"What We Would Like to Hear"

On that, Boom, you and I absolutely agree. Leave taxes where they are for now and CUT SPENDING. Then, if there's room to spare, cut taxes accordingly.

 

The country's financial situation is one that nobody has really picked up and run with as a reason for getting out of Iraq. If Obama or Hillary were to pick up on that, they'd probably be able to win more than a few votes. Of course, those votes (and potential savings) would be given right back when any government-funded health care proposal is floated about.
There is plenty of defense spending that can be slashed. Why do we still need bases in Europe, especially if we end up leaving Iraq? As much as the EU is kicking our ass economically, I think they've sufficiently recovered from World War II that they can defend themselves. Leave Europe and the Balkan mess to them. I'd say keep the bases in Japan and Asia for now, though. North Korea and China are on the radar as potential threats that could flare up quickly.
And if I'm elected president in 2012, my idea for social security is...no more social security. Retire it within a decade. Anyone above a certain income line or below a certain age (55, maybe?) is ineligible. That gives people creeping up on retirement 10-15 years to start saving and ensures that those who are too old don't fall off the cliff. At the same time, you DO promote the hell out of things like IRAs that will turn people on to the idea of saving on their own. You can't help everyone, but you can do your best to teach people to help themselves.

One area we desperately need to increase spending in, however, is energy research. I'd even go so far as to offer a $1 billion prize to the person or company who comes up with a viable, clean, and preferably renewable alternative to fossil fuels. A billion dollars is a great incentive, but a relative drop in the bucket in government terms.

 

So Mr. President since I won't be eligible for SS, when do I get my refund of the money I've paid in?

 

Not to mention the Air Force's role in space and missile defense, satellite stuff, things like that.

 

You bring up a very good point on this. Let's run a hypothetical here: Social Security is halted after a specific date. If you were eligible by that date, you get the money you're supposed to. Everyone else? Tough noogies.

What kind of uprising (I don't mean armed, but political) would we see for those of us who HAVE paid into SS, essentially funding our parents and grandparents?

 

That's the idea I was trying to get across. The missions are so incredibly different it simply wouldn't work.

 

My guess is that if we went that route there also won't be enough money in the system to cover those who would be eligible either.

I'm not against blowing it up but my taxes better go down too.

 

What refund would you get now? It's a broken system and there's no easy way to fix it. The easiest solution is to sunset it.

 

What if we take that $500 billion plus per year and, for a period of 5-10 years, keep taxes where they are and pay down the national debt?

 

Another way, I'm convinced, would be to make the line-item veto constitutional. While that kind of power can be bad in the wrong president's hands, it could be a very effective budget-cutting tool.

 

I can't imagine there is any chance I'll get my hands on even a portion of the Social Security money I'll be due at retirement. That program is an overfunded, bloated joke, and if it must be kept, then it should be overhauled so that the people paying into it can be assured they'll get the money due to them during their retirement years.

Otherwise, just kill the damn thing, and I'll take the same amount of money out of my bi-weekly and invest it in a fund that guarantees some return and will be there waiting for me in a couple of decades. Then 20 percent of the national budget has been cut right there. And some of the money people save on it might actually get reinvested into the economy, for a double bonus.

I can't see that happening, though. Too many people not smart enough to save/invest the windfall. So instead, all of us will have to pay for that, and likely risk getting little if any return on it when we retire.
[/end rant]

 

Yes. Because who knows better than the American public how to manage and nurture their own money toward a bright and assured future....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/business/06cnd-mortgage.html?hp