be used to fund a significantly reduced benefit program similar to the current benefit program. The minimum age to receive these benefits would be fixed at 65. The 5% collected from the employee would be placed into a separate regulated account, similar in style to current 403b annuity plans. These plans would allow the employee to choose between various investment options. No withdrawls from this account would be permitted until age 60. (With very limited possible exceptions for certain medical expenses.)
To make up for the shortfall in funds caused by these tax cuts, social security disability coverage would be eliminated. So would the tax cap, meaning all earnings would be subject to the payroll tax. All workers earning income and employers paying wages would be required to participate in Social Security. Congress' retirement plan would be replaced by Social Security, as would certain other government pension plans that currently exempt workers and employers from paying into Social Security.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Simplified progressive income tax
No tax system will ever be fair. The struggle then is to find something suitable that can be tolerated by most. The current system is the result of years of loopholes being built in to satisfy one interest group or another, and it is overly complex as a result. I have a better plan.
While not a flat tax system, my simple progressive tax plan eliminates the loopholes and is about as fair as can be done. The current books of instructions and multiple forms will be replaced with a single page form with instructions printed on the back.
My tax system would have a 10% rate for those with gross income under $100,000; 15% from there to under $250,000; 20% from there to under $500,000; 25% from there to under $1,000,000; and 33% for a million and up.
Interest, dividends, etc... would count as gross income.
Individuals would each receive a $12,000 personal deduction. Dependents would receive a $5,000 deduction.
Up to 10% of gross income could be deducted for gifts to registered charities.
Up to $10,000 could be deducted for health care costs.
Up to $2,000 could be deducted for purchase of renewable energy devices to power homes such as solar panels, windmills, etc...
No other deductions. No credits. No AMT. No complicated loopholes, schedules, or additional forms.
Under this plan, a typical family of four with annual earnings below $34,000 would pay no tax at all, the burden of taxes falling progressively more on those with more means to carry it.
While not a flat tax system, my simple progressive tax plan eliminates the loopholes and is about as fair as can be done. The current books of instructions and multiple forms will be replaced with a single page form with instructions printed on the back.
My tax system would have a 10% rate for those with gross income under $100,000; 15% from there to under $250,000; 20% from there to under $500,000; 25% from there to under $1,000,000; and 33% for a million and up.
Interest, dividends, etc... would count as gross income.
Individuals would each receive a $12,000 personal deduction. Dependents would receive a $5,000 deduction.
Up to 10% of gross income could be deducted for gifts to registered charities.
Up to $10,000 could be deducted for health care costs.
Up to $2,000 could be deducted for purchase of renewable energy devices to power homes such as solar panels, windmills, etc...
No other deductions. No credits. No AMT. No complicated loopholes, schedules, or additional forms.
Under this plan, a typical family of four with annual earnings below $34,000 would pay no tax at all, the burden of taxes falling progressively more on those with more means to carry it.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Why Me?
Why should anyone vote for MK in 2012?
Are you really happy with the candidates you've had to choose from lately? Probably not. The vast majority of people in this country vote for "none of the above" by staying home in droves on election day. The two major parties are more interested in winning than they are in doing what's best for the country. They know most people will choose the least of three evils and abstain from voting. They then select easily handled candidates that are the most marketable in mass media to reach those few who actually will vote.
This is hardly the best method for choosing a president, and why there tends to be little to no significant difference in any of the candidates. I can change that. I have never been a member of any political party. I have no handlers or staff. I can make my own decisions based on what's best for the country.
I will not sign any bill that can't be paid for without borrowing money. No one in Washington apparently knows how to live on a budget. I do. I have a pretty good credit rating and have never lived above middle class. I understand how to pay my bills with the money I have. Washington needs to learn this, as our massive debt is crippling our economy and bankrupting the country in a way future generations will never be able to recover from.
I will work to greatly simplify the tax system. The country was founded by those upset with an unfair and punitive tax system forced on us by a tyrannical government. Those founders would spin in their graves to see how much worse those taxes have become. I would not eliminate the income tax system, but would replace it with a simple progressive tax system.
I will not slow the rate of government expansion. I will shrink it drastically. The government has become so large and inefficient that it is almost completely ineffective. One of the reasons 9-11 was not stopped was because of the large number of agencies that couldn't work with each other. The government's answer of creating additional agencies is hardly the answer. I would reduce the number of cabinet positions/departments to 5: Department of Defense, State Department, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, and Department of Welfare. All other government agencies would be eliminated or simplified and run by the appropriate department.
Sound interesting? Keep checking back as I post more detailed information.
Are you really happy with the candidates you've had to choose from lately? Probably not. The vast majority of people in this country vote for "none of the above" by staying home in droves on election day. The two major parties are more interested in winning than they are in doing what's best for the country. They know most people will choose the least of three evils and abstain from voting. They then select easily handled candidates that are the most marketable in mass media to reach those few who actually will vote.
This is hardly the best method for choosing a president, and why there tends to be little to no significant difference in any of the candidates. I can change that. I have never been a member of any political party. I have no handlers or staff. I can make my own decisions based on what's best for the country.
I will not sign any bill that can't be paid for without borrowing money. No one in Washington apparently knows how to live on a budget. I do. I have a pretty good credit rating and have never lived above middle class. I understand how to pay my bills with the money I have. Washington needs to learn this, as our massive debt is crippling our economy and bankrupting the country in a way future generations will never be able to recover from.
I will work to greatly simplify the tax system. The country was founded by those upset with an unfair and punitive tax system forced on us by a tyrannical government. Those founders would spin in their graves to see how much worse those taxes have become. I would not eliminate the income tax system, but would replace it with a simple progressive tax system.
I will not slow the rate of government expansion. I will shrink it drastically. The government has become so large and inefficient that it is almost completely ineffective. One of the reasons 9-11 was not stopped was because of the large number of agencies that couldn't work with each other. The government's answer of creating additional agencies is hardly the answer. I would reduce the number of cabinet positions/departments to 5: Department of Defense, State Department, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, and Department of Welfare. All other government agencies would be eliminated or simplified and run by the appropriate department.
Sound interesting? Keep checking back as I post more detailed information.
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