A Simple Ten-Step Solution to Fix Our Budget and Deficit Crisis Now (without a dime in "new revenue" from ANYONE): #1 - ADDRESS OUR MILITARY EXCESSES: An across-the-board 35% cut in all other defense-related budgets.
We will still have the strongest and most powerful military in existence both today and in the entire history of planet Earth; we meddle far too much in the affairs of other countries.
#2 - END UNNECESSARY WARS: In addition to the above streamlining of military budget, an immediate end to the Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya operations, with a residual 10% budget for humanitarian considerations.
Get our boys out of there THIS very quarter (rather than 2, 5 or 10 years from now) #3 - SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM: For everyone making over the median income, reduce social security benefits by 25%; also, for those 60 and younger raise normal retirement age to 70, and allow those that want a contractually guaranteed, property-rights-vested and privatized option to be able to have that.
The fact is that social security (despite popular opinion, is not a right and can be legally withdrawn any time - it is a political benefit, not a contractual obligation).
For any living politician (either currently in office or retired) that ever voted for an unbalanced federal budget, immediately strip them of their retirement pensions and benefits - and they would be getting off very easy, in my opinion...
#4 - MEDICARE/MEDICAID REFORM: Combine Medicare and Medicaid into a single program with high annual deductible amounts of between $2,000 to $25,000 (based on income and ability to pay, while also allowing guaranteed loans to cover those deductibles if needed - the idea is to put price-sensitivity into the equation so that consumers shop around, while keeping the safety-net aspect for those that REALLY need it, and while also significantly reducing government cost...
) #5 - UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS REFORM: Turn unemployment benefits into a loan program so that, even when accounting for inevitable defaults, at least 50% of those costs will be recovered #6 - FOREIGN AID REFORM: Immediately cut foreign aid by a factor of at least 90% #7 - CORPORATE & FARM SUBSIDIES: Immediately end them all now (note: this does NOT mean raising taxes from them by closing so-called 'tax-loopholes' but rather this means ending the government cash payments).
#8 - ROBUST MONETARY REFORM: Implement robust auditing of to the Federal Reserve so that they are far more transparent.
Return to a real asset-backed currency standard.
Legislate requirements on the Federal Reserve that there be sufficient currency in existence such that all debt CAN be repaid - today there is more dollar-denominated debt outstanding than dollars in existence to cover it - a bad situation (due to being a debt-based system, it is impossible to guarantee that the aggregate national debt will EVER be repaid; we may be in a state of always having this debt and mathematically never being able to pay it off - this may be the case whether we have responsible fiscal policy or not; this is due just to how the system is structurally set up); that situation can be fixed.
#9 - DOWNSIZE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Immediate cut to State, Commerce, and HHS Department budgets by a factor of at least 50%; Immediate cut to federal departments of Education, Agriculture, HUD, Energy, Labor, by a factor of at least 90%; most of those functions should be performed in the private sector and/or the state level #10 - DEMAND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: pass a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution; this one really should be a no-brainer; it's beyond me why this is not done expeditiously.
Those steps will put us within our means - we will spend less than we take in taxes and start paying down our accumulated debt, and re-instill confidence in America