Abundant Health Care is Cheaper

The current Government Health Care program (Insurance, taxes and regulations) and its planned amendments do nothing to reduce the cost of Health Care.  The current efforts, when fully executed, may lower the cost of Health Insurance slightly.

The focus of all this thrashing about concerning the costs of Health Insurance are badly misguided.

Health Care costs are what matters.  Nothing is being done about Care costs and nothing is planned to be done.

Millions of people must travel hundreds of miles to get to very limited modern Health Care in the rural parts of many states, in the inland west and central states.

Health Care costs, once you account for taxes, regulations, restrictions, administration, patents on medicine and equipment, corruption and cronyism, are about Supply and Demand.

Good old supply and Demand market forces.

The past 7+ years much has been done to increase Demand. (ObamaCare)  And if it can be believed, millions of more people have easier access to insurance coverage, and therefore millions more demanding much more care. (scarcity)

Scarcity of supply + (plus) rapidly increasing demand = (equals) unnecessarily high prices + (plus) ignorant subsidies and arcane unnecessary government regulations = (equals)  the foolish mess we have now!

Little, if anything, has been done to increase supply:

No additional funding to educate more doctors per thousand people.

No increase in the rate of nurses trained per year, say an additional 10,000.

No increase in the number of Physicians Assistants, say 10,000 more annually.

No rapid increase of new Hospitals, expansions, (5,000) or branch clinics (10,000).  In fact many have been restricted, closed or withdrawn from rural locations; or stripped of diagnostic capability.

If lower Health Care costs are desired, lower Health Insurance won’t do it.  It just increases Demand.

What’s needed is increased Health care supply.

More facilities, many more doctors, more PA’s, more nurses, much more widespread modern diagnostic equipment, and modern communication for remote analysis.  More widespread medical transportation and many more emergency medical response personnel.

With an overabundance of actual Medical Care, you will see dramatic declines in care costs.

And simple easy access to good modern Health Care for all our citizens, for less Federal tax money which is currently being wasted on subsidizing ridiculously over priced Health Insurance.

And maybe a lot less fraud and a lot fewer extremely wealthy doctors, hospitals, medical associations, and insurance companies.  

 

If you must subsidize something, make it abundant Health Care.

Attention! Presidential Candidates

Here’s what I want to know.


What do you plan to do about the following?

1.The oppressive Federal tax burdens; direct or hidden in the price of goods and services.

2.The huge explosion of tyrannical Government regulations.

3.Enormous National Debt and continued deficit spending.

4.Ineffective control of all National borders.

5.Equal justice and equal taxation rates for ALL.

6.Worldwide terrorism.


What I want you to do:

Cut Federal budgets to no more than last years budget in ACTUAL DOLLARS; all spending, discretionary, non-discretionary, and black projects and ops(all spending is up to you and Congress and is therefore, DISCRETIONARY!), except for those already receiving insurance BENEFITS like Social Security and Medicare; fund them by additional discretionary cuts. No Means Testing for wealth or Poverty.

No more annual deficits. Keep cutting budgets until the National Debt is substantially “Paid-off”. No budget increases, even for inflation, until National Debt is less than 5% of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP)..

Repeal and reform nearly all Federal Government Regulations, and all Executive Orders. Accurately determine the total true and complete costs to the taxpayers and consumers for those you keep.

De-fund hundreds of Federal Agencies, Departments, Programs, Projects, Bureaus, Offices, and Committees.

Evaluate all and repeal most Federal Excise taxes; and all tariffs, subsidies and embargoes.

Repeal Federal minimum wage laws. You’re preventing young people from learning to be useful workers.

Veto 95% of all laws passed by Congress; we already have way more laws than are needed. Only sign laws that apply equally to all citizens; including you, Congress and Executive appointees.

Repeal or phase out over three years all income tax exemptions and deductions; including all special interest carve-outs, credits, tariffs and subsidies.

Establish a single Federal Income Tax percentage rate applicable to all individuals, businesses and organization (including nonprofits, unions and churches; except for funds spent on their avowed purpose). Return to equal tax treatment for all under the law.

Tax all political contributions to Federal office candidates as income from individuals (if not already after taxes) excess revenue of organizations (nonprofits, churches, unions, foundations, etc.) and profit of businesses.

