The Sage Observer

Dear Mr. President

(Addendum to my letter of November 8, 2016)

In my original letter of November 8, to you, I suggested the two most important priorities which, in my opinion, confront you as you enter office. In this addendum, I would like to respectfully continue my suggestions for your consideration. I should say, also, that my letters are posted to my blog, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com, and I will, also, be copying my Representative, Ted Yoho, and Senator, Bill Nelson.

Third, our economy is out of control. For the past thirty-five years, we have been led in the wrong direction; we are rapidly going downhill; and, the light at the end of the tunnel is a train. I’m sure you know: Our middle class is in trouble. The “poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer”. Most everyone is in debt up to their ears and our government debt in beyond belief. Free markets are a fantasy and morality has become more and more a thing of the past. You must know this—it’s true.

We the people, through our government, must regain control over our economy. To this end, I’m going to break this down into segments. I beg of you that you read this with an open mind and consideration. The good of our nation is at stake. We must gain control over our national debt, the accomplishment of which can only be done through increased revenues, i.e. taxes, and decreased spending—obviously. In so doing, however, we must be ever mindful not to slow our economy in the process. Reforms in taxation, i.e. revenues, and spending must be done in light of the propensity to consume by the populace, and ability to pay by the taxpayers. To whom more is given, more is demanded.

I must call to your attention that the financial crisis of 2008 would have led us into a deep depression even greater than 1932, all our bailouts notwithstanding, if it had not been for the safety net programs of the New Deal of the 1930’s and the Great Society of1965, i.e. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. I firmly believe that. If one were to calculate the money pumped into our economy by these programs, I’m sure my belief will be confirmed. Accordingly, I believe Social Security is imperative for the future of our country. Less it fail, we should reform it immediately—just as soon as you enter office. It is the least difficult and one of the most important of our safety nets. The amount of the benefits to be paid should be at a livable level, and they should be indexed every year for changes in the cost of living. Because this fund is administered on a “pay as you go” basis, it does not run a deficit; and, therefore, does not contribute to our national deficit. We should reform it first because it is the easiest and simplest to do.

Next, we need to reform our nation’s healthcare programs, and we should do so immediately. Employee contributions to Medicare notwithstanding, our healthcare (including Medicare) are one of the greatest contributors to our deficit and national debt. We should replace all healthcare programs, with perhaps the exception of veteran’s healthcare, with a single program of universal access single payer, Medicare for all. As we have studied this subject to death (figuratively), it should not be that difficult to assimilate. We did so with Medicare in 1965 within a year and we were starting from scratch. It should be on a stand-alone basis as is Social Security and “pay as you go” so as not to affect the national deficit in the future. The cost savings to be realized should, in and of themselves, come close to eliminating our present deficit. For simplicity, transparency, and control, we should use a single tax to finance it. I believe it would be very wise to devise a tax with the least impact and administrative cost on the American people, but transparent.

Next, we need tax reform—real reform. We should have a progressive income tax, the fairness of which will be based on ability to pay, and the wealthy must pay their fair share. Accordingly, tax returns should be simplified that the average taxpayer and small business owner can readily calculate and submit their own tax returns, the tax preparer lobby notwithstanding. If they want to exist and sell their product and services in our country, corporations must be made to pay their fair share of taxes as legislated. Corporate inversions should be outlawed as well as the “hiding“ of money and other assets at foreign locations.

If corporations and businesses in the United States of America refuse to honestly and conscientiously pursue and perform their business’s primary purpose to exist, that is, to produce a quality product or service for their customer(s), be loyal and faithful to our country, fair and caring to their employees, and honest with their stockholders, they should be disenfranchised—their corporate charters cancelled. In this regard I will tell you that one of the major problems within our nation (and, I think, the whole world) today, is the irresponsibility of business getting too big for their pants (as my mother used to chide me). Profit has replaced production and service for the people as the real purpose of a business. The real truth is, however, that profit is an expense of doing business, just as is rent, insurance, the electric light bill, etc. Profit is only the purpose of the lender, the investor. A business exists only to serve—a tool of the people. In our speculative economy, business is laboring under the delusion that we are here to serve them rather than they serve us. They are wrong—dead wrong; and, if we let them continue in the direction in which they are going, they will destroy us. But I digress.

