Tax Breaks

The debt commission appointed by President Obama is scheduled to present its report on containing the national debt later this year. The debt commission is a bi partisan panel created to formulate strategy on dealing with the massive and growing national debt. The debt stands at $13 trillion and is growing fast.

If I had any say in the matter, I would suggest one simple plan. I would not raise taxes or cut spending. I would simply end every tax break, exemption, and subsidy in the nation. There would be no tax shelters, no breaks for children, no business write offs, no subsidies or exemptions: absolutely nothing for anyone. Every one would have to pay the full amount of what they owed each year, every year: every one, with absolutely no exceptions whatsoever.

I would recommend this plan not because I think it is fair. It is not. Nor would it make any significant headway in bringing down the debt: at least not anytime soon. I recommend this because it would be an effective way of bringing home to people how much government costs. If more people experienced how much government truly costs, they might just want less of it. That would be a meaningful first step in getting federal spending under control.

And therein lies the rub. People want more government than they are willing to pay for.