Stop subsidising behaviors and circumstances we want discouraged with ENTITLEMENT payments

Eliminate or significantly reduce Foreign Aid bribery and other transfer payment bribery to all recipients.

Stop special privileges and exemptions based upon sex, religion, ethnicity or nationality; allow limited exemptions for the verifiable disabled, aged, or in-firmed individuals.

Secure our borders, all of them, with traditional and modern devices, adequately train and vete personnel, and use effective modern procedures. Exclude all illegal invaders or intruders regardless their nationality or place of origin.

Build more prison and jail cells. Many criminals are avoiding punishment for their criminal behavior because of ineffective apprehension, inconsistent prosecution, sloppy sentencing, and overcrowding. Keep arresting criminals and incarcerating them, regardless of their apparent race or ethnicity, until all are being punished appropriately for their behavior.

Punish officeholder corruption relentlessly regardless of the stature, history, popularity or party.

Stop partisan treatment from the IRS and Justice Departments, or keep cutting their budgets until they stop arbitrary punishment of those with beliefs they dislike.

Punish officeholders that incite rioting and violence. It’s already a crime.

Stay out of foreign countries with whom we have no treaties or occupancy agreements. Do not occupy other countries any longer than it takes to kill them, blow-up their stuff, and load up our people, equipment and supplies and leave. Don’t stay around to train anyone, keep peace, re-built their junk or monitor elections. It’s not our business. Selling democracy is not our job. Do not repair anything or pay reparations! Do not apologize! Punish them and get out!

If you must build or repair stuff, do it here; keep peace, do it here; guard a border, do it here; monitor elections, do it here; pay reparations, do it here!

 
Mind our own business here!

Terrible Murders;

But It’s People That Need Controls, Not Guns

These very terrible murders and many unfortunate woundings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado recently have brought out the gun control crazies and the well meaning in huge numbers.

That too is very unfortunate.  Things don’t need more controls; people do.  Guns, vehicles, chemicals, hammers, chainsaws and butter knives don’t need more controls; people do.

As usual, it’s what you’re not hearing that is more interesting.  Little is being said of the failure to enforce existing laws.  Few are asking what’s wrong with these people or our culture and society.

Nothing is being said of failed policing.  Or, the failure of some states to report to the national data base.  Or, the failure by psychologists and psychiatrists to identify, house, and treat the mentally deficient; or the failure of academia to educate professionals with the insight to identify the criminally insane, or the courage to institutionalize them; or the failure of institutions to maintain confinement of the dangerously deficient; or the complete failure of a supposedly intelligent individual who was completely incapable of recognizing and doing something responsible about their own personal deficiencies and behavior.

Nothing is being said about increased evaluation, containment, incarceration and treatment of the seriously mentally ill and emotional deficient.

Listen people; stop blaming other things and other people for your deficiencies.  Learn to assess your skills, intellect, health and mental stability accurately.  Get in touch with reality.  Stop deluding yourself.  Don’t believe feel good crap fed to you by the “socially just, politically correct or the well-meaning.”  Learn to think for yourself, if you cannot, it’s an indication you need more evaluation and training. 

If you are thinking about and planning the murder and maiming of dozens of people; go get mental care.  If mysterious voices in your head are telling to do bad things, and you think you should be doing what they tell you, go get mental care.  Turn yourself into a state run hospital for containment and further evaluation.

Stop blaming your personal circumstance, condition, inadequacies, incapability’s, bad behavior and poor choices on something or someone else.

If something bad happens to you; you allowed it and probably helped cause it.  Even most accidents are partly caused by your choices or behavior.  Rarely, does fate, chance or luck alone intervene in your life.  You make your choices; don’t blame things, don’t blame others, real or imagined.

If disappointment, disease, misery, and disaster constantly occur in your life without occasional good, helpful, valuable things that you have earned; then something is wrong; change your life choices, get professional help.

Don’t take some tools or devices and start slaughtering other people.

And, if you are one who thinks these kinds of problems need more government laws controlling inanimate objects, especially if you are having trouble understanding effects and their correctly associated causes, then….

You should check yourself in for a complete mental evaluation. 

