What is the solution? How about what a family might do. When money gets tight and changes must be made, common-sense families will evaluate their finances--income and expenditures. There are two solution to budget woes: increase income and/or decrease expenditures. Applying both solutions provides the quickest resolution, but not everyone can or wants to work a second or third job, or find a better paying job, particularly in the current employment environment. So the family would then look at reducing expenses, likely evaluating every expense (line by line, so to speak) and make adjustments accordingly. The process of a balanced budget--expenses that do not exceed income--can be long and arduous but is not impossible.
As a government, why not form a "task force" made up of CFO's from several business with a proven successful financial track record, 1 or 2 elected officials from both parties and several average citizens--people from blue collar, main street America who deal with balancing the budget on a weekly basis in their own finances. This team(s) would review our national budget line by line (talk about long and arduous!) and make cuts without prejudice, just like we must do at home. No politics, no back room deals, just common sense evaluation to bring income and expenses into balance. In other words, to begin living within our means. My money (pardon the pun) is on cutting expenses. By all appearances, it is spending that is wildly out of control in the U.S., not revenues.
I'm sure this idea falls apart at some point, but it is certainly better than the current practices. Raising revenues on the back of tax payers will not solve anything. And one thing is sure...change must come at the voting booth.
It may, in fact, only lead us closer to the what is brought out in this article:
