The United States currently owes $14.7 trillion. The estimated population of the United States is 311,264,255, so each citizen’s share of this debt is $47,235.03. The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.96 billion per day since September 2007. I ask you to support corporate and income tax reform, cuts to wasteful spending and entitlement programs and a balanced approach to our runaway spending.

However, how do we get there? How do we handle runaway entitlement spending and record unemployment?

We must advocate a different allocation of our funding. We should cancel entitlement programs and replace them with works programs.

I know this may sound shocking. I consider myself a moderate Democrat, but a Democrat nonetheless. The idea of dramatic changes to entitlements sounds scary, but hear me out.

I would propose that entitlements should continue only for the means-tested retired and the disabled. As proposed, the changes would work as follows:

• If you are retired, a criteria will be setup so that if you’re making under $250,000 per year or have a net worth of less than $2 million dollars, you will quality for entitlement funding, including Social Security and Medicare.
• If you are disabled and also meet the previous criteria, you will receive entitlement funding.
• If you are healthy and of working age, you will not qualify for welfare and other entitlement spending. Rather, you will be guaranteed a job through a government works program that provides a salary and health benefits.

It’s a simple and commonsense approach. If you don’t want money or insurance, you don’t have to work. If you do and can’t otherwise find a job, the government will provide one via public works. We have miles of roads, bridges and other structures that need repair and/or replacement. Our infrastructure has long been neglected. Our unemployment rate is above 9%. Now is the chance to fix both problems at the same time.

Under my plan, the person benefits and America benefits.

And to me, this makes a lot more sense than simply sending out welfare checks.

Filed under: Politics | Tagged: Congress, democrat, entitlement, jobs, Obama, Politics, public works, Republican, unemployment | 3 Comments »