Stabilize the Debt/Balance the Budget Games

[scott]

You've probably seen plenty of these before - here are two more. Both have a number of "pre-set" choices, so you can make up your own tax increases or spending cuts, but there are a lot of options.

First one: The goal is to get the debt to 60% of GDP by 2018. What I don't like about this isn't it doesn't show the impact on the deficit, but rather translates it to the effect it will have on the debt and your goal is to get it to a certain % of GDP (which in my opinion is not a particularly good approach). It also ignores any economic benefits enacting certain things might have (for example, a job creation program or reduction of business taxes are only shown as things to increase the debt, it doesn't assume any economic benefits or losses from enacting such programs). http://crfb.org/stabilizethedebt/

Second one: This one shows the projected defecit in 2015 and 2030 based on your choices. I like this one better because the results of your choices are easier to see and more direct, but it doesn't have as many choices as the first one (but it has pretty much the same choices plus a few others). http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...s-graphic.html

Post how you did and how you got there.

For the first one, I got us to 57% in 2018 by:

Reduce Troops to 30,000 by 2013
Allow All the Tax Cuts, Except for AMT Patches, to Expire
Grow Regular Discretionary Spending with Inflation
Cut Foreign Economic Aid in Half
Cancel Unobligated ARRA Funds
Raise the Normal Retirement Age to 68
Use An Alternate Measure of Inflation for COLAs
Repeal Legislation (ObamaCare), but Keep Medicare/Medicaid Cuts
Establish a Public Option in the Health Exchange
Reduce Farm Subsidies
Expand Spending on Federal Research & Development
Cut All Earmarks and Use Half of Savings for Deficit Reduction
Increase Mass Transit Funding
Sell Certain Government Assets
Repeal LIFO Accounting Methods and Eliminate Oil and Gas Preferences in the Tax Code
Enact Carbon Tax or Cap-and-Trade
Increase Gas Tax by 10 Cents per Gallon
Raise Social Security Earnings Cap to Cover 90% of Earnings
Eliminate Subsidies for Biofuels



In the second, I created surpluses by doing the following:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...oices=w3553jw0

Cut Foreign Aid in Half
Eliminate Earmarks
Eliminate Farm Subsidies
Reduce nuclear arsenal and space spending
Reduce military to pre-Iraq War size and further reduce troops in Asia and Europe
Reduce noncombat military compensation and overhead
Reduce the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to 30,000 by 2013
Increase the Medicare eligibility age to 70
Cap Medicare growth starting in 2013
Tighten eligibility for disability
Use an alternate measure for inflation (for Social Security)
The Lincoln-Kyl proposal (Estate Taxes)
Allow tax cuts to expire for income above $250,000 a year
Allow tax cuts to expire for income below $250,000 a year
Payroll tax: Subject some incomes above $106,000 to tax

[ElNono]

60% in 2018

Reduce Troops to 30,000 by 2013
Allow All the Tax Cuts, Except for AMT Patches, to Expire
Grow Regular Discretionary Spending with Inflation
Enact Administration's Proposed Weapon System Cuts
Cut Foreign Economic Aid in Half
Expand Veteran's Income Security Benefits
Reverse "Grow the Army" Initiative
Cancel Unobligated ARRA Funds
Enact New Jobs Bill
Raise the Normal Retirement Age to 68
Use An Alternate Measure of Inflation for COLA
Establish a Public Option in the Health Exchange
Increase the Medicare Retirement Age to 67
Eliminate Certain Outdated Programs
Reduce Farm Subsidies
Cut All Earmarks and Use Half of Savings for Deficit Reduction
Sell Certain Government Assets
Repeal LIFO Accounting Methods and Eliminate Oil and Gas Preferences in the Tax Code
Raise Cap to Cover 90% of Earnings (SS)
Eliminate Subsidies for Biofuels
Extend "American Opportunity" College Tax Credit


----

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...oices=w3f53jp0

[coyotes_geek]

First one:
59% by 2018

-reduce troops to 30,000 by 2013
-allow all tax cuts except for amt patches to expire
-grow discretionary spending w/ inflation
-enact admin's weapon systems cuts
-cut foreign aid in half
-reverse grow the army initiative
-cancel unobligated arra funds
-enact jobs bill
-increase highway funding by 25%
-freeze unemployment benefits at 2009 levels
-eliminate new markets tax credit
-raise ss retirement age to 68
-use alternative COLA
-increase years used to calculate benefits
-include all new state & local workers
-repeal healthcare reform law but keep medicare/medicaid cuts
-enact malpractice reform
-increase medicare age to 67
-replace traditional medicare with insurance vouchers
-freeze federal civilian pay for 2 years
-reform federal retiree benefits
-eliminate outdated programs
-reduce farm subsidies
-cut all earmarks & use half of savings for defecit reduction
-increase mass transit funding
-sell certain govt assets
-increase gas tax 10 cents/gal
-reduce corporate tax rate to 30%
-improve tax collection
-limit mortgage interest deduction for high earners
-eliminate biofuel subsidies

For the second one:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...oices=yffn9ks8

[coyotes_geek]

i saw no way to do so without ing a lot of people in the ass with no lube

Welcome to reality.

[boutons_deux]

" ing a lot of people in the ass with no lube"

only the lower 95%

[scott]

i saw no way to do so without ing a lot of people in the ass with no lube

As soon as our elected officials realize this, we'll be better off. The fundementalism over "no tax increases" and "no spending cuts" are not doing America a service. Both are needed to dig out of this hole. It's going to hurt a little bit, but it'll hurt a lot more if we continue to delay the pain.

[RandomGuy]

i saw no way to do so without ing a lot of people in the ass with no lube

The only choices we are faced with is who to do it to. You gotta pick somebody.

FWIW Ron Paul's likely budgets would be pretty draconian.

If one absolutely holds the line on not growing government or adding taxes, then the spending cuts would be pretty severe.

[DarrinS]

I propose a moratorium on the word 'draconian'.

[Bartleby]

The only choices we are faced with is who to do it to. You gotta pick somebody.

If you do it to the poor and middle class it's "encouraging people to live within their means," but if you do it to the rich it's "class warfare."