The Economy

By Christopher "Chris" Mitchum

Balance the budget, restrain and downsize government, and unleash the people to go about the business of making a living.

Pass a balanced budget Amendment, not something like California's Balanced Budget Amendment that excluded a number of items from the budget, but one that includes everything.

Taxes

Taxes are the Power Pawn of Politics. Numerous studies have shown that, since the Korean War, when taxes are high, lessening employment thus the tax base, and when taxes are low, increasing employment thus the tax base, revenue of the government from taxes runs about 19% of GNP.

The only thing higher taxes do is move our money into the government's pocket. The one with all the money has all the power. THAT's what higher taxes are all about: Power, not revenue.

And, we must end the Death Tax. That parents work their entire lives to leave their children a business, a home, inheritance, on all of which taxes have already been paid when earned, is double taxation. The government needs to let us leave our children, our surviving spouse, what we have earned, and get out of the family.

Coupled with everything else, we MUST make spending cuts. The best plan I've seen to date is the Mack-Penny Plan

Simply:
- It freezes spending for one year.
- It cuts spending across the board by 1% (thus, the "penny" in the name) for five years.
- It holds spending to 18% of GNP for the last two years. This plan, in it's simplicity, will cut over seven trillion dollars ($7,000,000,000,000) off our spending over ten years, making our debt, once again, manageable.

When something like this is in place, it will not preclude reviewing each government department and making internal cuts, downsizing government employment to 2008 levels, and other reductions.

Over-Regulation

There are a few regulations placed on Wall Street that were put in place to make sure what's happened will not happen again. The vast majority of Obama's regulations, however, are micromanaging business and the economy and, quite frankly, are not the solution but part of the problem. They must be repealed.

Government's job is to provide us with the playing field on which we can go out and succeed. It is not to intrusively over-regulate and micromanage our life and business. Obama's regulations on business need to be rolled back.

Natural Resources

Develop our natural resources to become energy independent, lower transportation and energy costs (returning manufacturing), lower our trade deficit by exporting (this will also free rope from Russia's grip), and create jobs!