I got a letter from a US Senator and started a conversation with his staff today. Not my Senator of course, as that would technically speaking be the either of the two Senators mentioned in the title. But he is a solid guy with good principles he believes in, so always respond to him. My guys never seem to change their behaviour or address my specific concerns as a result my correspondence with them, so I will let loose on them here. Anyway, the Senator’s staff (because, you know, you are never really talking to a Senator unless you can touch them) wanted to know my thoughts on how do we bring down the deficit, based on his suggestions:

• End the exclusive tax breaks available only to millionaires and billionaires.
• End the subsidies for the highly-profitable oil and gas industries.
• Bring the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a responsible end.
• Get our economy back on track – by investing in education and clean energy technology, boosting manufacturing, and keeping families in their homes by fixing the broken housing market.

I responded to him in the positive, as his suggestions are all positive. A refreshing change. And I provided some positive suggestions of my own.

On taxes and corporate subsidies, let’s get back to capitalism and free-market taxation systems. A good business does not need the government to make it, or keep it healthy. So shame on you Exxon, GE, Bank of America, etc., etc., etc. for paying no tax. Businesses are inherently good things, a collection of people (primarily) and other resources for a common good well beyond themselves that make an economic system function. So where those entities are participating in the economic system providing stuff and requiring labour, fantastic. In fact, as entities, they should pay a lower tax rate than a human being. But not no tax at all. So the USA needs to have a serious discussion at some point about addressing ALL tax loopholes that are used by major corporations of ALL types to minimise their tax in a way that smells suspiciously like avoidance.

Then my main point was about the defence budget. The USA will never seriously deal with the national debt if it maintains a military budget that is larger than all other militaries combined. Even at half of the current spend it would still leave a US military that would still be larger than all non-NATO countries. Why the paranoia in the USA about security? Most the yanks I know are the most secure and free people I know on the earth today. Does the USA honestly need to maintain a military that can take on NATO after defeating its real enemies?

Honestly, you can live your principles and keep yourself a lot safer a lot cheaper than maintaining a huge military, and the associated industrial complex to support and feed off of it.

Now you are never going to get a reduction of half, so why not go for something reasonable, like 40%. I expect that a serious discussion/fight over the subject could result in something like a reduction of 25% in the short term, with a ramp down to whatever is reasonable in the future (what, 50% at all times not going to make you feel good enough to sleep at night?). That is still a win as there will be a cut of $225 billion (all military, but not including the black ops budget). How about that for a debt and corresponding interest payment reduction? See, that’s what Americans mean when they tell you they want the government to treat its budget like a family budget. Reduce debt and interest when you can responsibly. But, perhaps it wouldn’t be responsible in the short term to use all that savings to pay off debt today. Perhaps there are some things the USA should move to spend money on in the Senator’s last point that may need to take priority over debt reduction. That $225 billion is supporting a lot of jobs, and the USA will need to shift, retrain and retire a lot of people. Or leave them to their own devices as you tell them the war factories are closing, but that is also a topic for later discussion.

When seriously discussing other cuts, focus the rest of your priorities on the elimination of fraud, waste, redundancy and inefficiency, but realise the diminishing returns of finding these opportunities. Start from the basis that people are generally honest, and companies are by definition amoral.

And for fuck sake don’t go into those serious discussions and offer everything your adversaries want in negotiation straight away, ala the President. Honestly, I don’t know what he is thinking sometimes, and I don’t believe when he has used this tactic previously that it fits into any long term strategy he has to lose tactically but win strategically. If it did, we would be talking about the simple details of a single payer health care system instead of also talking about eliminating Medicare and Medicaid in the USA. You have to go into these fights strongly defending a position based on your principles and fight it out hard. I am much more interested in times such as these to support those that fight the good fight to the end, even if they lose.

Aren’t you?