Ease the burden on taxpayers with a smaller government
The public knows how to spend its money better than the government does. Its the hard work and productivity of the average American that creates jobs, drives innovation, and builds wealth. By contrast, the federal government takes on far too much and mostly produces red tape. So its only right that average Americans keep as much of their wealth as possible. High taxes slow the economy and keep people from getting ahead, so the government should keep the necessary evil of taxes as low as possible. In the future, the federal government should be smaller, only taking on the tasks no one else in society is suited to do. In the meantime, we may run deficits occasionally, but a deficit is preferable to a tax increase particularly when the economy needs a boost.
What Should be Done?
Keep taxes as low as possible, particularly taxes on income and investments that spur the economy. Turn over more public functions, such as social services, to the private sector, which can provide them at lower cost. Give more domestic policy responsibilities to the states, which are closer to the people. Focus the federal government on the tasks only it can perform, like national security. Retool senior entitlements to allow people to invest their Social Security money in stocks and reduce the overall cost of the system in the long run.
Arguments For This Approach
The real cause of the budget deficit is the federal governments habit of overreaching itself. The public can spend its money more effectively than the government ever could. Tax cuts actually help close the budget gap by spurring the economy and bringing in more tax revenue. The federal government should focus on truly national concerns, like defense and international relations. State and local governments are closer to the people they serve, and often are better suited to provide public services. Just because we can afford to do something doesn't mean we should. Government programs should be held to tough standards of necessity and accountability whether the overall budget is in balance or not.
Arguments Against This Approach
We have a huge deficit, which can do serious damage to the economy, canceling out any benefit from tax cuts. We have to balance the budget and not pass this problem on to our grandchildren. You get what you pay for, and taxes are the investment society makes for the services we need, ranging from public schools to the justice system. If anything, programs like education and health care have been cut too much already. U.S. tax rates are already lower than they were a few decades ago and lower than in most other industrial nations. This ignores the approaching crisis in Social Security and Medicare. If we don't solve these problems now, we may break the budget and our promise to the elderly later. And, allowing people to invest Social Security funds may cost money in the short term.
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