Government Jobs,

Are Not “Real” Jobs

Some government jobs are work and those who do them get paid, but they don’t make money.  There’s no profit made from the activities of government employees; not legally anyway.

The money used to pay them, comes all most entirely from taxes paid on the profits of businesses or the pay checks of their employees.  Government employees are supposed to pay taxes too, of course, but the money for their pay comes from taxes on business profits and the paychecks of the people with “Real” jobs. 

Non-profit and philanthropic employees pay income taxes, but from money donated by businesses and individuals either before or after taxes; so, again it’s money made by others.  If they were paying their employees from surplus revenue (profit); they would not be qualified as non-profit would they?

The only sort of “profit-like” revenue generated by governments is interest on deposits of surplus revenue, which they haven’t had since the 1990’s and rarely ever for many decades before.  Occasionally, but not for the past hundred years, the government sells enough surplus land to make a profit, but usually they’ve spent so much money “managing” it, that it rarely sells at a profit. 

The government also gets fees, royalties, and natural resource lease fees, rarely does it ever produce a profit, the government process and procedures all most always cost more than the revenue was worth.  Recycling and the sale of surplus equipment produce some revenue, but it always seems to cost more than it recovers.

So, although some government jobs recover part of their cost, none make a profit; and therefore are not “Real” jobs.

“Real” jobs are created by businesses to service current or expected demand for their products and services for a profit.  If the business and its employees do a good job of meeting the demand, the business makes a profit and pays taxes on it and for its employees; and the employees have a job and pay income taxes and payroll taxes on their pay checks, that the employer was willing to pay them for the chance to make a profit for the owners.

Without demand, there is no profit, without profit there is no real job, without real jobs there is no tax revenue to pay government employees for the time they spend at their pretend jobs.

So, get a real job helping business owners and managers make a profit, and you and your coworkers have a job and can pay your taxes; so, millions of people with pretend jobs can do the good things that help other people make money; so, we can help the ignorant and poor and government employees reelect Democrats; so, they can all pretend they have meaningful lives.

Get a Real Job.

Make some money for those who bother to save and invest in this country and its people.

Pay your taxes, so others have a job pretending to do something they think you might need or want.

Get a Real Job. 

Think ahead, save and invest in businesses and people; not governments.  

What solutions will you try and why?

How will you get them enacted?

Political Debates; here’s what I’m hoping to hear:

Reduce Federal spending by actual spending cuts, not just slightly slower growth.   

Reduce the size and scope of Federal government, cutting some

Departments and consolidating others, and eliminate many Agencies, Offices, Commissions, Bureaus, Institutes and Endowments.  Significantly reduce Federal employment.

Lower lavish entitlements, like welfare, Medicaid, etc.

Fully insure benefits, like Medicare, Social Security and Unemployment with secure, set-aside funding.

Spend less than the incoming revenue, cut everything until you are.

Secure the borders, all of them.  Make illegal immigration very difficult.

Reduce military spending and overseas deployments.

Streamline the legal immigration process.  Weed-out fraud and corruption.

Expel non-citizen law breakers, systematically and urgently.  No special exemptions for long-time violators.  Those born to non-citizens while here can stay here with citizen relatives; or return with their parents to their homeland until they are 18 years old, then choose to return as a legal citizen.

No new taxes, no tax increases, and no fee increases.

Eliminate all exemptions, deductions, credits, subsidizes, and tariffs.

Eliminate the progressive idea in income taxes; one rate, the same percentage for everyone.

Increase the volume and availability of medical care, abundance will lower all its costs.

Substantially lower or eliminate business taxes.

Eliminate life-style regulations, encourage education, and let people suffer for their mistakes.

Significantly cut Federal Regulations.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard much mention of these ideas as solutions to our economic problems; and heard practically nothing of how they might be accomplished. 

C’mon candidates, try bold meaningful solutions for once!  Or do you lack the courage to do what’s right?

Wrong Leader

This letter was written by Porter Stansberry, Financial Advisor, Editor and Publisher. He granted broad permission to distribute with its posting. I provide it here slightly modified by error corrections.

Dear Mr. President,

Welcome to the ashbin of society.

