(Original Post)
Posted: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 2:31 pm, Tue Nov 22, 2011.
By Jamala Rogers | 0 comments
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, aka the Supercommittee, came out of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Their main task was to come up with a proposal to cut $1.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years that would put the federal deficit in check. The committee conceded to failure after months of gridlocked meetings. Their unsurprising impasse means that automatic cuts will begin in 2013.
A lot could happen between now and 2013, but it seems like the Congress is in dire need of help on this issue. I have two suggestions for increasing revenue and reducing the deficit. This is the way I see it.
As a 99 percenter, I favor taxing the 1 percenters who have been ducking and dodging their civic responsibility for much too long.
According to a new report by Citizens for Tax Justice, nearly 300 of the country’s most profitable corporations paid less than half of the corporate tax rate. Some of these tax-evading companies reported a negative income tax rate even when they made a profit. This allowed them to claim tax subsidies. Two thirds of U. S. companies don’t pay taxes. If collected, that’s some revenue!
Let those Bush tax cuts expire in 2012. That’s more revenue.
Now to the cuts.
We have a defense budget that has tripled since 1997 for no good reason. In a post-Cold War era, the U.S. defense budget is more than those of the next 18 largest budgets of other nations combined. With such a huge chunk going towards the military, most of us don’t even know how it’s spent.
The military has a lot of folks sitting on their brass. An NYU study underscores that every level of management has increased since the Cold War. The number of armed forces has gone down while the number of generals, admirals and the like have gone up.
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has told us about some unnecessary but costly weapon systems that could be cut. Cancelling projects like the over-budgeted, overrated V-22 Osprey aircraft could save $6 billion. Further, the GAO said the Pentagon could save $184.5 billion by 2015 if they stopped buying obsolete or never used military parts and equipment.
Even Defense Secretary Gates has questioned purchases, such as additional 100 fighter jets when the military already has over 3,000 of them. Building more multi-billion-dollar ships when the U.S. Navy is bigger than the next 13 navies combined is ridiculous, especially when 11 of those 13 are supposed to be allies. There’s a reason why $130 million are spent each year by lobbyists to ensure that unnecessary military hardware and other equipment is purchased to pad the pocketbooks of legislators and defense contractors.
Give me a chance to slice that defense budget and I’d also go after the musicians and accountants. There are more musicians in military marching bands than employees in the State Department’s Foreign Service and 10 times as many accountants as there are officers in that service.
I’d keep it going with cutting back on the thousands of service peoples stationed all over the world – in places where there’s no conflict. Propping up dictators in other countries also has an expensive price tag. There’s so much waste at the Pentagon, I’m confident I could reduce that budget by 2/3 and still keep the country safe.
This is a start and it’s not rocket science.
A Congress that seems like it has been unproductive for the last three years is pretty much the same Congress that helped to increase the spending and the deficit. It may be why it’s so difficult to make the tough decisions.
The majority of citizens don’t want to drown in churning waters created by a government that is too cozy with corporations at our expense. It’s past time to end corporate domination that is choking the life out of the economy.
Today we occupy parks and streets. Tomorrow we occupy our government.