The conversation about churches and religion is an interesting one and worth its own thread. But since taxing religion wasn't one of the options in the WaPo game - probably because it isn't realistic - I'd like to get back to what I think the game shows.
1. Even if you implement ALL the SAVINGS OPTIONS, you CANNOT BALANCE the BUDGET.
2. Even if you implement ALL the REVENUE INCREASES, you CANNOT BALANCE the BUDGET.
3. Even if you implement ALL the SAVINGS AND ALL the REVENUE RAISERS, you CANNOT BALANCE the BUDGET (although you get close).
So what should we take away from this exercise? A few points that seem obvious to me...
1. Our leaders aren't serious about tackling the debt problem. And let's be clear, we're only talking about halting the soaring debt - the idea of paying down on the debt NEVER comes up.
2. We need better solutions.
3. We need to elect serious people.
Or increase the size of the economy! It has been shown time and again that CUTTING taxes, will spur growth giving us a much bigger pie to tax.
But every time we enact a tax cut, the voters fall for a promise of lots of free stuff and vote in spenders and taxers. It never fails. People do not understand that Supply Side stimulus works every single time.
Cutting the price of oil and gasoline would act just like a tax cut as well .. so, In addition, a ramping up of domestic oil drilling would reduce the number of dollars being shipped overseas, and these dollars would cycle through the economy and create growth in both the economy and Federal Revenues.
And ... building a fleet of nuclear power plants would have a similar effect.
In short, we could stimulate the Supply Side by either cutting taxes or cutting the number of dollars spent (mostly overseas) on energy.
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Summary of the Titus Andronicus approach to reducing the deficit and the debt:
-Slash all income taxes; Federal and State ... and corporate and personal.
-Drill and Frack until the end of time and into the future after that!
- Allow nuclear plants everywhere and anywhere, big ones and little ones, in every color of the rainbow to celebrate their gloriousness.
In twenty years or so, we would have reduced our debt by at least half ... maybe even more ... and we would have accumulated a portfolio of Chinese Government Bonds. People would want dollars again and life would be good.