With the speech you gave last week, you have firmly and permanently put yourself in the same garbage bag as all the other communists and socialists of the 20th century.

Your speech sounded like the faint echo of a speech Lenin gave in an icy square in Moscow 100 years ago.

The promises you made, Mr. President, about the government giving people things they can’t provide for themselves – a better income, reliable health care, an advanced education, cheaper mortgages, a “shiny, happy” life – have been made time and time again… sometimes by speakers even better than you.

And they have always been lies.

While the government can demand obedience (and taxes), it can’t mandate dedication, creativity, or innovation. The fact is, the government itself is nothing more (or less) than the organized ambitions of the people.

Promising something to the people that they don’t already have is a logical absurdity. And therein lies the timeless flaw of all collectivist theory: Governments cannot deliver benefits to the people that the people cannot deliver to themselves.

To demonstrate this truth, consider this example… Governments cannot simply mandate higher tax revenue. Any substantial increase to tax rates will reduce total collections, an economic phenomenon known as the “Laffer Curve.”

This has been proven countless times in our country and many others. Any sensible person will immediately understand why. Taxes are a disincentive. The higher the marginal rate of tax, the more powerful its impact.

That’s why, over many decades (and many different tax structures), U.S. tax revenues have been remarkably stable at around 20% of GDP. That’s why, as you surely know, Mr. President, changing the tax code will not result in increased tax revenue.

Taxing only the rich simply doesn’t work. It never has. And it never will. To increase the government’s revenues, we must first increase the size of the economy. The government cannot tax what the economy doesn’t produce.

In another time, most Americans might have simply ignored your speech as the ignorant remarks of yet another handsome, Ivy League-educated, dilettante president. But at this point in our history, my bet is people are going to take you far more seriously than you expect. In fact, I think you’re going to get what you deserve – the trash heap. Why will Americans turn on you so rapidly and so completely?

Two things have changed – forever – about American politics.

The first is the media and access to critical information. It’s no longer possible for a president’s administration to control what people read, see, and think by simply managing the evening news broadcasts.

Thus, all your lies are now exposed almost instantly and broadcast to millions of people via websites and services like the Drudge Report, Twitter, and Facebook. Socialism cannot possibly survive over any long period of time in a society with a free media – because socialism is based on a lie. Facebook means the “half-life” of socialism is now weeks instead of years.

Even mainstream publications like the Wall Street Journal have called you a liar recently. They have no choice. Your lies were broadcast to the entire world long before their op-ed pieces appeared.

Your advisors told you none of these “bloggers” mattered. All you had to do was promise more benefits to more voters and then force fewer voters to pay for it all. I’m sure you did the political calculus… You believed your power to bribe and bamboozle the poor and the ignorant was stronger than the resentment you’d engender among the “rich.” And I must admit… since at least World War II, that’s been a safe bet in American politics.

But you forgot one critical factor: We simply can’t afford this nonsense anymore…

Immediately after your speech, the price of silver went from $39 to a new high above $42. Gold went up, too.

These are signs, Mr. President, that the world is losing confidence in our currency. If our foreign creditors were to call in our debts, America would suffer an economic cataclysm unlike anything we’ve ever seen in our entire history.

Americans now owe a total of $56 trillion. Without the Fed’s money-printing, it’s unlikely we could afford even the interest on these existing debts… much less the $1.5 trillion or more in debt you continue to rack up year after year by promising benefits we haven’t earned.

Sooner or later, our foreign creditors are going to decide our money-printing amounts to a default, and they will stop buying our bonds. On that day, everyone who trusts you, everyone who believes in your lies, will be wiped out.

But that won’t be as many people as you expect.

Almost every American knows in his heart what made this country great for the 200 years between 1776 and 1976. It wasn’t the lies of our presidents. It wasn’t our ability to print money and rip off our Chinese creditors. It wasn’t the modern crybaby mentality of our school system or our unions. It wasn’t the baby boomer’s dream of a 40-year retirement with free prescription drugs.

And it sure as hell wasn’t a suave, made-for-TV version of Karl Marx promising everything to everyone, but with no way to pay for it.

No. What built America was her people’s unwavering faith that they were free to enjoy the rewards of their accomplishments.

