We have a basic Math problem -- Not a deficit problem.
And with most Math problems there are two sides to every equation.
There's a spending/investing side, and there's a revenue/earnings side.
Want to get rid of the National Debt -- then get rid of the moochers and loafers who are 'gaming the system" ... (usually with a small army of accountants and corporate lawyers, who know all the tricks.)
Here's a prime example:
Financial Transactions Tax Introduced Again -- Can It Pass This Time?
by George Zornick, TheNation.com -- Feb 28, 2013
[...] Senators Tom Harkin and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Representative Peter DeFazio, announced the latest version of a tax on Wall Street trading: it would place a small tax of three basis points (that is, three pennies for every hundred dollars) on most non-consumer trades. Senator Bernie Sanders is also a co-sponsor of the legislation, as are nineteen members of the House.
If enacted, the tax would generate $352 billion in revenue over the next ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. It would apply to traded stocks and bonds, derivative contracts, options, puts, forward contracts, swaps and other complex Wall Street instruments. It would not cover the initial issuance of any stocks or bonds, nor covers or loans in the form of stock.
Three pennies per one hundred dollars would not be noticeable to most retail operations and average Americans -- someone with a 401(k) balance of $60,000 (the median in the United States) would pay $18 per year in financial transactions taxes under this bill, and it contains a tax credit to cover the cost of the tax for contributions to tax-benefitted pension, health and education plans.
This transactions tax would most notably impact high-frequency traders -- and this is a feature, not a bug. High-speed trading presents a real threat to the economic system and would theoretically be slowed if the bill is passed. DeFazio said the measure would “bring more stability to the financial markets, favoring long-term value investors -- those who want to build an economy.”
[...]
Could you pay 3 Cents per $100? -- Wall Street gamers say
they can't (which really just means
they won't.)
Three cents is 3 cents -- they didn't become incredibly 0.01% wealthy "by just giving their 3 cents away" -- did they?
What's stopping these 'hedge fund gamers' from giving back this tiny, TINY amount to the economic system that has given them so much, that has made them wealthy, that even paid off their "bad gambling debts" -- NOTHING ... (except for a bought and paid for Congress, that is.)
We should DEMAND that these Wall Street gamers give back a mere 3 cent on each $100 bet. Trust me, they CAN afford it. (Can Mitt Romney "afford" an elevator for his fleet of cars?)
And if they claim they CAN'T afford a mere 3 cents per C-Note -- then they should quit claiming they are "productive, essential contributors to American society" ... quit claiming they are "the Job Creators" in dire need of ever MORE of OUR economic charity.
If they want to be part of American Society, then they should be willing to pay 'their 3 Cents.'
If not, then someone should revoke their gambling permits. Someone like the SEC. (Someone like the IRS.)
In a Society there are rules. And unless the SEC is willing to enforce the rules of road, then how in the world will anything ever change for the better?
If 'bad economic behavior' is never penalized, where is the incentive for it to ever stop? ... For the casino gamers to find something a bit more "constructive" to invest in.