Time to Roll Out a Plan of Action: the Honest Deal

10% unemployment and rising. Capital investment and purchases in decline. Yup the Democrats have done a great job since Congress took over in early 2007 of running the economy into the ground. Deficit spending and tax hikes are getting the country nowhere. Time for Republicans to roll out a plan. Here are some ideas:

CUT TAXES!:

Well, this will be a tax cut but it will probably bring more revenue than expected. Establish four numbers for income tax, zero, ten, fifteen, and twenty. Earners below a certain threshold pay zero, then ten percent, then fifteen, then twenty. No deductions allowed for any reason.

Eliminate any taxes on savings and investment. Our biggest economic problem as a nation is lack of capital even though we are the most productive country on earth. Encourage savings and investment in the United States.

This is not a tax, but here's a thought on Social Security. Stop raiding it for funds and deposit it into banks where the money paid in can collect interest. We put Bernie Madoff in jail for life for creating a failed Ponzi scheme that people had chosen to join. Who in the federal government will pay when this Ponzi scheme collapses? At the very least this fund will collect interest and help replenish the kitty while injecting real money into the economy. This is what we should have implemented rather than a bank bailout.

CUT SPENDING!:

The federal government needs to cut back its budget ten percent in real terms. There are quite a few ways to accomplish this.

How much money does the federal government waste on foolishness every year? Time to cut back on sheer waste. Any public service announcements funded by the government are a luxury. Get rid of them.

Federal grants not related to technology development or national security should be suspended for two years. No funding for art or humanities studies at all. again, this is luxury spending.

No work on new road projects for five years. Complete what we have started and maintain what we have.

Stop funding questionable groups like ACORN. That is a no brainer. Also stop funding any get out the vote efforts. If people don't know an election is coming in November of even numbered years, we might not really want them to vote anyway.

Cut off any education or welfare funds to states that distribute them to illegal aliens. Sorry, no benefits for those breaking the law. While we are at it, release states from unfunded mandate obligations while so many of them are about to break from the economic strain.

Cut off foreign aid that is not security related. Also suspend payments to the United Nations. This is a luxury we cannot afford.

Cut back the Census to a Constitutional minimum.

Of course there are thousands more ideas on cutting spending. If we stop proposing more crap and cut from what we are spending, life will be much easier and prosperity will return. Then when the economy is back on a firm basis, you can have luxuries like art and humanities grants.

OTHER POLICIES:

The United States relies upon cheap energy as an advantage in production. This offsets the labor cost advantages of third world nations when we have it. We need to make it a federal priority to increase the production of energy in this country to meet our own demand and to also make us an exporting nation when possible. Do what is necessary to get more power plants constructed. Do what is necessary to access a wide variety of energy sources, not only coal and natural gas, but also wind, solar, freshwater hydroelectric, and wave power. Get those power bills down and you will have more money available to invest and spend.

Simplify federal laws related to manufacturing. I am not saying that we should compromise the environment or work safety, but we add so many laws on a regular basis, how can industry really keep up? Every country from time to time has to evaluate laws and re-codify them. Let's make the law more understandable and more obeyable by simplifying it.

Get rid of all shares of privately owned companies. Also get the government out of the railway business. Privatize whenever and wherever possible.

Cheap power, tax cuts, and less government spending. That is how a country gains and keeps prosperity. This should be part of the Republican Plan for Resurgence. Call it the Honest Deal