How Would You Solve the Deficit? Budget Calculator on NYT

[de novo]

Published: November 13, 2010
Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget

Today, you’re in charge of the nation’s finances. Some of your options have more short-term savings and some have more long-term savings. When you have closed the budget gaps for both 2015 and 2030, you are done. Make your own plan, then share it online.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?hp

[orwell]

1. I got to a surplus...

...rather easily.

[Warpy]

4. It's easy if you don't care if you kill the economy

or the old people in the country. Once those are off the table, it becomes a little more difficult.

I managed, though, with 31% spending cuts (mostly military and corporate welfare) and 69% raising revenues, mostly on the fat cats.

After all, the worst thing you can do with a severe recession is austerity, reducing government spending in order to preserve tax cuts at the top, which is what much of Europe is trying to do. Perhaps their dismal failure and resulting social unrest will spur our sissy Congress into doing the right things.

[tech9413]

12. This is the third post today and most of us could solve the problem

Most if not all did so without cutting SS or Medicare. I'm sure we are not that much smarter than our elected "representatives". It's probably that we don't have any financial interest in screwing the working class.

[rocktivity]

16. DING DING DING! Tech9413, you're our grand prize winner!

...(M)ost of us could solve the problem...It's probably that we don't have any financial interest in screwing the working class.

It's a matter of who matters more: the people who support politicians with the most votes or the ones who support them with the most money.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[jwirr]

2. That was fun. I got rid of the deficit. However, I realize that we do not

see how these cuts effect employment when we make them.

[sakabatou]

3. I solved it too

[rocktivity]

5. If you have a Twitter account, you can click the share link at the top of the page

to get the url to your solutions.

You can also click the Feedback link at the bottom of the page to inquire as to why raising the Social Security salary cap, lowering Medicare's eligibility age, or ending all forms of corporate welfare weren't options.

In spite of that, I found a way to come up with http://t.co/YlyZ8Oo">a surplus. And here's more:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9556197

:headbang:
rocktivity

[riverbendviewgal]

6. I did It1

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=wmxj4bqz

70 percent savings from tax increases and 30 percent from cuts.

This was fun!

[hunter]

7. I'd slash the military 90%...

...and I'd shut down dozens of other "fear" agencies, big and small, such as the TSA, DEA, big chunks of the CIA etc.

They'd probably try to kill me, but I'd carve big smiley faces and peace signs into the roof of the Pentagon with my space jelly rays and disintegrate all their clothes and weapons to let them know I mean business.

Imagine seeing Newt Gingrich stripped naked by space jelly rays as he's working Fox News. Imagine a Lockheed or Exxon stockholder's meeting where everyone's clothes are turned into slippery green slime that smells like vomit.

And don't think I wouldn't go after other forces of corruption in the world, I'd hit them too.

We all know what we have to do. Let the revolution begin.

The New York Times is lame.

[napi21]

8. I have a very simple plan.

I would completely gut the IRS system and start from scratch

Three tax brackets.

Earnings $0 to $15,000 Tax 0%

Earnings $15,001 to $50,000 Tax 10%

Earnngs $50,000 to $250,000 Tax 15%

Earnngs above $250,000 Tax 20%

The ONLY DEDUCTION would be for dependants @ $5,000 each.

The only change to SS would be to raise the cap to $135,000...no other changes would be becessary.

Under this plan, the very poor who need the most assistance would ow NO TAXES, Those in the middle MAY see a slight increase in what they now pay, but nothing significant, and the very wealthy would have to learn other ways to maintain their life style than loophoes.

[Taitertots]

10. That is super low tax rates for the rich

How about this?
$0 to $15k - government assistance to 15k
15k to $40k - No taxes
Every dollar after $40k @ 25% to $250k
After $250k tax every new dollar @ 75% to 10 million
After $10 million @ 90%

No deductions for anyone for anything. Tag the income levels to inflation

Take the excess paid into social security and create a sovereign wealth fund. Had we been doing this from the start we would have the largest sovereign wealth fund on earth without even considering the returns.

[napi21]

19. Yes it sounds low, but you have to remember there are NO deductions

so it's a lot higher than they're paying right now because it's on ALL INCOME, including dividends. I think if we went that way there would be more than enough money for the treasury to eliminate the deficit and still keep everyone reasonably happy. I think it's just as big a mistake to overtax the rich as it is for them to be so greedy now.

[krispos42]

20. That's a bigger tax cut for the rich, though.

The top bracket is a nominal 34% right now on earned, and 15% on unearned.




I would have univeral single payer system and have federal taxes thus:

5% on all income (flat tax) with the funds going for Social Security

10% on all income (flat tax) with the funds going for Medicare for all

60% on taxable income after $80k for single, $160k married, for the general fund.


Usual deductions apply... retirement savings, kids, primary residence mortage, etc.


Something like this for the bottom 95% of income earners. Horizontal line is total income, so the lines assume no deductions.




At $2.5 million, the effective tax rate is about 71%.

[Taitertots]

9. The problem isn't that we are spending too much

It is that we are spending too much on stupid things. Imagine taking all the war spending and putting it toward anything productive. We could all have health care.

[skepticscott]

11. Unfortunately their little exercise

treats the economy in a very simplistic way, as if cutting spending or raising taxes in one place doesn't affect a lot of other things. And a 418 billion dollar deficit in 2015 is wildly optimistic. We're at about 1.4 trillion right now, so where is that additional $1,000,000,000,000 in cuts going to come from, if not from the things already on their list?

[shireen]

13. wow! i solved it too, and it wasn't hard!

It's a real eye-opener, to see the extent to which the rich are getting breaks. And the military spending issues -- it's astonishing how much goes to the "military industrial complex" to keep defense contractors employed!

[Ragrum]

14. I got it to surplus...found it an interesting exercise

I know it seemed simple....I think back to the Clinton years where we cut WAR department spending. (Peace department seems better) Other than raise SS to 68 and raise the SS tax above $130k I left social net alone. Tax increase on wealthy. The debate I had with my wife on capital gains and W2 or 1099 income was pretty simple, income is income. Oh and we (white) are in the top 2%. However on the state and local balance sheet, I'd cut, other than intramural higher ed sports expense that did not pay for itself. I'd increase class size until we get out of this hole.

[WhiteTara]

15. I got rid of the deficit and did not touch one single

program or government employee. How? Through taxation and stopping the wars.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=0m9205qm
here's my plan

[grahamhgreen]

17. Simply return to the greatest generations tax structure. Funny how that's not an option!

[Greyhound]

18. Even with the timid, slanted options provided it is easy. n/t