Federal Budget Ideas

Many Americans would agree that the National Budget needs to be balanced.  The toughest problem with balancing the budget is getting everyone to agree on how to do this.  International debt owed by the United States is a major problem that is going to greatly affect many generations to come.  While it will be difficult for the government to reach an answer that the majority of the population agrees on, it is not impossible. 

Some causes to our drastically high international debt are the fact that we, as a whole, live well above our means.  We as a nation expect the government to provide for everyone, but we do not like to pay higher taxes.  Many Americans do not pay any taxes on their income; many Americans get thousands of dollars as a refund every year without paying any taxes in to the government.  This money is expected to help people who live below poverty levels to pay their bills, and get necessities for their families.  How many of these people go buy things with this money which is not needed, for example game systems as well as many other items which are not needed. 

A bill needs to be passed with congress to lower the amount of money non tax paying citizens receive as a refund.  While people living in poverty do need to extra support to make ends meet, what they are being given could be lowered and still cover these needs. 

Another cause of our growing debt is spending by government officials.  There are too many loop holes in current laws, allowing bills to be passed without everyone knowing what is being voted on.  The government needs to be held accountable for the money they spend as well.  New laws need to be adopted so that the public is aware of what is being presented to Congress, making it more difficult for unacceptable spending to occur.

Medicare and Medicaid are both very important to the elderly and children.  It costs a lot of money to keep these programs going, but the benefits of having them far outweigh the consequences of not having them.  If these were lowered, it would cost citizens and the government much more than it does to pay for the preventative care they provide. 

Social Security is one of the most important issues with the national budget.  With baby boomers growing older, this is going to cause more debt for the government.  People believe they are entitled to Social Security so not as many people save, as they could.  More incentives need to be provided for people to begin saving more money for their own retirement.  The elderly and children need to be taken care of, so every effort must be made to continue these programs.

Currently some states do not charge a state income tax.  Some people in the states which do not have state tax agree that they would accept a state tax if it would fix their concerns, such as funding education, infrastructure, and health care.  When these states have a disaster, they ask for government assistance to help recover, but if they had a state tax, they could better provide for themselves with less assistance.

The United States as a whole needs to learn to live within their means.  Families across the nation have to budget their households every day to provide for their families.  A certain percent of their income goes to pay for things such as shelter, food, and clothing.  Why should it be any different for the government?  The government needs to prioritize what the citizens believe are the most important issues such as social security, health care, and education.  From those area’s, however many that may be, they should do like everyday citizens do and budget a certain percentage of the available money from revenue towards these issues in order of importance.  A certain amount should also go toward paying back our international debt. 

Citizens need to be more responsible when electing government officials, only electing those who have the best interest of the public instead of the best interest of their pocket book.  The government needs to be more responsible by passing laws to prevent the loop holes which allows for fraudulent spending, and allowing presidents to pass laws at the end of their terms to line their own pockets.  There are many areas of the budget which needs changed and it will be very difficult to agree on a solution, but it is not impossible.