Continuing with the subject of taxes, the corporate welfare in our tax system is abominable. In many instances, subsidies are needed here and there as incentives to aid governmental objectives; but, today, our tax system, especially corporate welfare, has gone wild. It is outrageous and irresponsible that our Congress hasn’t corrected the problem already. I won’t try to go into this any further here as, in all candor, I’m just not qualified; but you have people at your disposal much higher paid than I who are qualified. You and I both know it has, as in most everything else, already been studied to death. We just need to do it. Restoration of fair taxation of the rich, elimination of corporate welfare, the establishment of Medicare for all, and the elimination of waste and fraud in government (of which we have been talking for the past sixty years) will go a long way toward eliminating the national deficit and the paying down of the national debt.

There is more, Mr. President—just a few quickies. For the last (I don’t know how many) years, we have talked about our need for the Department of Defense to have an auditable set of books. For every excuse that comes down the pike, we have failed to do so. The books and records of our Department of Defense remain unauditable, they don’t balance, databases aren’t integrated, and billions, if not trillions, of dollars in money and materials are unaccounted for annually. I submit to you that if our largest transnational corporations can balance their books (which they are required by law to do) for management, cost accounting, and tax purposes, the Department of Defense can also. This is one of the many accomplishments you can do to set this country right again.

And, for now, last, but most certainly not least, I want to talk about education. Here again, I’m not an expert; but, thanks to a wonderful G.I. Bill, I know a little bit, and I’ve seen a few streetcars go by. Education is one of the most important and essential services government can provide. In the long run, education is absolutely essential to our very survival (In order to save another thousand words or so, please trust me on this one; but, if required, I think I can prove it). It is essential for social order; it is essential for economic order; and it is essential for our prosperity. We need an educational system that begins at Pre K and ends, minimally, at an undergraduate level in college, including community college and/or vocational training, depending on the election and needs of the student, the cost of which should be paid wholly from taxes on the people. One more thing, and perhaps the most difficult of all, this education must not be optional. Every citizen, bar none except for the mentally or physically incompetent, must be required to avail themselves of this opportunity. The objective is that every citizen must be trained for a vocation of some sort when he or she graduates from the program—every citizen must be qualified for a job; and they will be given job preference over non-citizens at that time. It will be said, “We cannot afford such a program.” I say to you, If you want for us to be the greatest country in the world, as well as the leader, we cannot afford not to.

I lied. I want to say one more thing, less I forget. We have a problem in the management of our nation’s affairs which I believe we must address. I’m going to address just two examples, the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration, problems which, admittedly with my limited knowledge, I believe are really ridiculous and uncalled for.

We are told that the Internal Revenue Service has an outstanding balance of approximately $380 Billion dollars; and, yet, they are so understaffed that they don’t have the people to collect them. Why? They need to have the resources to collect these taxes. I’m guessing they aren’t allowed those resources because of politicians who are failing to pay their fair share of taxes.

President Obama said on television that half or so of illegal immigrants within our country are here by overstaying their visas. We have been told that there are eleven million of them, so we are talking of five and one half million illegals having overstayed their visas, and we don’t know who or where they are. Why? We can track down a cow in Timbuktu behind a cowshed, but we can’t follow-up on an illegal alien? Nonsense. Building a wall won’t help solve this problem. My guess is that, here again, the INS has an insufficient budget to allow them to do their job, viz. their computer systems are obsolete and outdated.

Mr. President, these are the most important things you can accomplish which will bring our people together, most of them at least, and “make our country great again”.

In the mean time, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com signing off.