I always chuckle when I read articles in the mainstream media about the “near impossibility” of balancing the budget and reducing our deficits.
Elect me President and I’ll solve this problem in an hour! Maybe less!
In my first hour in the Oval Office, I’ll propose the two laws that I ran on. The wild popularity of the second proposal would ensure that the first proposal would pass.
LAW ONE (THE STICK) states that if lawmakers fail to pass a balanced budget, they will be put in a SuperMax prison until they do.
LAW TWO (THE CARROT) states that for every thousand dollars that the budget is in surplus, every lawmaker will be given, tax-free, one dollar of that surplus
So if lawmakers pass a budget with a surplus of a hundred billion dollars, each lawmaker will pocket a hundred million dollars.
Okay—how long do you think it would take our lawmakers to pass a budget with a surplus of a hundred billion dollars? Please give your answer in minutes.
As every economist knows, it’s all in the incentives. Right now, politicians are rewarded for two things:
- Cutting taxes and lavishing money on the military (esp. Republicans)
- Providing services like Medicare and Social Security (esp. Democrats)
So let’s see...the system rewards cutting income and spending money. Could that have something to do with our current problems?
Elect me! I alone can fix it!