There are always straightforward solutions for the money-related problems our government has created. Always. What we haven’t had are the leaders competent enough to get the job done.
For example — at the state level — want to solve the taxpayer-funded pension problem caused by greedy public employee unions? Sever the pension plans from the taxpayers and voila, problem solved.
That’s not possible because of the state’s constitution you say? Don’t make me laugh. So groups of conspirators all over the state can for decades sign contracts that are not mathematically possible and then unborn taxpayers are on the hook?
If one General Assembly can’t bind another I guarantee you that local school boards can’t bind every Illinois taxpayer for eternity. Court rulings matter as much as the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision since the courts don’t have the power to tax and spend. And if you think a government contract is the same as a private contract you haven’t been paying attention to the countless service providers in Illinois that are owed billions of dollars.
At the federal level here’s an example of a solution from the Heritage Foundation:
While lawmakers from both parties squabble over tax rates, a fiscal crisis is looming on the horizon. Entitlement programs — Social Security and Medicare to be precise — have unfunded obligations of $48 trillion. By comparison, the fiscal cliff carries a price tag of roughly $650 billion. As lawmakers talk about another debt-limit increase, they need to think seriously about America’s long-term obligations.
So what can our elected leaders do about it?
The first step is recognizing the problem exists, which for some Democrats is mighty difficult. A story in Politico reveals that liberals are having “heartburn” and doing “some painful soul-searching” over a relatively simple fix to Social Security’s annual cost-of-living increases.
