Aloha_Shooter
12-11-2012, 17:39
From the WSJ:
Try your hand at balancing the budget and share the results. (http://projects.wsj.com/my-deficit-plan/)
I disagree with some of their figures for savings or tax revenue generated because I think CBO is still using static economic models rather than accounting for changes in investor/earner behavior but I still wound up with a $77B surplus by 2020:
Specifically, I chose the following:
Eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes
Increase the payroll tax that funds Medicare’s hospital insurance fund, which pays for hospital stays, to 3.9% from 2.9%
Increase to $170,000 the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax, and adjust for inflation in future years. The 2011 maximum was $106,800.
Phase out the mortgage-interest deduction over a decade beginning in 2014
Increase the share of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits subject to taxes
Prevent deductions for charitable contributions unless the donations exceed 2% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income
Repeal a deduction used by oil companies, filmmakers and manufacturers for producing domestically instead of overseas
Increase the amount of money coming in to the Social Security system by requiring state and local government employees to join and pay the payroll taxes
Slow the growth of spending on Social Security and other government benefits by changing the way cost-of-living increases are calculated
Keep 2013 (defense) spending levels where they were set in the summer 2011 deal to raise the debt ceiling(Included in "Fiscal Cliff")
Keep 2013 (non-defense) spending levels where they were set in the summer 2011 deal to raise the debt ceiling(Included in "Fiscal Cliff")
Limit highway funding largely to the revenue generated by the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax
Reduce by 0.5 percentage points the pay raise for federal government employees, whose pay has been frozen since 2011
Increase passenger fees for airport security and air-traffic control
Eliminate some federal financing support for local rail transit programs
Reduce federal funding for developing new energy technology
Eliminate 11 grant programs for elementary and secondary education
Eliminate grants to large and medium-sized airports
Restrict Pell grants to fewer, needier students
Eliminate funding for national community service programs, such as AmeriCorps
Repeal the expansion of health insurance coverage under the new health-care overhaul laws going into effect*
Give states a set amount of money to fund long-term care under Medicaid, the state and federal health-care program for poor people
Repeal the requirement that everyone carry health insurance*
Increase the premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers costs like doctor’s visits, to 35% of spending per person, up from 25%
Raise the eligibility age for Medicare to 67, up from 65*
Reduce how much the federal government reimburses states for Medicaid costs*
Change the structure of Medicare out-of-pocket costs and additional private insurance to reduce overall Medicare costs
Limit patients’ abilities to sue doctors for medical malpractice
Reduce federal payments to hospitals with teaching programs
Cut spending across-the-board in areas where Medicare spending per person is unusually high
Reduce the government’s share of federal employees’ health care costs by moving to a voucher system
Change how initial Social Security benefits are calculated to slow payments’ growth
Gradually raise the age at which workers are eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits, to as high as 70, up from a range of 65 to 67
Gradually raise the earliest eligibility age for Social Security to 64, up from 62
Change how Social Security cost-of-living adjustments are calculated to slow payments' growth
Reverse the order of the two-step process to calculate Social Security benefits, which would encourage some people to work longer
Reduce initial disability insurance benefits by 15 percent
Make Social Security benefits tied to a worker’s average earnings over 38 years instead of 35 years, which generally would include more years of lower pay
Extend the waiting period for disability insurance to 12 months, from five months
Allow the (other "mandatory" programs) automatic spending cuts from the debt-ceiling deal to go into effect(Included in "Fiscal Cliff")
Tie interest rates on federal student loans to market conditions, causing rates on student loans to rise with interest rates
Make it harder to qualify for food stamps and reduce the maximum benefits available
Go ahead, tell me I'm a cruel heartless bastage. Sadly, eliminating whole federal agencies wasn't an option. $430B in additional tax revenues that I didn't think would harm the economy too much, $174B in cuts to discretionary spending, $575B in cuts to benefits/entitlements. THAT's balance Mr. President ...
Try your hand at balancing the budget and share the results. (http://projects.wsj.com/my-deficit-plan/)
I disagree with some of their figures for savings or tax revenue generated because I think CBO is still using static economic models rather than accounting for changes in investor/earner behavior but I still wound up with a $77B surplus by 2020:
Specifically, I chose the following:
Eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes
Increase the payroll tax that funds Medicare’s hospital insurance fund, which pays for hospital stays, to 3.9% from 2.9%
Increase to $170,000 the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax, and adjust for inflation in future years. The 2011 maximum was $106,800.
Phase out the mortgage-interest deduction over a decade beginning in 2014
Increase the share of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits subject to taxes
Prevent deductions for charitable contributions unless the donations exceed 2% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income
Repeal a deduction used by oil companies, filmmakers and manufacturers for producing domestically instead of overseas
Increase the amount of money coming in to the Social Security system by requiring state and local government employees to join and pay the payroll taxes
Slow the growth of spending on Social Security and other government benefits by changing the way cost-of-living increases are calculated
Keep 2013 (defense) spending levels where they were set in the summer 2011 deal to raise the debt ceiling(Included in "Fiscal Cliff")
Keep 2013 (non-defense) spending levels where they were set in the summer 2011 deal to raise the debt ceiling(Included in "Fiscal Cliff")
Limit highway funding largely to the revenue generated by the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax
Reduce by 0.5 percentage points the pay raise for federal government employees, whose pay has been frozen since 2011
Increase passenger fees for airport security and air-traffic control
Eliminate some federal financing support for local rail transit programs
Reduce federal funding for developing new energy technology
Eliminate 11 grant programs for elementary and secondary education
Eliminate grants to large and medium-sized airports
Restrict Pell grants to fewer, needier students
Eliminate funding for national community service programs, such as AmeriCorps
Repeal the expansion of health insurance coverage under the new health-care overhaul laws going into effect*
Give states a set amount of money to fund long-term care under Medicaid, the state and federal health-care program for poor people
Repeal the requirement that everyone carry health insurance*
Increase the premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers costs like doctor’s visits, to 35% of spending per person, up from 25%
Raise the eligibility age for Medicare to 67, up from 65*
Reduce how much the federal government reimburses states for Medicaid costs*
Change the structure of Medicare out-of-pocket costs and additional private insurance to reduce overall Medicare costs
Limit patients’ abilities to sue doctors for medical malpractice
Reduce federal payments to hospitals with teaching programs
Cut spending across-the-board in areas where Medicare spending per person is unusually high
Reduce the government’s share of federal employees’ health care costs by moving to a voucher system
Change how initial Social Security benefits are calculated to slow payments’ growth
Gradually raise the age at which workers are eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits, to as high as 70, up from a range of 65 to 67
Gradually raise the earliest eligibility age for Social Security to 64, up from 62
Change how Social Security cost-of-living adjustments are calculated to slow payments' growth
Reverse the order of the two-step process to calculate Social Security benefits, which would encourage some people to work longer
Reduce initial disability insurance benefits by 15 percent
Make Social Security benefits tied to a worker’s average earnings over 38 years instead of 35 years, which generally would include more years of lower pay
Extend the waiting period for disability insurance to 12 months, from five months
Allow the (other "mandatory" programs) automatic spending cuts from the debt-ceiling deal to go into effect(Included in "Fiscal Cliff")
Tie interest rates on federal student loans to market conditions, causing rates on student loans to rise with interest rates
Make it harder to qualify for food stamps and reduce the maximum benefits available
Go ahead, tell me I'm a cruel heartless bastage. Sadly, eliminating whole federal agencies wasn't an option. $430B in additional tax revenues that I didn't think would harm the economy too much, $174B in cuts to discretionary spending, $575B in cuts to benefits/entitlements. THAT's balance Mr. President ...