Two Visions for Role of Government

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By Katy O'Donnell

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 | 2:03 p.m.

At the heart of competing budget proposals is a fight over the size and role of government.

Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan would cut government spending to less than 20 percent of the economy by 2015, sharply reduce future funding of entitlement programs, and keep taxes low.

President Obama would cut spending by much smaller amounts, put more money into areas like infrastructure and technology, and raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Although the new health care reform law is expected to reduce costs slightly, Obama has not yet proposed measures to tackle the government’s broader fiscal problems with entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Roll over the chart below for details on the two contrasting approaches:

Posted Saturday, April 9, 2011 | 2:41 p.m.

I said it before and I'll say it again: Solutions to the deficit and debt: 1) Raise income taxes back to the same rate as we had in the 1990's (or 1950's - if you prefer to harken back to a 'simpler time') until the debt has been paid off. Once the budget and debt are no longer an issue, taxes can be reduced, provided income equals spending. 2) Cut the defense budget by 80%. The US has not won a war since 1945 (other than 'Grenada, the 4 day war in the 80's); the American people have not been getting a very good return on their investment. We should no longer be the world's police force. 3) Use social security ONLY for retirement benefits 5) Add a life insurance payroll deduction* for those with a non-working spouse and/or children. Those that wish to 'opt out' , the surviving families will not receive any benefit should they die leaving a non-working spouse and/or children. 4) Charge for social security based upon the potential of future payments. Those with a non-working spouse or children will pay higher social security rates than those without a spouse and/or children. 4) Determine the risk* factors of those paying into the Medicare and Medicaid system. Those with higher risk factors (overweight, smokers, alcohol and drug abuse, history of sexually transmitted diseases, etc) pay a higher rate for their future medical treatment. 5) Add disability as a separate payroll deduction* rather than use social security. Those that wish to opt out will not receive a benefit should they become disabled. 6) Those that wish to opt out of a health insurance requirement* may sign a waiver that they agree their family will be excluded from receiving coverage if they do not have the means to pay for treatment. 7) Those receiving government assistance, such as welfare, food stamps or other forms of welfare (other than those physically or mentally incapable) have to work a 40 hour week cleaning government buildings, parks, highways, roads, clearing graffiti, working in a hospice, volunteering at a hospital, animal shelter, etc until they are no longer receiving government aid. 8) All wars*, either provoked or not, will require an added tax of the people. "Freedom isn't free" - the people will only accept that cliche when money actually comes out of their pocket. 9) All government expenditures will require and equal amount of tax. Pay as you go. 10) Politicians than spend more than 12 years in ANY political office will be barred from receiving a salary, expense allowance or pension if their personal wealth exceeds $5,000,000 11) Any politician convicted of an ethics violation will pay restitution and lose any future pension benefits, regardless of time served. 12) Elected official salaries will be based upon the GDP of the government. Any decrease will result in a comparative deduction in salary. 13) Any politician that leaves office and works for a lobbying firm will forfeit any pension received, plus pay the tax payers a percentage of salary received based upon the amount of years in public office. 14) Infrastructure maintenance and improvements will be borne by excessive profits in those industries that hold a monopoly. Example: until cars can be fueled by hydrogen, electric, wind, solar, etc, oil companies ARE a monopoly and will therefore use their billion dollar profits to fund the infrastructure for their industry: roads, bridges, highways and freeways, etc. 15) CEO's that work in an industry where the citizens are required to participate will have salaries approved by the people; ie the insurance industry. For example: There is no reason for the CEO of Wellpoint to have received a 51% increase in 2010 for a $13,000,000 salary, plus benefits when there has not been an equal reduction in health insurance premiums to its customers, an equal increase in salary to its employees and an equal increase in return to its shareholders. *This should satisfy the 'personal responsibility' crowd