As our country tumbles into bankruptcy and crisis, the people are going to want their prosperity back, Mr. President. And deep down, they all know… even your most fervent supporters know… you don’t have the goods. You don’t have the foggiest idea of how to deliver prosperity to America because, really, you don’t understand what America is all about.

Regards,

Porter Stansberry

Excessive Entitlements

“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.” -Ben Franklin

We have harmed the very people we seek to help by providing more help than is needed; excessive entitlements. Encouraging the very behaviors we wish to diminish by subsidizing them, while robbing the poor of their selfworth.

You get more of what you glamorize, subsidize or reward.

You get less of what you tax, embargo, tariff, or attempt to prohibit.

We pay them for not working when we want them to work. We subsidize unwanted childbirth and unwed fatherhood while taxing marriage and responsible parenting.

We want more jobs for people, but punish companies that try to grow.

We want people to be responsible citizens, but we exempt them from punishment for irresponsible behavior.

There is no reward for meritorious achievements, if we reward non-achievers the same as the accomplished.

If hard workers and non-workers all get the same, why should anyone work hard?

We want people to save and invest in their futures, but reward those who do not.

We want law abiding citizen, but glamorize those who do not.

My suggestions;

Cut entitlements to a little less than capable citizens need, not more lavish than they deserve,

Allow consequences for those who do not try,

Provide incentives for behaviors we want,

Treat all people exactly alike, regardless of their differences,

Allow businesses and people to fail, they will learn,

Punish those who do not maintain the minimum standards of Citizenship,

Be kind and generous to the disabled, infirmed and incapable,

Stop progressive taxation, it’s not fair and equal treatment,

Stop taxing businesses; it just loots workers, widows, orphans and consumers,

Stop giving non-profit privileges to enterprises that are not,

Minimize government intrusions in our personal lives.

We currently do none of these things well, but these actions would solve many of my most serious grievances.

Political Parties,

Stop Saying “Back”

There are a few nasty four letter words that should never be used in any way in a political campaign, “Back” is one of them. Whether it’s “Take Back America” or “taking us back to the bad old days” of the previous administration, no one wanting to vote wisely wants to go back to anything. We all want to go to something better.

Even if “Back” didn’t have mostly negative connotations, wiser political operatives should talk about what they want to lead the electorate to. Toward something is completely different than back. No one wants to revisit any mistakes from our pasts.

Instead of saying, “We want to go back to the founding principles that made America great” the pitch should be “We want to lead America to a principled, responsible future.” The idea should be “to” something honest, appropriate, new and better; not back to anything. Never use the word “back.”

The current administration would be wise to not refer to the past, especially with people still alive that remember their failed Socialist Progressive past. When they say the previous administration they mean a very recent one, but it could also mean revisiting their tired old failed policies from 75 years ago being attempted again virtually unchanged.

Do us all a favor, talk about to where you want to lead this great nation and how to get there. Don’t even mention “going back” or “taking back” anything.

I want to hear your vision of the future and the plan of how together we will get to a more effective, less intrusive, less complex, smaller and more responsive, less expensive, constitutionally compliant Federal government.

I want all programs and entitlements cut.

I want the Federal government doing only the smallest possible number of most necessary and important functions allowed it by the constitution. If you are a candidate, just tell me how you’re going to get that done. Don’t tell me anything about what the other guy has done or might do. If you even mention the word “back” regarding you or your opponent, I won’t be voting for you.

If you have no vision of equal opportunity, not equal outcomes; and equal justice, swift, ethnicity-blind and sure for any offenders; you’re not a leader.

I want smarter, better, smaller Federal government.

Religion, Politics and Government

Few people irritate me more than politicians that attempt to legitimize themselves by invoking the blessings of God upon themselves and their political endeavors or trying to sanctify government events, processes or programs.

These horrifyingly corrupt, underhanded, manipulative, backstabbing, conniving, and often illegal and illegitimate activities should not have pleadings to God even mentioned during conducted ceremony or presentation any place or any time.

I’m not opposed to personal prayers by individual believers of any religious belief for guidance and strength to make the best possible decisions on behalf of all the people, including non-believers. Some of them could certainly use the extra help; many of their individual motives and behaviors could be improved by any divine influence.

