Change the Debate, End the Shutdown

Benefit Programs, and our Massive Debt, are Band-aid Fixes to One Glaring Problem — Income Inequality

We have an income inequality problem in this country. We passed a big, complicated law to provide health insurance to 40 million Americans who can’t afford it on their own as a way of addressing this problem.

We have a spending problem in this country. We currently spend $3 for every $2 our government brings in, and we owe more money than every single person in this country collectively earns in an entire year. The Federal Government is shut down right now because a small group of Congressmen recognize the need to fix this problem.

Most of our spending problem is caused by government programs trying to solve our inequality problem. Even though we spend more and more money, inequality is getting worse and worse.

Our government is shut down because Republicans don’t want the ACA to take effect, and we’re broke. Democrats want to implement the ACA,and keep spending money because the poorest people in our country need help.

The ACA is bad because 1) it’s complicated and no one understands it, and 2) it adds to our spending problem.

Our tax code is bad because 1) it’s complicated and no one understands it, and 2) it doesn’t bring in as much money as we are spending.

Complicated things don’t work very well. And did I mention we’re broke?

Instead of spending more money, we need to scrap our tax code and the ACA. Let’s implement the following corporate tax structure instead:

1. Corporations with a ratio of highest-to-lowest paid worker of 1000:1 are taxed at a rate of 40%
2. 500:1 — 35%
3. 250:1 — 30%
4. 125:1 — 25%
5. 75:1 — 20%

Interestingly enough, if we pay our lowest paid workers (i.e., the working poor) enough money to put food on the table, a roof over their head, insure themselves against unexpected health problems, and save a little for retirement, we don’t need government programs to do these things. That means we don’t need to spend money on Social Security. We won’t need Medicaid and Medicare. We won’t need the Affordable Care Act. That means our spending problem goes away.

If the sole purpose of a corporation is to make money for it’s shareholders, then every corporation in America should be striving to fall into the 20% tax bracket, right?

If the American Dream is for every single American to have the opportunity to better him or herself through hard work, this will give Americans who decide to go to work each day that opportunity, right?

Believe it or not, Republicans care about the poor. They just think the risks and costs associated with a large government intervening in our lives are not worth the benefits. This may not be a completely government-free solution to our problems, but it’s a lot better than what we have now.

At the same time, I hope Democrats don’t really want government controlling every aspect of our lives. They just believe the benefits of helping the poor outweigh the costs and risks associated with a powerful central government. This corporate tax structure will help the poor, and our country, more than any government spending program ever could.

Our Federal Government is not operating right now not because our leaders have different goals for our country, but differing ideas on the path we should take to get there. Instead of going tit-for-tat on which road to take, let’s take a step back and focus on the end goal.