steps our country needs to take to address fiscal irresponsibility

1. go cold turkey on deficit spending
2. fix social security.  lower benefits and and increase the retirement age
3. fix the tax system.  simplify it so it is fair across the board.  make it so simple that we don’t need the IRS anymore.  make it bullet proof so that nobody can cheat.
4. address health care.  we can’t pay for everything, especially as people live longer and we go to greater efforts to keep them alive.  it isn’t about morality, it is about affordability.  we (tax payers) can’t afford to pay everyone’s healthcare needs.  we need to start weening ourselves of medicare/cade and move to privatization (personal accounts).
5. fix the budget process.  everything must show up in the budget, no supplemental, emergency, or earmarks allowed.  require complete transparency which shows online to the public who voted for what spending.  adopt a ‘pay as you go’ system which requires the government to only spend the money that they have.  they can’t add new programs without increasing taxes (heaven forbid).

these ideas come from the excellent book, “Where Does the Money Go?” by Public Agenda Online…