Solutions that will stimulate the economy and reinvigorate our nation:
1) Cut spending. We cannot reduce the national debt until we cut spending. We must live within our means and Congress has a moral and Constitutional obligation to do so. They hold the purse strings by design; taxation is tied to representation. Congress must reduce the size of Federal agencies and stop over spending - this may mean layoffs and reductions in pay or benefits for Federal employees. Stimulus dollars must stop and the big three budget items must be addressed: military spending, Social Security and Medicare.
2) Cut regulations. Start by saying no to new Federal regulations and encroachments: nationalized health care, new tax laws, banking reforms, expanded powers of the Federal Reserve, Federal ownership and subsidies of housing, Federal Education mandates and quotas, Sarbanes Oxley, and artificially inflated labor costs. Yes, this means reducing the power, authority and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Reserve, Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, Department of Education, Department of Labor and Dept of Health and Human Services. The Cato Institute has produced at least one view on how it can be accomplished.
3) Simplify and cut taxes: If we will simplify and cut taxes, businesses and individuals can throw their creative energies toward new products and services instead of managing the complexities of the tax code. We need to move to a flat income tax or use a flat consumption tax. Rich and poor alike should pay their fair share. Government services are here for all citizens not just the rich. Every citizen should pay their share.
4) Cut the money supply, strengthen the dollar and re-establish the gold standard. The simple laws of supply and demand are at work on our currency. Printing more currency devalues the dollar, especially when it is used to prop up Federal spending and bailouts through debt. The dollar will be stronger and worth more in the global economy when it is tied to a hard asset like gold. Returning to a gold standard cannot happen overnight but we need a plan to work towards this objective.
5) Cut the national debt and lower the national debt limit. We are in a dangerous place when the national debt nearly equals the size of our annual economic output ($14 trillion debt vs. $15 trillion economy). We must reverse this trend if we are to remain credit worthy and maintain our ability to buy and sell goods to other nations.
6) Cut artificially inflated labor costs. American laborers are not competitive with many nations due to artifically inflated labor costs. These are inflated due to Federal law and disruption of the free market. We must lower minimum wage laws and let the market set the real cost of labor if we want off-shore manufacturing and service jobs to return to the United States. Public companies have an obligation to share holders to pursue a profit and they cannot be competitive with their products and services with American jobs if their labor costs are 2-4 times more expensive than foreign labor. Foreign competitors that sell similar products in U.S. markets will simply have lower prices or better profit margins due to lower labor costs. In concert with lower labor costs we need to cut unemployment taxes and shorten unemployment benefits.
7) Tort reform. Our health care system is held hostage by exorbitant settlements awarded by misguided practices. There is a reason why doctors call it "practicing medicine." Medicine is not an exact science and unfortunately tragedies will occur no matter how good the physician or the medical practice. Negligence should be punished but well meaning and caring doctors need to be protected from unreasonable settlements. This will lower the cost of malpractice insurance and health care costs.
8) Health care reform. Let's start with something simple like repealing, defunding and blocking the recent nationalized health care bill. In addition to this I recommend the following:
- Restore the payment relationship between the patient and healthcare provider. Insurance companies are a third party organization in the middle of the transaction. The increases costs. It creates blindness on the part of the consumer and sets up a expectation where the patient is no longer personally responsible for their own well being and they cannot see actual costs for services delivered. We see this most visibly when paying a cash price for service that is often 30% less than the price billed to the insurance company. The service hasn't changed only the price has.
- Inter-state competition. We need to allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. This will improve availability of services and bring more price competition - IF combined with a change in the patient - provider payment relationship.
- Tort reform. We must put a cap on excessive fines levied against health care practitioners. They are "practicing medicine." It isn't an exact science. Each person is unique. When an error occurs, when they are acting in good faith with honest efforts, they need to be protected. Liability insurance drives up the cost of health care - it also prevents many, many good people from donating their expertise and service for fear of being sued and losing their ability to practice medicine.
9) Reestablish legal immigration. Read my positions on immigration
here.
10) Restore States powers by repealing the 17th Amendment. The Senate was never intended to be enticed by the popular vote. This is a root cause of bribes, extortion, earmarks and pet projects within the Senate. This is one of the key checks and balances that was established in the Constitution and has been removed. Our entire political process and tone will change when States powers in the Senate are restored.
In summary, we must hold to the Constitution; embrace personal responsibility, self-reliance and limited government. We must protect the free market from government encroachment.