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America's debt is a large problem, compounded by a seeming inability of the government to summon up the courage to address. This article, in chart form, views the issue as a portion of a broader issue: a broken government process in need of, and deserving of, more Citizen attention. The proposed solution uses this root cause as a basis for modifying the process.
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AN OVERVIEW
This chart presentation describes America’s Debt
problem briefly . . . but primarily focuses on the
problem, to set the stage for a proposed solution.
The problem is viewed largely as an indication of a
dysfunctional Congressional budgeting process,
which fails to: set integrated priorities; eliminate
old and obsolete programs; curtail costs when
revenues are lean; keep a single set of transparent
books that include Entitlement obligations; adhere
to a regimen that systematically reduces the
Nation’s Debt and makes it difficult to subsequently
increase it.
The proposal makes use of citizen involvement and
more transparency of critical summary budget and
debt element values.
• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.
• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT
UNDER CONTROL
THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND
CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.
MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T
DYSFUNCTION.
HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE
BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.
A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON
AMERICA‟S DEBT.
WHY A “DEBT” SERIES ?
• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.
• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT
UNDER CONTROL
THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND
CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.
MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T
DYSFUNCTION.
HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE
BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.
A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON
AMERICA‟S DEBT.
THE DEBT PROBLEM - - IT DIDN’T ARRIVE OVERNIGHT !
OUR GROWING DEBT IS AN ISSUE THAT HAS NOW BEEN IGNORED FOR AT LEAST 3 DECADES. VERY RECENTLY, ON AUGUST 5th, ‘11, THE FINANCIAL RATING OF THE UNITED STATES WAS REDUCED FROM AAA TO AA+ - - FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
AMERICAN HISTORY. IT WAS S&P’s WAY OF FLASHING A RED LIGHT TO INDICATE THE RATING SERVICE PERCEIVES LESS CONFIDENCE IN HOW AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN MANAGING ITS FINANCES. THIS WAS NOT A SHOCKING NEW REVELATION, HAVING BEEN PRECEDED BY MANY WEEKS OF CONGRESSIONAL WRANGLING OVER RAISING OUR DEBT LIMIT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE LAST MINUTE DECISION DECLINED TO TAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARD CLOSING THE SHARPLY GROWING DEBT THAT AMERICA OWES ITS CREDITORS, BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC.
THE RATING DOWNGRADE:
• WRONG-HEADED MOVE?
OR
• JUST DOING THEIR JOB?
MONETARY POLICY - -THE FED’S INTEREST RATE CONTROL SYSTEM
A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT APPROACH
TO AMERICA’S DEBT PROBLEM
RE AMERICA’S DEBT: • LEADERSHIP MORALITY - SPENDING/GOVERNING/TRUTH • BUSINESS MORALITY - LENDING & DONATING • POLITICAL MORALITY - CITIZEN POWER/CAMPAIGNING
TO SAY THAT MORALITY CAN HELP US FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS - - IS NOT TO SAY THAT OUR PROBLEMS ARE NOT:
• REAL • COMPLEX and, • PUTTING MANY CITIZENS IN PAIN.
OUR PROBLEMS ARE CERTAINLY REAL !
• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.
• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT
UNDER CONTROL
THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND
CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.
MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T
DYSFUNCTION.
HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE
BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.
A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON
AMERICA‟S DEBT.
GOVERNMENT DYSFUNCTION -
SOME CRUCIAL EXAMPLES A TORRENT OF LEGISLATION TOO
VAST FOR CITIZENS TO MONITOR.
A TORRENT OF REGULATIONS TOO
VAST FOR CONGRESS OR FOR
CITIZENS TO MONITOR.
UNCHECKED EXTRAVAGANCE AND
IRRESPONSIBILITY WITH THE
CITIZEN’S FUNDS.
UNCHECKED EXTRAVAGANCE WITH
CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES AND
RESULTING UNDUE INFLUENCE OF
LARGE ORGANIZATIONS TO FUND
THE CAMPAIGNS.
CONTINUED PANDERING TO SPECIAL
INTEREST GROUPS TO BESTOW
GOVERNMENTAL PRIVILEGE IN
EXCHANGE FOR CAMPAIGN SUPPORT.
• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.
• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT
UNDER CONTROL
THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND
CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.
MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T
DYSFUNCTION.
HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE
BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.
A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON
AMERICA‟S DEBT.
A “MODEST ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL” [ “MAP” ]
SEVERAL SOLUTIONS TOWARD REDUCING AMERICA’S GROWING DEBT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED. PARTIAL VERSIONS OF THEM HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE FINAL , AUG 5th CONGRESSIONAL DEAL THAT WAS REACHED, INCLUDING:
• SOME VERY MODEST SPENDING “CUTS”, TO A
BUDGET BASELINE THAT IS ALREADY
INCREASING FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
• A “SUPER COMMISSION “ OF 6 DEMOCRATS
AND 6 REPUBLICANS TO PUT TOGETHER
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A FURTHER MODEST
SPENDING CUT .
