Corporate business does not easily translate to government business. In my corporate life, I experienced three types of budget challenges.
1. The economy is down and the demand for our products and services is projected to be down accordingly. We need to cut expenses to compensate. Usually a 5-10% cut, it still hurt. Travel, perks, and people were cut.
2. The competition is coming after us with lower prices because they are learner. Companies, like governments, can get bloated. Nothing like a lean competitor to wake a company. You started with the competitor’s offering prices and budgeted accordingly. Since the bloat happened over time, this was usually a bigger, more painful series of cuts. Office consolidations and complete realignments. Big cuts.
3. Lastly, the we’re going out of business budget issue. I once took over a business unit that was losing money. I was given a certain amount of time to fix the problem. This is a close plants, cut to the bone and give up everything you can’t live without kind of budget. Survivors know they can only continue to survive if they get on board and find ways to do more with less and make the business unit profitable. No smoke blown.
Here’s my assessment of the budget problems of the U.S. Obama does not see any need for any budget cuts. Just raise taxes, or prices, on a corporate equivalency. But, he will go to 1(above) to appease voters. Paul Ryan wants us to go to 2(above). And, we need to go to 3(above). All hands on deck, cut everything we can.
If you want to know what that looks like, here it is.
Jim Jordan and the Republican Study Committee have presented a plan that balances the budget in 5 YEARS without raising taxes. By contrast, Paul Ryan’s plan takes 30 years to balance the books and President Obama’s plan never does. Among other things, this budget establishes a moratorium on earmarks, repeals ObamaCare tax increases, and simplifies the current tax code.
CUT, CAP, AND BALANCE: A Fiscal Year 2013 Budget
March 2012
CUT, CAP, AND BALANCE: THE PRINCIPLES.
The Republican Study Committee’s budget
is based upon the following common-sense principles:
The budget should balance within ten years without raising any taxes.
Our proposal balances the federal budget in 2017.
The budget should strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to ensure their longterm
sustainability.
Our proposal makes common-sense reforms to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid by
offering increased choices and improved services, and saves Social Security by
strengthening the program’s bank account. There are no changes for seniors currently
55 years and older.
The budget should reduce spending and trim down the size of the federal government to
make it more effective and efficient.
Our proposal cuts agency spending below 2008 levels and gets government out of the
way so America’s businesses have the ability to grow and create jobs.
The budget should terminate federal programs that are unconstitutional, duplicative, or
harmful.
Our proposal does what American families across the country have been required to do
in these tough economic times.
The budget should prohibit earmarks.
Our proposal prohibits earmarks and eliminates pork-barrel spending.
The budget should embrace reforms that make it is easier to reduce spending than it is to
increase it.
Our proposal puts fair rules in place to prevent out-of-control Washington spending that
stifles private-sector job creation.
The budget should keep taxes low and include pro-jobs tax reform.
Our proposal prevents tax increases, repeals ObamaCare tax hikes, keeps the tax burden
at its historic average, and makes the tax code simpler, flatter, and fairer.
Specifically, this proposal sets the following common-sense policies.
REDUCE SPENDING.
Repeal ObamaCare to eliminate $636 billion in additional spending over ten years.
Set discretionary spending at $931 billion in FY 2013 (the level proposed in last year’s Housepassed
budget resolution minus the sequestration under the Budget Control Act).
Ensure our nation’s security funding defense at the same level as the House Republican
budget, growing from $554 billion in FY 2013 to $699 billion in FY 2022.
Reduce non-defense discretionary spending from $377 billion in 2013 to $329 billion in 2022.
Reduce unnecessary mandatory spending;other than Medicare, Medicaid, and Social
Security;by $1.3 trillion between 2013 and 2022.
SAVE MEDICARE.
Put Medicare on the path to long-term solvency. The RSC believes, that over the long term,
Medicare should transition to a solvent, “premium-support” system as proposed by the
House Republican budget, which provides Medicare enrollees a greater menu of choices,
harnesses the power of competition among private insurance plans, and improves the
quality of care. This policy would not affect individuals currently age 55 and older.
Strengthen Medicare’s long-term finances. This budget would slowly phase in an increase
in the Medicare eligibility age for those born in 1958 and after. This policy makes no
changes to individuals currently age 55 and older.
REFORM MEDICAID.
Block-grant Medicaid and remove Washington D.C.’s burdensome red tape. This budget
would empower the states with maximum flexibility to determine Medicaid eligibility and
benefits, thereby improving the quality of care and access to vital services for the neediest
and most vulnerable Americans. Based on the model set by the successful welfare reforms
of 1996, federal funding for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
will be set at current levels for the next ten years. This proposal follows the RSC’s State
Health Flexibility Act (H.R. 4160).
SAFEGUARD SOCIAL SECURITY.
Strengthen Social Security’s long-term finances. This budget would slowly phase in an
increase in the Social Security full-retirement age for individuals born in 1958 and after to an
eventual
full-retirement age of 70. This policy makes no changes to individuals currently age
55 and older.
ENACT PRO-GROWTH TAX REFORM.
Prevent any new tax increases on the American people. This budget proposes a smarter tax
code that is simpler, flatter, and fairer in line with the RSC’s Jobs Through Growth Act (H.R.
3400).
POLICY STAFF CONTACTS:
Brad Watson with the RSC at brad.watson@mail.house.gov; and Andrew Shaw with Rep.
Garrett at andrew.shaw@mail.house.gov
