KenH
Well-Known Member
A clear-cut solution to the United States government's yearly budget deficit problem:
Freeze total spending, with no increase for inflation, until the growth in yearly revenue matches the yearly expenditures. Now, as long as the total amount of spending remains the same, then individual items in the budget can go up as long as they are offset by decreases in other individual items. Once the budget is balanced, probably around 5-7 years or so, then yearly expenditures can rise to match any increase in yearly revenue. If the Congress wants to speed up the process, then they can increase revenues faster or actually reduce the amount spending; but the minimum restraint would be to not increase total spending, with no increase for inflation, year-over-year until revenue catches up to spending.
None of this is to indicate that I agree with the federal government being involved in pretty much every nook and cranny of the United States economy and the lives of individual citizens. I am a minarchist and I think that government, especially the federal government, should be restricted to the police power, the military power, and the courts. I realize, though, that minarchists are a tiny, tiny fraction of the population of the United States(unlike 130 years ago when Grover Cleveland was president), so if the budget is to be balanced, then it will have to be balanced with the federal government at pretty much its current size, scope, and reach.
Freeze total spending, with no increase for inflation, until the growth in yearly revenue matches the yearly expenditures. Now, as long as the total amount of spending remains the same, then individual items in the budget can go up as long as they are offset by decreases in other individual items. Once the budget is balanced, probably around 5-7 years or so, then yearly expenditures can rise to match any increase in yearly revenue. If the Congress wants to speed up the process, then they can increase revenues faster or actually reduce the amount spending; but the minimum restraint would be to not increase total spending, with no increase for inflation, year-over-year until revenue catches up to spending.
None of this is to indicate that I agree with the federal government being involved in pretty much every nook and cranny of the United States economy and the lives of individual citizens. I am a minarchist and I think that government, especially the federal government, should be restricted to the police power, the military power, and the courts. I realize, though, that minarchists are a tiny, tiny fraction of the population of the United States(unlike 130 years ago when Grover Cleveland was president), so if the budget is to be balanced, then it will have to be balanced with the federal government at pretty much its current size, scope, and reach.