• CONGRESS HAS COMMITTED ITSELF TO AN „UP
OR DOWN VOTE ‟ ON SUBMITTING A “BALANCED
BUDGET” AMENDMENT TO THE STATES FOR
RATIFICATION AS A CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF
PASSAGE OF SUCH A BILL THROUGH THE
CONGRESS OR SUBSEQUENTLY BY THE STATES.
THIS “MAP” IS
A STEP
TOWARD
RESPONSIBIL-
ITY ON THE
PART OF THE
CITIZENS AND
ACCOUNTABIL-
ITY ON THE
PART OF OUR
CONGRESS.
A “MODEST ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL”
BUT THESE FOLLOW-ON
ACTIONS COULD TAKE A
LONG TIME AND PERHAPS
NEVER COME TO FRUITION,
BECAUSE THE BASIC DEBT
ISSUE ITSELF HAS STRONGLY
DIVIDED SUPPORT ACROSS
THE NATION.
THUS THE CONGRESS
REFLECTS THAT DIVISION AND
HAS SIMILAR DIFFICULTY
REACHING A DETAILED
DECISION. IT THEREFORE
HAS HANDED THE “HOT
POTATO” TO OTHERS TO
ACTUALLY WORK OUT THE
SPECIFIC CUTS THAT MUST BE
ACHIEVED.
T H U S , R E L AT I V E T O T H E D E P T H
O F T H E P R O B L E M , T H E C U R R E N T
L E G I S L AT I V E O U T P U T I S A
M O D E S T S T E P. SO I‟D LIKE TO
PRESENT A “MAP” : IT ESSENTIALLY LAYS OUT A SHORT LEGISLATIVE BILL DESIGNED TO HELP OUR CITIZENS GET BACK INTO SOME CONTROL OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. IT RELIES ON A 3-PAGE MANDATED TEMPLATE:
THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL
THE (“MAP”) PROPOSAL IS DIFFERENT
FROM THE PRECEDING SOLUTION PLANS
BECAUSE IT:
i. ACKNOWLEDGES THAT CONGRESS AND
THE NATION ARE DEEPLY DIVIDED
OVER HOW TO CORRECT OUR DEBT
PROBLEM.
ii. FACTORS IN THE NEED FOR THE
AMERICAN ELECTORATE TO
UNDERSTAND AND CONTRIBUTE TO A
DEBT REDUCTION CONSENSUS, AND,
iii. INCLUDES ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF THE NATION’S MUCH LARGER
(BY A FACTOR OF ABOUT FOUR) “UNFUNDED LIABILITIES”. THESE
LIABILITIES ARE ALSO OBLIGATIONS FOR PAYMENT IN FUTURE YEARS BY
THE GOVERNMENT, BUT ARE NOT TYPICALLY INCLUDED IN THE $15
TRILLION DEBT NUMBER THAT IS USUALLY UNDER DISCUSSION.
THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL
THE “MAP” PLAN COMBINES:
i. MORE TRANSPARENCY OF THE
ISSUES FOR CLEARER VOTER
EVALUATION, WITH
ii. A MANDATED PLAN SUBMITTED
BY BOTH MAJOR AMERICAN
POLITICAL PARTIES REPRESENTED
IN OUR CONGRESS, AND,
iii. A MANDATED INTEGRATED,
SINGLE, COMMON BUDGET PLAN
DEVELOPED JOINTLY BY THE 2
PARTIES AND VOTED UPON BY THE
WHOLE CONGRESS. THE TOTAL
PROCESS HAS A “CLOCK RUNNING”
AGAINST WHICH THE PROCESS
STEPS MUST BE COMPLETED IN
FULL VIEW OF THE ELECTORATE
AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
CONGRESS DEMOCRATS
GOP CITIZENS
NOTE: “RSD” = REVENUES / SPENDING / DEBT
Leader: THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL
A 1000 MAXIMUM WORD LEGISLATION IS PASSED WITH THE FOLLOWING PARTICULARS: • STEP #1A : CONGRESSIONAL DEMS & GOP (HOUSE & SENATE) EACH AGREE TO PUT THEIR ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS IN WRITING WITH A 3 PAGE (81/2 x 11) QUANTITATIVE SUMMARY** , OF REVENUES, SPENDING, AND A 5 YEAR NATIONAL DEBT (RSD) PROJECTION SHOWN AGAINST A 50 YEAR NATIONAL AVERAGE OF DEBT TO GDP. THIS SUMMARY IS CALLED THE “RSD FORM”. A MANDATED TEMPLATE** FOR EACH OF THE 3 PAGES IS TO BE PART OF THE LEGISLATION, AND AN EXAMPLE OF EACH PAGE IS GIVEN BELOW.