But, their collective activities and unholy behaviors, their processes and programs cannot and should not be dignified by being self-blessed by someones appeal for spiritual intervention. It’s just a very thinly veiled attempt to insinuate that somehow God is involved or approves. It is hideous and probably unconstitutional to conduct any kind of prayer at taxpayer expense on taxpayer property. It is a thinly disguised attempt to portray the proceedings and themselves as somehow officially ordained by that religious idea. Publicly appearing to officially ask their God to cloak their ill-conceived and misguided self-serving behavior in any holiness is surely blasphemous, and clearly unconstitutional.

The business of government could not possibly be ordained nor even consented to by any true God. If Christ could see what the moneychangers and thieves (congress and lobbyists) are doing he would certainly throw them from the temple.

They don’t need Gods help to do what is right for our citizens. We just need honorable statesman and women to do the job for which we elected them and pay them.

If they can’t do that, then we’ve chosen poorly and need to repair that mistake at the very next opportunity.

Throw the moneychangers and thieves out.

Listen,

Mr. President

You are speaking way too often. It would be wiser for you to listen much more. Not just to those self anointed experts from within the beltway, or those manipulative ideologues from Chicago, or the self-absorbed media people from the northeast. It might be wise for you to not speak at all for several weeks or months, maybe for the rest of whatever may remains of your term.

You need to go on listening tours of small towns and rural areas of the central and western states. Stay out of the cities. You, Sir, are poorly informed and are being badly misled by your inter-circle. I think they are afraid to tell you the truth or let you see any unpleasant facts. Their assumption and yours, that all that has gone before you was wrong and holds no lessons of value for today, is entirely wrong.

You are repeating the economic mistakes of the 1930’s and 40’s. You are providing money to those who do not create real jobs. Return massive amounts of tax money to taxpayers. Stop taxing businesses. Demand will create many more jobs than government spending. Your thinly disguised massive subsidies of obstructionist Unions, corrupt banks, and incompetent states and their excessive pensions and expensive health plans are a massive mistake that will cripple generations of future working Americans. Expanded and massive new government entitlements and reparations for the non-working poor and illegal immigrants, mostly blacks and Latinos, are a shameful political bribe.

Your affiliations with Marxists, Socialists, and Communists radicals bent on overthrow of our capitalistic way of life, is unacceptable and destructive to the future survival of these United States. Your naïveté of human behavior and the value systems of other nation’s cultures is an embarrassing abomination.

So get out of your familiar, like minded circle of America hating intellectual elitists, and go among the real people. Sit with them and ask what they think. Listen and learn correcting your misinformed, poorly educated, misdirected animosity for the American way of life. Most working Americans expect and want much less from our Federal government. It isn’t worth what it costs now. Many of things it has sold us we didn’t want and didn’t ask for. Many of the things it thinks are benefits we should be grateful for are punitive mistakes that have and will rob us of our rightful earnings and destroy our self-esteem; they were just voter bribes calculated to keep party incumbents in office.

While I’m at it let me remind you that lying with what your advisers think is the cleaver misuse of our language isn’t, it’s just insulting. If it wasn’t corrupt and deceitful, the Public Health Care Option would truly be optional, not compulsory; terrorists would be terrorists, not criminals regardless of their religion; and lying, back-stabbing, corrupt, thieving politicians that accept special treatment, fill their pockets with special interest money, exempt their friends from laws intended for everyone, and steal promised benefits from the elderly after systematically robbing them of their life’s earnings; are just lying, back-stabbing, corrupt, thieving politicians.

Just in case your entitlements don’t work out as you imagine, we want a Taxpayer Option.

A Money-back plus Interest Option!

Save Taxpayer Money

Amend the Constitution

You could start with this part of Amendment XVII.

“When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.”

Historically there has not been any interest in minor clerical improvements to the constitution. Changing how Senate vacancies are filled, since it’s amending an amendment, probably wouldn’t get much support. Because it saves a lot of state taxpayer money, but very little Federal taxpayer money, it won’t help foster a national movement. No Senators ox is getting fed and many would be gored. The two major political parties would hate it, and that’s another good reason to do it.

