concerned consumer
- Obama should have given every tax payer 1,000,000 million dollars. Since there is approximately 900,000,000 million people in the United States, this would have been a one time gift, that we would have to pay taxes on, however comma, the taxpayer would have to sign a promissary note stating that all the debt you had incurred, would have to be payed off before you could spend any on new things. Not only would this have paid off most of americas debt i.e.(credit card companies, car payments, homeowners, property tax, etc....this would keep those businesses afloat and thriving, plus we would be out there spending the 2 or 3 hundred thousand left over after everything was paid off. Giving it to the huge coorporations was a dumb idea, but doing it twice?? Three times? When will it be our turn. I mean we the people, of the people, for the people deserve a chance to set things right, and get out of debt while doing it. the consumers helped make the debt...let us help to bail us out.
- —Guest Dawna L. Ballenger
A 50 State National lottery!
- Very simple people! A 50 State National lottery! All proceeds go to paying off the National Debt, will pay it off in less than 5 years! Most of the lottery machines are already in place! They would only get a very small payment for the use of there machines NO percentage! They should do it for free, they make more than enough money as it is, they should do it at cost!
- —Guest hobbsiowa
ms crowder
- I agree, give middle class homeowners who've been paying their mortgages a break in interest and do not subsidize oil companies.
- —Guest ru crowder
Pay down the debt now
- To fix our national debt the government should: 1. Debt = 14.3T, charge a 1.43% national tax (everything but property and vehicles)that must be applied to the debt. 2. Cut foreign aid by 50% now. 3. Cut all of Gov by 10%. The individual recipients i.e. DOD would need to determine the 10% (personnel or supplies or anything. 10% off the top. 4. Return troops home. 5. Stop new program spending unless something else of the same value is cut. Five easy steps that would solve the problem and help us all recover.
- —Guest Joe
Pregnancy Medicaid
- I think Medicaid is very important, especially for women giving birth and they can't afford it. I think they should raise an age limit for medicaid. Right now if you get pregnant and you can't afford it, you automatically get it. I think you should have to be 21 and older along with the income qualifications to qualify for pregnancy medicaid. Maybe not only will it help our debt but it might encourage parents to talk to their kids about not having sex and prevent teen pregnancy. While they are under 21 they are covered under their parents insurance. So it should be the parents jobs to take care of their children's hospital bills, not the government's. People who are adults, have settled down in life and are mentally ready to have kids and can't afford to pay for OBGYN visits and labor/delivery cost should get it. Teenagers who get pregnant because they can't or don't want to control their hormones should be dealt with by their parents. That should save mill/billions of dollars a year.
- —Guest GA
Its just so OBVIOUS
- Kill the Bush tax cuts for the rich and close up corporate loopholes.The taxes on the rich are at or near all time lows.Whats fair is fair and right now the middle class and the poor are bearing the burden.When Warren Buffetts is paying less percentage of taxes than his secretary as he himself attested to on "60 Minutes" and the corporations are showing record profits yet unemployment is stagnant something is screwed up in the USA!
- —Guest Jon Eric
Spending
- STOP SPENDING SO MUCH! For a "shared" responsibility as the president has repeatedly touted, how about the 47% of US wage earners who don't pay ANY fed income tax. WHERE IS THEIR FAIR SHARE??!! I have never received a paycheck from a poor person.
- —Guest J h
Too ill to think
- Dear Americans: FED injected 16 trillion US Dollars into world economy in tha past 3 years. Citibank alone receives mire than 3 billion, that's 30 times it's market cap! 16 billion is more thancapitalization of NYSE and Nasdaq combined, it is more than all US outstanding debt. And do you know where FED got all that money, from nowhere, it created it out of nothing!! How is that for a change. And what about your president elect Obama broke half of the amendment of the constitution, it is now legal to spy, kill, imprison, start new wars(Lybia, Yemen, almost Pakistan) and continue and increase the old ones, Iraq, Afganistan. There is much more that is going on in the USA, and it is a great pain to watch Amarica go this direction, and the Amecican people to stand by it all, and not wanting to open their eyes.
- —Guest Russian
Eliminate the Penny
- ...and sell the 2.5% copper content and remaining zinc.
- —Guest M910
Cut military budget,health ed/sales tax
- The fear instilled in U.S. citizens permits huge expenditures in military and security status. This is absurd and is destroying the economy. Use intelligence to watch for realistic threats at much much less cost. Then spend more on human conditions to make a hapy nation. If people are happy the country will always be strong....as well as healthy. Much more education in healthy living would help huge medical expenses and develop a happier, healthier public. A federal sales tax to replace income tax would restore the spirit of a progressive tax where the very wealthy would not escape participation.
- —Guest Ken Cohen
Won't this work for debt deal and jobs?
- Republicans argue against increasing rates on wealthy individuals arguing that this will hurt job growth because many such individuals are Sub-S or small LLC business owners who we hope will provide the job growth. If they can't agree to revamp the tax code to eliminate preferences and broaden the base, why not use the tax code as it has always been used to influence economic behavior? Change the tax code to allow a double deduction of wages for NEW employees. Payroll is always a business expense. But this would allow payroll for new employees to be deducted a second time. And the deduction would be bankable! If there are no profits to tax in the year the employees are added, the deduction can be carried forward to offset income in future years when there is. Doesn’t this even meet the Republicans biggest test? - A tax increase with an offsetting tax decrease?
- —Guest steve
National Disaster Relief
- I feel that we are in a time of National and quite possibly International disaster should our elected officials not come to a solution. I believe as a country we need to forget about party lines and come together to raise money to reduce the national debt. Where are all of the movie stars, musicians, politicians that were so quick to organize benefit concerts, telethons, donation centers to help those who were affected by Katrina, Tsunami , 9/11 ? I think that we need a shift in thinking . Why dont we have benefit concerts so that people can give willingly to help the US people/govt get back on their feet from National Disaster. In addition, for those politicians who want to secure a seat next term, I challenge you to donate all of your campaign funds to the national debt. Donating your funds to reduction is the best promotion you could do for yourself. Who wouldnt vote for a congressman/canidate for presidency who willingly donates their financial contributions?
- —ARAnder
Fix this economy
- for one bring out troops home we are spending way too much on a police action. Drug test people collecting welfare..every body working has to do it so why not the people collecting welfare..pee in a cup once a month for a check? Hell sighn me up! Set a price limit on gasoline/deisel fuel so the public can circulate more money into the tax system by buying products instead of fuel $2.50 a gallon for 10 years . Increase the sales tax be $0.02 Now take this tax money and invest it in factories whose sole purpose is to employ workers and push all profits into the national debit. Put a cap on congressional spending evin I know not to spend money I dont have!
- —Guest Highly educated morons
Lottery for the US Deficit
- Instead of pulling money from here or there why not have a lottery for the US Deficit? Any one any where can buy a ticket and win a jackpot prize (money, house, car, bonds/stocks, trips) and the money from the sales would go to pay on the deficit. I believe that if people knew it would help the country they would participate in a big way...especially if they are getting something in return.
- —Guest MJ White
loans from trust fund
- My understanding is that the funds owed to the social security trust fund are interest bearing which is cotrary to the claim in this article that the loans are interest free. Who is correct?
- —Guest russ