• STEP #1B: OF COURSE, CONGRESS CAN MAINTAIN THE MORE DETAILED BUDGET ACCOUNTING BOOKS TRADITIONALLY USED. BUT IF A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THESE TRADITIONAL BOOKS ARISES IN ANY OF THE RSD TOTALS, THE RSD FORM TOTALS WILL PREVAIL IN THE FINAL BUDGET LEGISLATION AND APPROPRIATIONS.
• STEP #2: THE TWO SUMMARIES ARE PUBLISHED AND ON THE OFFICIAL “DAY #1” OF THE PROCESS EVERY CONGRESSMAN & SENATOR SENDS A COPY OF (BOTH THE DEM & GOP VERSIONS ) TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND TO THE MEDIA. ADDITIONALLY, EACH OF THE 2 PACKAGES WILL BE SCORED BY THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE FOR TOTALS OF REVENUES, SPENDING AND DEBT PROJECTION.
cont’d next 4 pages
THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL
A 1000 MAXIMUM WORD LEGISLATION IS PASSED WITH THE FOLLOWING PARTICULARS: • STEP #3: ALL CITIZENS ARE REQUESTED TO LET THEIR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS KNOW THEIR THOUGHTS BY DAY #14.
• STEP #4: APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DELIBERATE WITH THE LEGISLATION-STIPULATED OBJECTIVE OF REACHING AGREEMENT ON A COMMON REVENUE-SPENDING-DEBT SUMMARY OF THE INTITALLY SEPARATE 3 PAGE “RSD” FORMS**. THE COMMON SUMMARY IS PUBLISHED TO CONSTITUENTS AND MEDIA AND ON DAY #59. PEOPLE ARE AGAIN BY DAY #73. A SENATE AND HOUSE “BY-NAME”, PUBLIC, “UP OR DOWN” VOTE ON THE RSD PACKAGE IS TO BE COMPLETED BY DAY #80 OF THE PROCESS.
• STEP #5: ON DAY #82, EACH CONGRESSMAN & SENATOR WILL SEND HIS CONSTITUENTS A STATEMENT OF HIS VOTE AND A RATIONALE FOR IT.
** THE RSD 3-PAGE FORM TEMPLATE IS GIVEN AS FIGURES #1, #2 and #3 IN THIS ARTICLE.
THE REVENUES / SPENDING / DEBT TEMPLATE
THIS 3 PAGE SUMMARY FOLLOWS THE MANDATED FORMAT THROUGHOUT THE “RSD” PROCESS. EACH PAGE EVOLVES FROM:
1. TWO SEPARATE PARTY-SUBMITTED SUMMARIES • THE RSD-BLU (DEM) AND RSD-RED (GOP) VERSIONS
2. TO A HOUSE & SENATE JOINT VERSION, NOW ALSO ACCEPTED BY BOTH PARTIES • THE RSD-RWB VERSION
EACH VERSION USES THE SAME TEMPLATE SUMMARY, ALTHOUGH THE $ VALUES CAN CHANGE UNTIL THE FINAL, COMMON, INTEGRATED VERSION IS PRODUCED. THEREAFTER, THESE VALUES ARE FINAL AND BINDING ON ALL OTHER BUDGET DOCUMENTS AND LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS.
RSD TEMPLATE – CHART #1 - REVENUES
RSD TEMPLATE – CHART #2 - SPENDING
RSD TEMPLATE – CHART #3 - DEBT
SEE CHART, NEXT PAGE
THE MAGICAL
WORLD OF
“UNFUNDED
LIABILITIES”
• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.
• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT
UNDER CONTROL
THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND
CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.
MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T
DYSFUNCTION.
HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE
BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.
A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON
AMERICA‟S DEBT.
SO WHY WOULD THIS “MAP” SUCCEED
WHILE OTHER ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED ?
I THINK FOR THESE REASONS:
• IT ADDS CITIZEN DIRECT OVERSIGHT TO A DIFFICULT
ISSUE ( NOT EXACTLY A REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT ).
• IT GIVES CONGRESS A STRONGER SENSE OF WHAT THE
PEOPLE WANT - - “IN WRITING” FROM CONSTITUENTS.
• IT PUTS EVERY LEGISLATOR ON DISPLAY TO EVERY
CITIZEN DURING THE PROCESS.
• IT GIVES EVERYONE MORE CONFIDENCE IN A FAIR ,
ORDERLY, UNDERSTANDABLE AND RESPONSIVE
GOVERNMENT.
A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT APPROACH
TO AMERICA’S DEBT PROBLEM
THE END ACTUALLY, IT‟S NOT THE END - - YOUR VOICE IS
IMPORTANT TO OUR NATION. CITIZEN INTEREST,
DIALOG AND DATA ARE CRITICAL TO GOOD CIVIC
OUTCOMES. AND THAT INCLUDES OUTCOMES WHICH
SIMPLY ASSURE PROPER CONDITIONS FOR THE
FREE MARKET TO WORK.
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