2010 budget

Now here is a plan I can live with. I quoted the whole thing because I like it.

The total TJIC budget is $805 billion. I note that this keeps the essential functions of a state – a military, care of veterans, the courts, the national parks, federal marshals, border patrol, coast guard, mint, the presidency, statistics and censuses, diplomacy, etc. all fully funded.

In the first year, the social security “obligation” would be discharged by creating for everyone over the age of 65 to an annuity, and anyone between 40 and 65 a funded 401k plan. Funding would come from revenues raised by auctioning off radio spectrum, now-unnecessary office buildings, equipment, BLM land, etc.

To hand-wave some numbers: assume that 20 years of current benefits spending is sufficient to fund annuities that would pay the same level of benefits in perpetuity (the actual math is more complicated, because according to the actuary tables many recipients are going to die tomorrow, and many more have decades to live, but this is hand-waving, so live with it).

$580 billion in 1 year expenses times 20 years is approximately $10 trillion. The BLM holds 262 million acres. At $1k each, that’s half of the money right there. Sell of 50% of the federally owned offices and real-estate in DC, Manhattan, Boston, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, and we’ve made another 10 billion or more. Sell off the strategic helium reserve for another six bucks and 12 cents, etc., and pretty soon, we’re fully funded.

Transition over, we now need to come up with $805 billion / year.

I’d scrap the individual income tax, the corporate income tax, FICA, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, and customs…which is to say, absolutely all current tax programs.

I’d replace this with a head tax, with an optional higher tier: everyone pays $2k. Those who want to brag pay either $5k or $50k. A public service campaign involving celebrities and sports heros broadcasts the message that if every citizen in the US payed $2k/year, we’d collect $600 billion/year.

To close the gap, we grant citizenship to 400,000 individuals who promise to pay at the $50k/year tier. As Joshua pointed out, we’d end up with a fair number of bankers from Singapore, China, and Russia.

Or, perhaps, we sell off 5 times as many slots to folks willing to pay at the a $10k/year level.

Are there 2 million in the Indian middle class who might want to live here?

Voila. Social Security solved. Unconstitutional programs ended. Progressive taxes killed. Free trade established. Farmer welfare ended. The budget cut by 70%. The middle class expanded.

…all done in the context of the current American system.