Okay, here is a crazy thought. When the average individual is faced with a significant change in their economic circumstances, they are generally forced to step back and go in a very different direction to deal with it. Here is a suggestion for our noble elected leaders. PULL YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR BUTTS! AND DEAL WITH IT!
Here are some big steps forward in dealing with our economic disaster and yes, it is a disaster. Even if the problem gets fixed today, we will be digging out of it for at least a century. Everybody is to blame, no one is without fault. We the electorate were stupid enough to allow elected officials to bribe us with our own money and we were gullible enough to believe that deficits were acceptable.
Okay - step one - deficits are a bad thing. Let's stop believing that you can spend more than you make and it is somehow okay or justifiable.
Next, decide do we or do we not live in a society with a free market economy? If the answer is yes we do, eliminate every government subsidy, at every level of government for every business, right now today. Done. Over. No more. Ever Again. If you can't make it without the government carrying you then you can't make it. someone else will figure it out.
On to the next thing, government regulations and management of whatever. We need to look at every department, office, commission, and decide should it exist. Why was it created? Are there other mechanisms to take care of it? Start eliminating, not downsizing, not re-engineering, eliminating government agencies that don't really do anything identifiable and necessary.
You with me so far, I have no idea how much money we have stopped spending but we aren't there yet.
Here is a biggie - what is our military for? What is the primary mission of the Armed Forces of the United States? That needs to be cleared examined, identified, and then we need to get smart about spending defense dollars. I think it is time to let certain parts of the world figure it out themselves. Make the military, lean, mean, focused, high tech and effective. Warfare in the 21st century is very different from the 20th century. Our spending doesn't reflect our changed reality.
Taxes. Here is my suggestion. Repeal the tax act. Completely. Pass a new act called the Government Funding Act. Let's keep it simple:
Establish a threshold below which you do not pay taxes - one for a single person, one for a single person supporting children, one for a married person. Let's say you make less than $20,000 per year, you pay no tax. Then, we should need all the social programs that go along with low wage earners.
Then for everyone else, a flat tax - let's say 20%. No deductions of any sort. Simple, straight forward. All sources of income - 20% tax - for everyone.
Every dollar of spend goes through as a standalone bill. No earmarks, pork, or attachments. No bundling. the politicians have shown they aren't able to handle the privilege of doing that. If the support cannot be gathered, too bad. The federal government would not get involved in a relatively small project in a single district as it just wouldn't get through and if it's that small, it should be handled at the federal level. State and Local legislatures would start to deal with the issues they should because other levels wouldn't want to get involved.
The government might actually become efficient!
I suggest we try doing the above things and see where we are in 10 years. I suspect a lot of the 'entitlement' spending would still need to be addressed, but maybe, just maybe, we would be able to say we addressed the other issues first.