Here’s the improvement idea anyway. Stop filling vacancies by temporary appointment or special election. Stop filling them at all until the normal election cycle. This would mean no added out of sequence costs for the state missing a senator. Federal savings would be salary, benefits and some staff expenses for however long it’s vacant. If it’s vacant for retirement there would be very little, if any, Federal savings.

The missing state Senators' vote could be made by the governor of that state. The governors are elected by statewide popular vote just like senators. They are usually experienced executive decision makers, probably better judgment than most Senators.

The workload increase wouldn’t be that much. Most states have Lieutenant Governors who could fill in during brief interruptions to the governor’s schedule. Everything, including voting, could be done by computers or video conferencing, and television appearances can be done anywhere. Senators don’t do much else anyway and their staffs do most of the work.

Only loss would be some political corruption. The savings from statewide election costs would be tens of million in some larger states, many having revenue problems. Citizens would be spared added stupid political commercials, endless inane direct mail pamphlets just disguised appeals for political contributions, and out of sequence sanctuary disturbing phone calls begging for money.

Any Constitutional Ammendment that reduces state or Federal spending and puts representatives in closer contact with their constituents should be undertaken immediately.

My Political Platform

Cut Federal Spending

This is what I want Congress, the House and the Senate, and the Executive Branch to do regarding the size and scope of federal government. If I were to run for President this would be my platform and if elected this is what I would use my power and influence to accomplish. In some cases I specifically name Departments and programs I would try to cut significantly and the ones I would try to eliminate quickly.

First, the General Platform:

1. Stop deficit spending immediately. Cut all Federal spending by 10% from last year’s authorization.

Limit all Federal budgets to 90% of previous years experience rate, as quickly as possible, cut all programs, cut all planned acquisitions and stop all construction not already underway.

Immediately direct all budget surpluses to retire national debt and restore all contingency funds.

Immediately form a working group to review all off-budget entitlements for reforms that reduce costs by any means. The goal; limit benefit costs to expected revenue, not increase taxes to fund run away benefits. All spending is discretionary.

2. Pay off the National Debt in 4 years.

Eliminate all unjustified programs and projects, including all archaic, bureaus and commissions.

Cut all research by 10%, cut all scientific study by 10%, cut all government travel by 10%, cut all funding for government conferences and conventions by 50%.

Accumulate contingency funds and protect them from erosion from legislation, policy or politics.

3. Stop all foreign aid using American taxpayer money immediately, and direct the saved money to pay down the national debt and lower all Federal taxes. When disasters occur around the world, ask the American people if they want to donate to a disaster fund allowing each citizen to decide if it's a worthy cause; borrowed from Bill Cosby.

4. Do much more to prevent unlawful immigration. Significantly improve border, coast and port surveillance for human smuggling and illegal incursions. Immediately begin searching for and finding illegal immigrants. Begin deporting those determined to be illegal immigrants using travel and transport contractors. Allow legal children to remain in the US in the custody of legal relatives, in an institution, or return with a parent to their country of origin until the child can legally chose national citizenship.

5. Limit Senate and House sessions to 6 weeks in mid-summer, except for declared National Emergencies. The remainder of the year they should have real full-time jobs. Reduce their benefits, staff, privileges and pay. Eliminate their special insurances. Prohibit them from having any benefits, paid for by tax money, not also available to any taxpayer.

All new laws will be vetoed if;

A. they do not list at least two existing outdated laws that are being simultaneously cancelled;

B. they contain exceptions to this law or any Federal laws;

C. they do not show conclusively a source of available funding which could not otherwise be used to retire debt or offset any Federal taxes (i.e. income, excise, fuel, etc.) or fees.

6. All Departments and programs not specifically enumerated in the Constitution, or its subsequent lawful amendments, or decreed specifically by Federal Appellate Courts or the Supreme Court; will be cancelled, disband, closed and their facilities, equipment and property used by a lawful department or program, or sold at public auction within one year with all proceeds retiring Federal debt or reducing all Federal taxes.

7. All Federal tax exempt organization, activities, clubs, associations, education institutions, advocacy groups, religions, churches, schools, or individuals will be reviewed and required to prove which funds and activities are eligible for tax exemption. All activities and funds found not eligible for exemption will be immediately taxed. Taxes due will be immediately payable, and all previous years of suspected Federal Tax fraud are subject to audit and payment or attachment, regardless the statute of limitations.

