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National Security:
National Security is the most important issue, as without that, the benefits of a free society and prosperity cannot be enjoyed. Our national security would be enhanced by a withdrawal from Iraq as quickly as can be effected without compromising the safety of US military personnel, a focus on Al-Qaeda as the US' greatest security threat and a non-interventionist foreign policy. The reduced cost of such a national security strategy would also benefit the economy.
The Economy:
Stop the cheesy, half-baked, short-sighted Federal responses to the current economic situation, such as the forthcoming fiscal stimulus payments. Implement long-term solutions now. Reduce federal government spending. I endorse the recommendations in the Cato Institute's proposed budget cuts as stated here.
Fundamental tax reform:
I endorse the Hall-Rabushka Flat Tax, which will reduce Federal tax rates, greatly simplify our tax code and foster great entrepreneurship in the US. The details can be seen here.
A summary of the Hall-Rabushka Flat Tax can be read here.
If, after Federal spending has been cut, the 19% tax rate proposed by Hall & Rabushka produces a Federal surplus, the tax rate should be cut to what the Congressional Budget Office thinks the tax rate that would balance the Federal budget would be.
Free Trade:
The US should unilaterally drop trade restrictions and tariffs in order to improve the standard of living to US consumers and to set an example by bolstering free trade around the world. Free trade is extremely important in the cause of international peace.
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Social Security:
I support "The 6.2% Solution," as proposed by the Cato Institute, which you can view here.
Medicare:
Currently, seniors cannot opt out of Medicare without losing their Social Security benefits; that should change. The prescription drug program passed in 2003, which was fiscal insanity, should be repealed. Medicare should be overhauled to subsidize seniors directly. Medicare should be moved from its current system of defined benefits to a system of defined contributions. Beneficiaries should be given vouchers that they can take into the medical marketplace or saved in a Health Savings Account for use in future years. It is almost certain that Medicare benefits will be cut by Congress in the future. Giving seniors control over their Medicare benefits would allow them to retain the benefits that mean most to them, rather than having that decided through the political process.
In the long run, we need to move away from the "Pay As You Go" Medicare system, which, as with Social Security, means that today's benefits for the elderly are financed by taxes paid by today's workers. We need to move to a system of prepaid Medicare benefits, much like a 401(k), that allows workers to accumulate assets during their working years to spend for medical care in their later years. This needs to be done as soon as possible, and certainly while the bulk of the baby boomers are still in the workforce.
Medicaid:
The federal government currently pays 57% of total Medicaid expenditures to the states on a matching grant basis. Medicaid spending is exploding and cannot be sustained. Medicaid should be converted to a block grant program to the states, without conditions from the federal government. Federal contributions to Medicaid should be phased out over time, and the program should become totally financed by state and local governments.
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Victimless Crime:
Repeal all Federal laws regarding consensual crimes. As with the end of alcohol prohibition, the Federal government should end its drug prohibition and allow the states to address this issue. Also, the Federal government should repeal its prohibition of online gambling and allow Americans the freedom to gamble, if they so choose, from the privacy of their own homes.
Health Care:
Health care is not a right, because it requires the talents and resources of other people. The federal government is not empowered by the U.S. Constitution to provide health care. Health care for the poor should be treated as a welfare issue and handled by the states.
We must get away from our system of employer-based health insurance, which would happen with the Hall-Rabushka Flat Tax, as employee fringe benefits would not be deductible for businesses. We need deregulation in the delivery of medical services and a more consumer-driven health care system, which will not happen until Third Party Payers become less dominant in US health care. Third parties financed 86% of health care in 2001, up from 56% in 1965. We should allow interstate purchases of health insurance and move the public away from first dollar or small co-pay coverage to purchases of catastrophic health insurance.
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