And it really wasn't that hard at all.
No, seriously, it wasn't. I didn't have anyone to argue with me about the finer points of retiring at 68 or 70, no one screaming in my ear that this first generation of black millionaires ought to be able to establish their own dynasties, free of the burden of estate taxes. I was not lobbied by irate octogenarians railing at me to keep my hands off their medicare/social security/disability checks. No baleful 20-somethings wandered through my thoughts, wondering when their government would be ready to deal with their needs and their futures. Amster and her fellow medical malpractice attorneys were no where to be found, apparently busy seeking financial compensation for their clients' disastrous outcomes at the hands of (a very few but I still want to know who they are) inept practitioners. There were 16 pundits allowed onto the monitor since they were linked to the original puzzle, but that was it. I tried to ask TBG about the capital gains tax issue but his answer was making my head spin so I smiled, said thank you, and came back to my solitary solving.
I began with the easy stuff. When the big-shots in the Pentagon agree that cuts can be made, I'm willing to go along with their assessment. The only bi-partisan panel that actually seems to have accomplished anything recently has been the base closing panel. Hard choices could be made because the military brass signed off on the whole operation. I've posted on my fervent hope that our trooops will be out of Afghanistan by July 2011, and though the definition of "out" is now rivaling Bill Clinton's definition of "is" I'm willing to bet that the military was consulted by the deficit panel before any cuts were recommended. After all, as Aaron Sorkin has Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore so aptly remind us, we all sleep better because somebody is standing watch.
I was willing to reduce noncombat military compensation in exchange for 2 years off between deployments, none of which could last more than 12 months. That worked in Viet Nam (worked being a relative term) and there's no reason to think that drones and special ops teams about whom we don't want to know too many details may be the answer to modern warfare. In any event, I'm agreeing to agree with the generals here.
I've kicked a lot of sacred cows here. I want to raise the retirement age to 70 and want payments to be indexed to the cost of living instead of the rise in wages. Retirees are just that - retired. Finished with the work force. Without mandatory retirement in most industries, one may join in the benefits of the working class as long as one sees fit. Once one sheds the shackles of employment, however, it seems only reasonable to assume that the benefits acquired by those who are still slaving over a hot computer or cash register should accrue to them and them alone. Once you're done, you're done. Not everyone gets to be Brett Favre.
I recognized about half way through the process that the budget is used to make policy. Cap and Trade (whatever the hell it is) reaps enormous financial benefits for the government and yet Tea Partiers are against it. It's making policy by financial fiat and I've got to admire the ingenuity of the lawmakers who couldn't get it done any other way. The fact of the matter is that the earth isn't making fossil fuels at the pace with which we are devouring them and somehow we've got to break the chain. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and '65 proved that you can legislate to change behavior; these guys just need a little monetary kick in the butt.
Back to my plan.
I was an equal opportunity slasher. I included the $30billion of other cuts which include the budgets of the National Parks. I don't like it, but it has to be done. If I balance maintaining aid to the states to insure child welfare and education are funded against maintaining Yellowstone or Yosemite, well, the answer's pretty clear. The National Parks got along by the grace of god for millenia; I think they can hang on until we get our financial ducks in a row. Access will be limited and that is surely a bad thing. But there are many little treasures tucked into our own backyards; perhaps now is the time to explore them.
I have no compunctions about cutting the federal bureaucracy and cutting the number of contractors. Big Cuter worked for a firm which existed on government contracts; he and his colleagues sat outside the doors of some fairly important people, answering their mail and advising on policy issues. There are thousands of unfilled Civil Service jobs right now. Seems to me that the whole system needs an airing.
I'm not crazy about punishing the rich over and over and over again. Most of us worked really hard for the money, sacrificing sleep and social lives and family time and peace of mind to create something worth having. If we're lucky to have a vestige of that wealth remaining, don't punish our success by taxing our Social Security benefits (for which we worked and paid into the system much more than we will ever recoup) or moving Tax Freedom Day back from April to July.
I tried to keep the cuts away from the elderly, the disabled, and th0se who need education.
I found myself singing along with The Beatles
as I realized the answer to any and all questions which could be asked about this process:
Nobody wants it to be him. We all want the rich or corporations or government or some other faceless entity to solve this problem for us. We know that our sacred cows are just that - sacred. To question them is to blaspheme. How dare you?!!?
I wonder if we are capable, as a nation, of recognizing that this is a real issue which is NOT going to go away. I am a firm believer in the policy of ignoring something long enough and hoping that it will disappear..... denial is my favorite coping mechanism. But this has really gotten out of control, and we all have to suck and and take ownership of the situation. We all have to get insurance so that some of us aren't paying for the rest of you. We all have to cut back and expect less and sacrifice some of the goodies to which we have become accustomed.