8. A moratorium on the creation of any new national parks or protected lands or protected species of any kind until all surplus Federal lands, or any Federal lands combined exceeding 15% by area of any state, are sold to taxpaying individuals at an otherwise unrestricted public Internet auction. Use the revenue to immediately pay down the “National Debt” only.

9. 'Press 1 for English' is immediately banned. English is the official language; speak it or wait at the border until you can; borrowed from Bill Cosby.

10. Use the Internal Revenue “Collection” Service to collect taxes only. Stop using it to redistribute wealth, grant favors to rich donors, or failing businesses.

Greatly simplify individual, business, and corporate income tax calculation and remittance. Seriously consider eliminating Income Taxes, replacing some of the lost revenue by a low national sales tax with no exemptions, and the rest by spending cuts. Severely limit tax exemptions. Greatly reduce the number and then restrict allowable amount of individual and business deductions, for instance, restrict the home interest deduction to the average interest on the national mean priced home regardless of purchase price; no regional variations.

Stop taxing business processes and activities. It just artificially increases the price of goods and services and costs potential employees jobs.

Stop taxing the transfer of wealth to rightful heirs. The deceased have all ready paid enormous taxes while they lived.

11. Tax all political contributions regardless their source. Prohibit political contributions of any tax exempt money.

Prohibit political contributions by Unions, except as determined by and apportioned to political parties or candidates by a vote of the members, then only if taxed. Allow individual members to elect to prohibit any political contributions from their dues.

12. Review all Federal licensing, permitting and approval processes and fees, with emphasis on eliminating, reducing or consolidating any and all. Fees cannot exceed provable administrative and process costs.

13. There is no such thing as non-discretionary Federal spending, all Federal spending is discretionary.

Cancel all new Social Security benefits begun after 1950. Stop all Medicare benefits originated after 1984. If that doesn’t balance revenue with predicted outlays forever, then reduce benefit levels until there is a projected surplus forever.

Put all entitlement programs back on the budget, there is no such thing as “Off-budget” for any Federal spending.

14. Next, departments, bureaus, commissions, agencies, programs and activities I would want cut entirely and immediately.

A. Department of Education; National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; Stop providing federal aid to Universities; completely unnecessary, violates 10th Amendment.

B. National Public Radio; Public Broadcasting System - completely unnecessary, competes unfairly with duly licensed and authorized private enterprises, violates 10th Amendment.

D. National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Humanities; Commission of Fine Arts; completely unnecessary, violates 10th Amendment.

F. Natural Resources Conservation Service; Conservation Reserve Program; Energy Information Agency; U.S. Geological Survey; Maritime Administration; Marine Mammal Commission.

G. International Trade Commission; Economic Development Administration; Historic Whaling and Trading Partners Exchange Program; International Trade administration; end farm subsidies, most of which go to the wealthiest 10 percent of farms; eliminate all direct corporate welfare payments; Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Trade and Development Agency; Market Access Program; Export-Import Bank; Repeal the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Acts.

H. Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, AmeriCorps; Office of Navajo and Hopi Relocation; State Justice Institute; East-West Center; Legal Services Corporation; Minority Business Development Agency, and Many others.

I. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program; Rural Utilities Service; Essential Air Service Program; Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service; Agricultural Research Service.

J. Non-emergency international food programs; U.S. Institute of Peace.

K. Eliminate all federal advisory committees and commissions spread across 52 agencies, and many, many others.

15. Next, significant changes in needed programs like the following:

Restrict federal housing assistance to those with the greatest need;

Stop funding research that directly benefits private industry;

Enact user fees that recover all the costs of programs from identifiable users;

Require farmers to pay a larger portion of their crop insurance premiums;

Raise flood insurance premiums on repeatedly flooded lands;

Limit Congress's franking privilege to non-election years to prevent taxpayer funding of campaign mailings;

Verify parent income of school lunch recipients, 20 percent of current school lunch participants are ineligible.

And many, many more.

Note: some of the above courtesy of The Heritage Foundation.