Special: 12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity

SPECIAL NOTE: This post was to have appeared on February 19, but was lost due to a technical issue. It now appears in its entirety.

Dear Readers:

Recently, I received the following announcement from American Solutions, an organization led by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. While I don't always agree with Newt, and I don't agree with everything mentioned in this plan (see my comments in red italics), this is a much better start than the pork-barrel bailout that the Democrats have forced upon the American taxpayer. The American Solutions article begins after the message from our sponsor.

Washington solutions of more money for more government, more power for politicians, more debt, and more bureaucrats will not lead to real growth in jobs and prosperity.

We need a clear and decisive alternative that creates jobs and rewards work, saving, and investment.

1. Payroll Tax Stimulus. With a temporary new tax credit to offset 50% of the payroll tax, every small business would have more money, and all Americans would take home more of what they earn. (This would add some fairness by eliminating the self-employment tax, which unfairly burdens small business owners. I would prefer to see a permanent elimination of the self-employment tax, coupled with an individual investment account provision.)
2. Real Middle-Income Tax Relief. Reduce the marginal tax rate of 25% down to 15%, in effect establishing a flat-rate tax of 15% for close to 9 out of 10 American workers. (This would actually help Obama keep one of his campaign promises.)
3. Reduce the Business Tax Rate. Match Ireland’s rate of 12.5% to keep more jobs in America. (This lowers the double-taxation burden on corporations and should spark an increase in equity investments. This would also serve to lower bond interest rates, thereby increasing bond prices. This could lead to a rare, simultaneous increase in equity and bond prices, providing overall economic growth. A serendipitous benefit to this would be a decrease in inflation, as businesses would not have to offset their tax burdens by charging higher prices.)
4. Homeowner’s Assistance. Provide tax credit incentives to responsible home buyers so they can keep their homes. (I don’t totally agree with this measure, as it will artificially inflate housing prices. However, with all the giveaways for irresponsible home buyers, something had to be done to make things equitable for the rest of us.)
5. Control Spending So We Can Move to a Balanced Budget. This begins with eliminating Congressional earmarks and wasteful pork-barrel spending. (A balanced budget is not always the best way to stimulate the economy, but we need to severely reduce wasteful Congressional spending, so this is a good idea on the whole. A line-item veto would usually help here, but with a Democrat-led Congress and a spendthrift President, it would be of no consequence now, as evidenced by the $1.2 Trillion spending package signed last week.)
6. No State Aid Without Protection From Fraud. Require state governments to adopt anti-fraud and anti-theft policies before giving them more money. (This is a good idea. The question here is “Who pays for (and conducts) the investigation and enforcement?” Is it possible to expand this to include accountability for money given to foreign governments?)
7. More American Energy Now. Explore for more American oil and gas and invest in affordable energy for the future, including clean coal, ethanol, nuclear power and renewable fuels. (Always a good idea. We need to get away from fossil fuels in order to clean the air and shore-up our economy. The problem is the big money interests (Energy, Auto Makers) who don’t want to pay for the change.)
8. Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains. Match China, Singapore and many other competitors. More investment in America means more jobs in America. (This is an obvious move to spur investment. By the time you pay taxes on your income, your interest, and your capital gains, it hardly seems worth all the effort. I would also like to see a repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) or at least an inflation-adjustment to the income trigger.)
9. Protect the Rights of American Workers. We must protect a worker’s right to decide by secret ballot whether to join a union, and the worker’s right to freely negotiate. Forced unionism will kill jobs in America at a time when we can’t afford to lose them. (Unions helped build this country in the last century. They gave us the 40-hour work week, workplace safety measures, and numerous other employee benefits. Unfortunately, unions have become more of a bane than a benefit, and they have outlived their usefulness in most industries. When unions get so greedy as to actually begin to destroy the business model of the companies that employ the union’s members, then we have a problem. We should also eliminate the unions of all government employees immediately.)
10. Replace Sarbanes-Oxley. This failed law is crippling entrepreneurial start-ups. Replace it with affordable rules that help create jobs, not destroy them. (Corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually just to stay compliant with these worthless regulations. Accountants love it, but no one else is benefiting.)
11. Abolish the Death Tax. Americans should work for their families, not for Washington. (Absolutely! You work your whole life to build your estate. You pay taxes on your income, interest, investments, and even on your Social Security. After you die, the government wants to take up to 90% of everything you created during your lifetime, even though they already taxed you all along the way. Eliminate this unfair burden now!)
12. Invest in Energy and Transportation Infrastructure. This includes a new, expanded electric power grid and a 21st century air traffic control system that will reduce delays in air travel and save passengers, employees and airlines billions of dollars per year. (This is a no-brainer. In the 1970s, states and the federal government spent billions on the National Highway System and local roads and bridges. Now, these throughways have fallen into disrepair, and they are largely obsolete. I would also like to see a relaxing of the environmental impact reports and other useless requirements that delay these projects for up to ten years or more. By the time most projects are completed, they have cost over twice as much as the original budget, and they turn out to be too little, too late.)

If you would like to learn more visit www.americansolutions.com. You may endorse this program at their website, and you may also read more about this and other initiatives of the organization.

For those of you who were waiting for my regular article last Saturday, I apologize, but my significant other had different plans for me on Valentine’s Day. I will be posting periodic comments on the Economic Porkulus Bill, which Obama signed yesterday, as I have time to go through its various entitlements. I have no faith that this bill will do anything to stimulate the economy, but it should be a boon to campaign donations to the Democrat Party.

Until next time, enjoy life, and watch your wallet!