CPC co-chair Keith Ellison
Congress is locked in budget negotiations related to the upcoming sequester. This week, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) unveiled the “Balancing Act.” Noting that 2/3 of the deficit reduction that has taken place since 2011 has come from cuts, not revenues, the CPC plan adopts an approach that would have a truly balanced 50-50 cuts-revenue ratio.
Additionally, the plan invests in the economy with the goal of creating jobs — the best long-term path to deficit reduction.
Here’s some of the key elements of the CPC plan:
- Raise $948 Billion In Revenues: This is done by closing various special interest loopholes — such as international tax loopholes that maintain offshore tax havens — and by ending subsidies for fossil fuel companies.
- Cutting $278 Billion In Pentagon Waste: Unlike some lawmakers in Washington who want to spare the Defense Department altogether, the CPC cuts backs onAi??unnecessary weapons programs such as the V-22 Osprey. It also replaces the F-35 with the F-18 and reduces nuclear weapons expenditures, among other measures.
- Cuts The Deficit By Investing $276 Billion In Jobs: The plan also invests money by extending the Make Work Pay tax credit for a year and by spending on teachers and school modernization as well as transportation infrastructure.
Here’s a chart showing how the Balancing Act would finally offer a balanced approach to deficit reduction after years of relying on cuts:
One area the Balancing Act does not cut is Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits.
More patches. Like most deficit reduction proposals, these are 10 year numbers. So we average about $150 billion in deficit reduction when the deficit is $1 trillion currently. Not nearly enough.
We need to stop shoveling our obligations to pay our bills onto future generations and return to the surpluses we had a dozen years ago.
Certainly, the revenue side of the equation must be much fairer. The most fortunate cannot be allowed to pay less than the average needed to pay the bills (25% of GDP). However, this is not enough. To eliminate the deficit will require also spending cuts to the defense, Social Security, and Medicare/Medicaid until we get our fiscal house in order. The retirement age should be raised as one example.
See my solution at http://www.DaveLockwoodforCongress.com. (I lost in the primary; the main purpose of my campaign was to raise awareness of this innovative, real, fair, and flexible solution.)
Looks like more taxes and spending, and basically no cuts. You can’t keep giving out free money, eventually you run out.
First and far most is to CUT Corporate Tax Loopholes and demand they pay their statutory rate of 35 percent, instead of the 12.1 percent they have been getting away with for years. During his campaign, President Obama said that 2 trillion dollars was being allocated for defense, when they didn’t even ask for it or need it. Immigration Law needs to be passed, because it’s the right thing to do, and it will also boost our revenue when these new citizens start paying their income taxes.