Raise taxes progressively for all income over $250,000. Eliminate esoteric tax avoidance schemes.

[Ikonoklast]

Raise the minimum wage, and make it mandatory for all class of employees (no farm worker exemption, etc.).

15% tax rate on your first million in investment income, marginal tax rates apply after that.

No earnings cap on S.S., problem solved forever. Age 60, you get Social Security, that check will come and you can't stop it. Want to or need to still work? Sure, if you want to, your first 50K in earnings doesn't count against your benefit.

Cut the Defense budget by 5%, then 1.5% a year for ten years. Ruthlessly eliminate using defense contractors who cannot control costs, the free market will replace them with companies who can.

Use the DoD savings to fund education at every level. Make Education a matter of National Security, because it is.

Gradually lower the age of Medicare eligibility by one year, every year. No free ride, everyone will help fund it, workers and employers alike. Deal with it.

Two years of National Service, and I don't want to hear that it's against your belief system.
I don't know of any religion that keeps you from helping feed elderly shut-ins. You can pick from a possible list of a hundred different categories, from military service to picking up trash, but you will serve the common good by investing some time for the betterment of our country.

Invest in renewable energy at a level equal to the fossil fuel subsidies which will be eliminated, currently $40 billion a year.

These all beat Paul Ryan's "Steal From Working People And Give It To Millionaires" joke of a 'budget'.

Feel free to add your own ideas.

[russspeakeasy]

1. Wow ! What an excellent platform..

[newmexicodem]

2. i agree and some added ideas here....

How do you enforce making people do National Service? Although a nice thought, since you can't force people to work. Maybe incentivize folks by some way perhaps allowing them to withdraw from 401K or IRA tax-free without that dumb 10% penalty.

I would also legalize marijuana and tax it to similar levels as alcohol and tobacco.

I would create an obesity tax where we can tax fast-food restaurants and soda manufacturers.

Encourage usage of mass transit by taxing auto usage by the mileage

I would require drug testing for all recipients of food stamp, unemployment, or comparable benefit. Payable by the applicant but refunded if test results return negative. If I get drug tested every time I apply for a job, i think it is fair to drug test all of our social programs recipients

Eliminate the non-profit tax exempt option for religious organizations and all tax-exemptions for those non profits

[Ikonoklast]

3. Drug testing is already a failure, see Florida.

Right wing crapola, and a huge waste of taxpayer money.

Taxing food is regressive, for any reason.

National Service can be many things, and you don't want to work, fine.

You'll be fined.

[daleanime]

4. $1,000 tax credit for voting in fed elections......

every one votes!

[Frustratedlady]

5. A few other ideas

Make speculation illegal for oil/gas, food, utilities, etc...on the essentials people need and/or for survival.

Reduce amount of time pharmaceuticals can inflate prices of meds.

Make it illegal for a person/entity to own water rights. That would be the cruelest of all commodities to sell if/when there was a water shortage due to environmental/climate change.

The following aren't budget cuts, but would keep us from battles the next time around. This election is a disgrace.


Any person who wishes to run for the office of senator, representative, VPOTUS, POTUS, SCOTUS and/or any cabinet member must show 10 years of income taxes reports before campaigning.

Any person running for federal or state governmental offices cannot have offshore accounts or holding companies.

No candidate can receive more than $2500 from any individual eligible to vote; corporations totally excluded from contributions of any type unless full disclosure is provided of monetary value.

[Ikonoklast]

6. Call it "The Transparency In Election" law.

I like it.

You can eliminate pure commodity speculation by making speculators prove they can take delivery at the end of the contract.

Hedging is one thing, usually done by the users of that specific commodity, they have the ability to take delivery.

[russspeakeasy]

7. One of the reasons I hang around here. Smart, smart people.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. Great thread!

I may be a little idealistic compared to your solutions, but I would love to see a Constitutional Amendment overturning Corporate Personhood. Not that it was ever codified (it was a personal note by Bancroft Davis added into the court file) but as it has been precedent for ~150 years, write it up and bannify it.

[SilveryMoon]

9. FDR's Second Bill of Rights

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2848856

Opportunity
 The right to a useful and remunerative job…
 The right to a good education.
 The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies…

Security
 The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment.
 The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.
 The right of every family to a decent home.
 The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation.

My own ideas...

Eliminate individual/corporate loopholes. Use a progressive tax scale to eliminate concentrated wealth like what we have now and fund education/healthcare infrastructure and social services. No more individuals either not paying or paying a very low a federal income tax. Once all jobs in the US provide a living wage, nobody gets out income taxes. (unless one is dependent on social security, disabled or is below the poverty line.)

Eliminates tax credits/tax breaks for oil and non renewable energy.

Heavy investment in renewable energy.

Cut the defense budget in half. Close all military bases overseas and bring every soldier abroad home. In times of war, tax rates go to what they were in WWII. No exceptions. Everybody feels affected and will hopefully prevent unnecessary wars.

Close all corporate loopholes and end corporate welfare. You make a huge profit, you get taxed. Tax breaks will go to those that pay all their workers a living wage, respect the environment and do not outsource. Increased taxes on companies that outsource.

Huge tariffs on imports from countries that do not respect the Universal declaration of human rights. Alter our "free trade agreements" to protect American workers. Huge fines on companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants here in the US.

No more cheap unhealthy food. Sodas and and food will be taxed more than they are right now. Fruits and vegetables will be subsidized

End the war on drugs. Legalize regulate and tax marijuana.

End criminalization of victimless crimes. If everyone is of age, consents, no hurts another, and there is no coercion nor intimidation, then it is not a crime that can result in jail.

Corporations are not people. They do not have rights. So no more unlimited political donations from them. Public financed political campaigns.

No more "Too Big to Fail". If a bank gets in that position, it is immediately broken up into smaller banks they don't ruin the economy if they need a bail out.

All banks/corporations that need a bailout from the government (taxpayers) is nationalized.

No more offshore bank accounts. Any country that has tax havens will be no longer allowed to trade with us.

[reformist2]

10. 2% annual tax on net worth above $100K.

The current income tax doesn't tax people who live off a big mountains of inhereted wealth. They should be made to join the party.

[Odin2005]

11. I'll vote for that!!! My additions:

Fund investment in a national high-speed rail system.

Quadruple NASA funding.

Roll back Clinton's Welfare Deform.

Create a government-owned investment bank that will supply capital to co-ops and small businesses.

Throw tariffs on countries that do not protect the rights of workers and do not protect the natural environment.

[SoCalDem]

12. and

25K= 0%
25,001-50K=10%
50,001-100,000=15%
100,001-250K= 20%
250,001-1M=30%
1M+ =40%


only deductions:

100% interest on ONE home..,the one you LIVE in...home mortgage must be UNDER 400K..mortgages over 400K..up to 700K=50% interest deduction

Solar upgrades to homes/businesses..100% deduction
Interest on car purchase deductible without itemizing (car value limit 40K)
Rent deductible without itemization
Medical expenses FULLY deductible..without itemization (premiums and actual out of pocket expenses)
Student loan interest fully deductible without itemization