From: richard@TIS.COM (Richard Clark)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: Wake up call
Date: 15 Oct 92 14:37:36 GMT
Reply-To: richard@TIS.COM
Organization: Trusted Information Systems



	What I still find difficult to believe, is that ALL THREE of the
major candidates have yet to see past TAX TAX TAX, and NONE of them have
yet found the REAL solution to our economic troubles. Yes, Perot is on
the right track, sort of. And even Clinton has a clue. Sorry, but Bush
is still in left field busily denying that we are even in a recession.

	Part one, which at least Perot and Clinton have figured out, is
that you can only abuse the middle class so much. The middle class is the
meat-and-potatos buying power of our economy. Take money from the middle
class, and you have less to spend on real goods. Give it to the rich, and
they can do nothing with it because the markets dry up when the middle
class gets drained. But this is just a small part of the problem.

	Two, you cannot claim that taxing corporations instead of
the middle class is not going to hurt either. Companies need the capital
to expand and invest. They cannot invest, retool, or research if they do
not have the money. Any and all new taxes on *our* people or *our*
businesses will hurt, and will be counter-productive.

	Three, cut costs. Entitlements MUST be cut. Sorry, but the
cost of these programs has grown out of control. Not much choice left.
But this can be done with only a little pain, by clamping down on medical
costs first. Have you ever seen a hospital bill? Have you seen the just
completely obscene charges they make? Well of course they do! The patient
is captive, knows nothing about the real costs of the services, and doesn't
really have a choice. It's not like we go shopping around much and comparing
prices. "Excuse me, but how much do you charge for an emergency appendectomy?
How much is the emergency room? How much for a pint of A-positive?" Get real
folks, they're soaking us because we are captive and don't have a choice.
Clamp down and freeze medical costs, then roll the prices back 20%. Or let
the insurance companies decide how much they feel like paying the hospital
and force the hospital and doctors to accept the payment. We have GOT to
regulate medical costs. Free market does NOT apply here. It can't. There is
no competition.

	Four, lift the cap on Social Security income taxes. What the
hell, the middle class is *already* paying their fair share. Lifting the
cap would produce an immediate 14% tax increase on the rich, resulting in
them *finally* paying their fair share of the Social Security budget. Or
didn't you know that? That SS tax is only collected on the first 50,000 dollars
of income? In other words, the rich put in only as much as the middle class.

	Five, help bring business back home. Beg, grovel, snivel,
plead, waive property taxes, waive state corporate taxes, and then grovel
some more. Encourage new business in the states. This costs *nothing*.
But the *gains* are tremendous. Every job brought back home is one less
person on the unemployment rolls, and one more person back paying into the
system. One could even waive corporate unemployment taxes on new business,
since they are bringing jobs back home. Nothing lost, lots gained.

	Six, protectionism. Currently a dirty word in politics. But
only because foreign companies have *literally bought* our politicians.
This alone, is the single most effective way to bring jobs back home.
And for what cost? Nothing, zero, zilch, nada. The customs services are
already in place. All it entails is changing a few numbers on a few
pieces of paper. All it requires is taxing the living daylights out of
anything imported into this country! When prices of foreign products go
up, American manufacturers pick up the slack. When the cost of production
and shipping from outside get higher, the manufacturing moves back home.
It really *is* that simple. What do you think the Japanese are doing?
They *ban* almost *all* imports! What they don't outright ban, they tax
out of the market! America builds a myriad of products at lower cost than
Japan, but we cannot sell them because they are *banned* from the Japanese
marketplace! And where do you think all the American jobs have gone?
Most of the high-tech and automotive industry has gone to Japan because
their government subsidizes it! Their government subsidizes the *dumping*
of their products into our country in order to drive our manufacturers
out of business, and then they raise their prices to reap the benefits.
And where do you think the remaining American jobs are going? Overseas,
and away. Thank you Mr. Bush for signing a free trade agreement with
Mexico, so that our businesses can now move there, where the cost of labor
is cheaper, the taxes are lower, there are no unions, there is no
environmental policy, and on and on... Bring our jobs back home. Tax the
hell out of anything imported into this country. Level the playing field.
What the heck, let's teach the Japanese a lesson, and *ban* the import
of Japanese cars, stereos, and electronics for two years.


	Whew. Just a raving madman frustrated with politics and the
economy and the inability of the former to deal with the latter.
Send your flames elsewhere. I just wanted to spit out my $0.02 worth.



-----------------------Relativity Schmelativity-----------------------------
 Richard H. Clark				My opinions are my own, and
 LUNATIK - watch for me on the road...		ought to be yours, but under
						no circumstances are they
 richard@tis.com				those of my company...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------