Cliff Notes

Cliff Notes was Originally Posted on December 27, 2012 by lavarock

I have tried to stay away from news concerning the Fiscal Cliff, but even without much background on the proposals being considered, I will still give my opinion.

Whether rich get taxed more or not will probably not effect them much. However, if that is one of the main points the Dems are pushing to raise funds I suggest they are crazy.

You just can’t continue to raise taxes on anyone to solve financial problems.

If you have massive credit card debt, you don’t keep taking on more hours of work and ask for raises without first cutting your expenses. You would cut your phone bill, turn off lights, stop paying for your kids rent when they should be getting a job and paying it themselves. Doesn’t that all make sense?

I was happy to see a few years ago, that the government was selling off old properties they held that were not being used. Perhaps they had an old military base that had been closed down. They removed equipment and sold the land and building. That is a good start but we need LOTS OF THINGS LIKE THAT.

There is a lot of waste in government alone. I don’t know how to solve it, but consider all of those “use it or lose it” funding programs. Along about December many parts of government waste money on items because they must use up funds before the end of the year else they will not get as much money in their budget next year. It is not unlike giving a kid a cash card with $100 on it. Their first thought is not “What do I need?”, rather “What can I buy for $100?”.

Of all of the government agencies, why don’t we have one called “Department of Efficiency?”. Businesses who want to improve their bottom line hire an outside company to increase their efficiency. Why can’t we do that for government?

I say this because most governments (not all) are inefficient. A politicians main goal is to get re-elected (how many have you heard say “I am just going to run for 1 term”?).

Statistics are difficult to nail down. When you look at one set of numbers it says about 8% of US citizens work for the Government, However that number includes children and people not in the workforce.

Since Washington DC is a government town with lots of federal buildings and less residences, it should not be surprising that 38% of the people in the District work for the government. 31% of workers in Alaska work for the government. 27% or Virginia workers, 26% of Maryland workers, down to 15% in Colorado. The Gallup poll is here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/141785/gov-employment-ranges-ohio.aspx

Many people feel that the income tax system is broken, giving certain people preference over others. Homeowners vrs renters, singles vrs married couples, rich vrs poor. I am a flat tax proponent whether it is a national sales tax or whatever. The problem is many politicians are against this for the same reason many companies give you a rebate after the fact, rather than cutting the cost in the first place. It is easier after the fact to come up with reasons why not to give you your own money back. Our government thrives on taking money up front and then perhaps rebating a bit back later.

Imagine we had a flat tax of 20% on everything we bay and that money funded the government. Now lets suppose that the government needed more money and suggested they had to raise the rate to 25%. Imagine the outrage of the citizens who would see an immediate increase in their everyday costs. many would stop or cut down on buying items and the government would have an immediate shortfall. This is one reason they take their cut of your pay UP FRONT, to eliminate the public deciding whether they want to spend more money on government spending. You are forced to finance the government at whatever rate they decide and then hope that you are one of the lucky ones to get a larger share of that money back later. Here is a hint, the people who get the bigger share back are more likely to vote for the politicians allowing them to get that bigger share.

If you were to go to a casino and play a number of slot machines, do you play the ones that are not paying off in the hopes that they might, or do you stay on the machine that consistently is paying out money?

Unfortunately, many people vote for the politician who gives them the most money, rather than the one who cuts expenses.

My High School was a private school and did not get government money, rather relying upon donations from alumni. They have build a new cafeteria, planetarium, gymnasium and a gigantic new living space for all students. Many of the buildings are new and the funding keeps coming in.

I mention this to show that if we were to cut government funding of some projects, donations and supporters from the private sector might pick up the slack. Rather than naming government building after dead politicians, how about letting corporate sponsors have naming rights? It is not a secret that we are a capitalistic country right?

I don’t think we need to go that far, but would a sign outside the White House be so bad?

“When you want your house to stand out, Glidden Paint. Glidden donated paint for the 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms of the White House, because Glidden takes pride in our Nation’s house as you do with yours.”

It’s just a thought.