My 5-step solution to fixing the U.S. economy.

A couple weeks back on The Whole Truth, I outlined my 5-step process to fixing the U.S. economy. In case you missed it – and based on the number of podcast requests I receive, you did! – here it is again, in blog form. My 5-step solution to fixing the U.S. economy:

1) No more tax cuts. The United States has been cutting taxes for 50 years. We’ve cut taxes on the rich, taxes on the poor, taxes on the middle class, corporate taxes, small business taxes, individual taxes. Despite all these tax cuts, the U.S. economy is in worse shape than it
was in 1960. Nearly 1 out of 10 Americans is unemployed. Tax cuts, they told us, were supposed to stimulate spending, which in turn was supposed to stimulate job creation. Unfortunately, the exact opposite has happened. In 1960, the marginal income tax rate on the wealthiest Americans (the “job creators”) was 91%. The corporate tax rate was 55%. Both rates now stand at 35%, and yet we have less job growth to show for it. Why aren’t the job creators creating jobs? Where are all these tax cuts going? The tax code needs to be rewritten. Let’s start with tax cuts for job creators who aren’t creating any jobs. Make “job creators” show on their tax returns how many jobs they’ve created over the past fiscal year. If they can’t do it, they get no tax cut. This will separate the true job creators from the trust fund kids who are sitting on their money and pouring champagne over their heads in the Hamptons. If tax cuts create jobs, then start creating some jobs; otherwise, no more tax cuts.

2)  No more Tea Party. The Republican Party needs to split into two. Real Republicans who want to solve our nation’s problems can sit at the big table; tea baggers who want to score points with the Fox News crowd can cry and moan at the kids table. I commend the Tea Party for their ability to turn a routine debt ceiling vote into the United States’ first ever credit downgrade. I really do! Nonetheless, they could have proven their point – maybe even balanced the budget – without jeopardizing our credit worthiness. Ronald Reagan raised the debt ceiling 17 times during his presidency; that didn’t stop Bill Clinton and New Gingrich from balancing the budget ten years later. S&P never noticed, the global markets never noticed, and everybody lived happily ever after – until the Tea Party came along. Seriously, Tea Party, I admire your energy and dedication. But the next time you throw a tantrum, can you at least study up on the political process before you do so? Let’s balance the budget and get our economy going without burning it to the ground first. That’s revolutionary thinking.

3) No more debt. It sounds complicated, but really it isn’t. Getting out of debt is simple; the United States needs to spend less money than it brings in. In order to do that, we need to put the lean on the guys who write the checks. I’m talking to you, Congress. Here’s an idea: Congress has two years from the time they take office to produce a balanced budget; if they can’t do it, the President of the United States is required by law to call open elections on all 535 seats of Congress, plus the White House! It sounds radical, but it isn’t. This is how European parliamentary democracies work. If the government receives a vote of no confidence, open elections are called, and a new government is formed. Ireland did it in 2011; countless other governments have done it before. If they can do it, we can do it. And if we can re-write the Constitution to include a balanced budget amendment – something Republicans favor – then surely we can re-write it to change the structure of a broken government that no longer works the way it was supposed to. You want Congress to balance the budget? Give them two years to do it, or they lose their six-figure salaries, seven-figure book deals, and private jets at the taxpayers’ expense. I guarantee they’ll balance the budget.

4) No more Chinese stuff. Bitch all you want about Barack Obama’s jobs numbers; the fact is, the reason we’re not creating jobs in this country is because we don’t produce anything in this country. Manufacturing got shipped to China under Ronald Reagan. It ain’t coming back anytime soon unless we take some real steps to make that happen. Let’s start by doubling tariffs on Chinese imports. Level the playing field, and give Walmart a reason to stock their shelves with American-made goods. Next, let’s tax outsourced jobs. If U.S. companies want to pay some kid in India 10 cents on the dollar to do a job, let’s tax that job 90 cents on the dollar. Again, level the playing field. Give American companies an incentive to produce things in America, and give American employers an incentive to employ Americans. And while we’re at it, for Christ sake, how about some innovation? You know that high-speed rail thing you always hear about? It’s not a bad idea. In fact, it’s a good idea. Puts people to work. That’s why every other country has one except us. Get crackin’ on it, America!

5) No more tax loopholes. I know I mentioned it in Step 1, but it bears repeating: the tax code in this country needs to be rewritten. Desperately. Enough with taxing billions of dollars in capital gains as if it were thousands of dollars of income. Enough with giving rich folks and big businesses cart blanche to pocket their tax cuts and not sink a dime back into the American economy. Enough with taxing small businesses the same way we tax rich folks and big businesses. And enough with rewarding companies that send jobs overseas, and tax revenues offshore. Keep the money in America, and put it to good use – for EVERYONE. These are not radical concepts; they’re not liberal concepts; and they’re not Socialist concepts. They’re common sense concepts. They’re American concepts. So let’s put them to practice, America.