The whole world is experiencing similar pain. The French shut down their roads over it. The Irish were teetering on the brink of disaster, and so were the Greeks before admitting that they needed help. I know it's hard. I know it's not fun or glamorous or what anyone wants to do. But it has to happen. And it has to happen soon.
******
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=fvx78k0m
That link should take you to my choices thanks to JES over at Running After My Hat. I love having blog-friends :) Before I appealed to him, this is as far as I could get:
My answer is somewhere on the NYTimes website. I have tried and tried to embed the link, or to email the link to myself, or to share the link or to copy the permalink but all my efforts result in a connection to the puzzle itself but not my solution. I've asked for help; if I can manage it I'll upload the link and amend this post.
I began with the easy stuff. When the big-shots in the Pentagon agree that cuts can be made, I'm willing to go along with their assessment. The only bi-partisan panel that actually seems to have accomplished anything recently has been the base closing panel. Hard choices could be made because the military brass signed off on the whole operation. I've posted on my fervent hope that our trooops will be out of Afghanistan by July 2011, and though the definition of "out" is now rivaling Bill Clinton's definition of "is" I'm willing to bet that the military was consulted by the deficit panel before any cuts were recommended. After all, as Aaron Sorkin has Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore so aptly remind us, we all sleep better because somebody is standing watch.
I was willing to reduce noncombat military compensation in exchange for 2 years off between deployments, none of which could last more than 12 months. That worked in Viet Nam (worked being a relative term) and there's no reason to think that drones and special ops teams about whom we don't want to know too many details may be the answer to modern warfare. In any event, I'm agreeing to agree with the generals here.
I've kicked a lot of sacred cows here. I want to raise the retirement age to 70 and want payments to be indexed to the cost of living instead of the rise in wages. Retirees are just that - retired. Finished with the work force. Without mandatory retirement in most industries, one may join in the benefits of the working class as long as one sees fit. Once one sheds the shackles of employment, however, it seems only reasonable to assume that the benefits acquired by those who are still slaving over a hot computer or cash register should accrue to them and them alone. Once you're done, you're done. Not everyone gets to be Brett Favre.
I recognized about half way through the process that the budget is used to make policy. Cap and Trade (whatever the hell it is) reaps enormous financial benefits for the government and yet Tea Partiers are against it. It's making policy by financial fiat and I've got to admire the ingenuity of the lawmakers who couldn't get it done any other way. The fact of the matter is that the earth isn't making fossil fuels at the pace with which we are devouring them and somehow we've got to break the chain. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and '65 proved that you can legislate to change behavior; these guys just need a little monetary kick in the butt.
Back to my plan.
I was an equal opportunity slasher. I included the $30billion of other cuts which include the budgets of the National Parks. I don't like it, but it has to be done. If I balance maintaining aid to the states to insure child welfare and education are funded against maintaining Yellowstone or Yosemite, well, the answer's pretty clear. The National Parks got along by the grace of god for millenia; I think they can hang on until we get our financial ducks in a row. Access will be limited and that is surely a bad thing. But there are many little treasures tucked into our own backyards; perhaps now is the time to explore them.
I have no compunctions about cutting the federal bureaucracy and cutting the number of contractors. Big Cuter worked for a firm which existed on government contracts; he and his colleagues sat outside the doors of some fairly important people, answering their mail and advising on policy issues. There are thousands of unfilled Civil Service jobs right now. Seems to me that the whole system needs an airing.
I'm not crazy about punishing the rich over and over and over again. Most of us worked really hard for the money, sacrificing sleep and social lives and family time and peace of mind to create something worth having. If we're lucky to have a vestige of that wealth remaining, don't punish our success by taxing our Social Security benefits (for which we worked and paid into the system much more than we will ever recoup) or moving Tax Freedom Day back from April to July.
I tried to keep the cuts away from the elderly, the disabled, and th0se who need education.
I found myself singing along with The Beatles
as I realized the answer to any and all questions which could be asked about this process:
Somebody Has To Pay
I wonder if we are capable, as a nation, of recognizing that this is a real issue which is NOT going to go away. I am a firm believer in the policy of ignoring something long enough and hoping that it will disappear..... denial is my favorite coping mechanism. But this has really gotten out of control, and we all have to suck and and take ownership of the situation. We all have to get insurance so that some of us aren't paying for the rest of you. We all have to cut back and expect less and sacrifice some of the goodies to which we have become accustomed.
The whole world is experiencing similar pain. The French shut down their roads over it. The Irish were teetering on the brink of disaster, and so were the Greeks before admitting that they needed help. I know it's hard. I know it's not fun or glamorous or what anyone wants to do. But it has to happen. And it has to happen soon.
******
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/13/weekinreview/deficits-graphic.html?choices=fvx78k0m
That link should take you to my choices thanks to JES over at Running After My Hat. I love having blog-friends :) Before I appealed to him, this is as far as I could get:
My answer is somewhere on the NYTi
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