Friday, August 22, 2008

Finally ! A Fiscal Plan for the USA

A good way to get out of debt

In typical fashion for pragmatic midwesterners, Congressman Paul Ryan from the great state of Wisconsin has introduced a House Resolution for dealing with the dead-end fiscal morass we face, and that, of course, those that want to become President are not dealing with because the issues are just too complicated for the voters, who, rationally, know that their vote won't make a difference and therefore don't have the incentive to study the issues.

To wit:
Health Care. Instead of tax-deductions given to big business to provide health insurance for their employees (only half of Americans work for big business, thus the other half are penalized for the big business-slanted health care subsidies), Ryan's proposal allows families to receive directly the money employers pay for insurance. The recipients can then use their own money as they see fit for their own needs. The competition created by people choosing their own plans (including plans available from other states, currently prohibited by Federal law, essentially creating insurance monopolies in each state) will created innovation and lower prices. (Competition by definition is what creates innovation). Plus they can keep the money if they change (or lose) jobs.

Medicaire. The US government medicaire program has $30 trillion in unfunded liabilities, monies that future generations owe due to promises made under the program. Ryan's plan will let seniors (of which there are increasingly more as a percentage of the population) chose under competition their own health needs by purchasing health plans, again creating competition, innovation and falling prices. Now, of course, the government sets the prices and the service delivery requirements. Under the current program their is no incentive for anything except the most mediocre of doctors to provide government-set service

Social Security. After medicaire this is the big IOU taking monies from future generations to give to those living now ($5 trillion IOU accrued by 2030). Ryan again wants to create competition, and reduce the government IOU, by giving the right to those under 55 to invest their social security monies (a little known fact is that 15% of a person's paycheck goes to social security taxes, which the government just uses to fund current expenditures) as they see fit. A nice unwinding of the dependency-building, and oftentimes purposefully hidden, Welfare-State if you ask Workers !

Taxes. There is nothing worse than our complicated tax system which gives many hidden breaks to those who need them the least. Even the least pecuniary-oriented taxpayer has to spend hours doing their taxes just to make sure they take advantage of all the breaks out there. Ryan wants to simplify the tax code, a flat 10% tax on the first $50,000 for individuals ($100,000 for families) and 25% tax on more than that. A flat tax has worked to created economic dynamics in alot of places, it's about time the USA joined the modern world.