Think Act Lead encourages elected officials and candidates to pledge themselves to these reforms as part of a "Voter's Bill of Rights on the Budget!"
Return to the principle of PAY-GO, which means every increase in spending must be paid for by an offsetting increase in revenue, and every cut in taxes must be accompanied by an equivalent cut in spending.
Eliminate unnecessary government agencies and programs
A SUNSET clause on all new discretionary domestic spending will prevent unnecessary federal programs from continuing year after year.
Freeze politicians' salaries, their staff and office budgets, and the White House budget (which has ballooned to record levels under Bush).
Close several unnecessary tax shelters enjoyed by large corporations. A congressional committee on taxation reported that this would raise $20 billion in revenues over a 10 year period. Create a "corporate welfare" task force charged with identifying wasteful tax breaks.
Roll back President Bush’s tax cuts for those making over $1/2 million per year.
Never grant permanent status to any tax cut. To pass a 10-year, $1.35 trillion cut in taxes, as President Bush did, and then attempt to make it permanent while the nation is at war and suffering from record debts is irresponsible. It forces severe cuts in vital domestic programs and fuels Bush’s runaway deficits and debt.
Create a bipartisan commission to propose ways to collect outstanding taxes, estimated at $250 billion.
Find a compromise on the Estate Tax. The U.S. House voted to permanently repeal the Estate Tax, which is a Robin Hood-in-reverse bill. Rather, only the first million of an estate’s value from taxation should be exempted.
We can "nickel and dime" the budget deficit to death through:
increasing Superfund fines for the worst hazardous polluters;
cracking down on Medicare overpayments to HMOs;
fining large defense contractors who overcharge and defraud the government;
charging a fair fee for grazing, ranching, and mining on public lands;
reforming the administrative costs of student loan programs;
increasing "sin taxes" on items such as pornography, guns, tobacco; etc.
