INSTANTLY fix the US: How Obama/Romney could win instantly; Fix US debt overnight

[bucs90]

Some simple math on how the richest 5% of Americans.....could instantly fix our national debt. And how Romney or Obama could capitalize on this fact.

The US set a record last year for total number of millionaires (U.S. Has Record Number of Millionaires - The Wealth Report - WSJ) at 3,100,000 (about 1% of the population). They had a combined wealth of about $11,000,000,000 (trillion).

US national debt is about 16 trillion. (U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time).

Now, if the top 1% of Americans, all millionaires with 11 trillion in total wealth, EACH dedicated 1,000,000 in ONE single contribution to the country.......in one year, overnight with one collective act, the top one percent of earners in this nation would cut the national debt by 20% instantly.

And what if we asked the top 5% to do the same, but a bit less for each step? Say the top 2-5% each contribute 500,000, or 250,000??? Thats about 15,000,000 people. If each of those top 5% gave 500,000.......thats another 7.5 trillion dollars.

Combined...thats over half the national debt GONE, instantly.

It would be voluntary. A massive collective effort. An epic act equal to World War 2. Literally SAVES our nation. Romney or Obama could call for this epic, unselfish act. Pass a bill that says once these brave, heroic private citizens reach that total voluntarily, the federal govt automatically kicks in spending cuts of equal proportion until this damn thing is balanced and the debt gone.

Some would be angered by this very notion.

- "It aint fair"
- "It aint my job to pay the debt"
- "Why me, why dont the bottom half pay??"

Well, like I said, this would be an effort economically that would equal the WW2 generations effort to save this country. Would we be up to it? What if after we asked the top 5%, we then asked the top 10% to pitch in another contribution? The top 6%-10%, abuot another 15 million people, could kick in 100K each. Thats another 1.5 trillion GONE from the debt!!!!

And what if...God help us.....we asked the top 10% to do this 2 years in a row. We looked to them as the true saviors of our nation, and they equalled the effort we put out in WW2 to save this nation. They could erase the debt in 2 years. Gone. Add in the Fed's agreed-upon cuts in spending.....and wow, what a potential miracle.

Any chance the top 1%, then top 5%, then top 10% of wealth earners in this nation would make the personal sacrifice to save this nation? Our military has been doing it for centuries. Our teachers, cops, firemen have been doing it to save our communties for centuries.

Now is the time that the financial and economic kings of our land COULD step up, and put forth this herculean effort to save this country.

 

[Lakhota]

Nice thought, but will never happen. Greed rules!

 

[bucs90]

Not saying it's the long term answer, not even close. But...to eliminate the debt, at least half of it, literally almost overnight????

Sure, we'd be asking the richest 1, 5 or 10% of Americans to make a personal sacrifice towards saving the country. It would likely hit many of them somewhat hard...especially the 5-10% top. But if the debt is truly the #1 threat to national security, as many on the right say and probably is true.......then aren't we due for another generation of heroes like the WW2 men and women who fought the Japanese and Germans?? And Italians?

They gave LIVES. We need money. It would be among the most heroic and unselfish acts ever. Some group would have to organize it, as I said, it should be voluntary.

But man, what a daydream of a generation of Americans....this time the financial heroes, not military ones....stepped up to save the United States from the biggest threat to our national security.

If the Feds would match that effort with spending cuts, that would kick in as each "step" is reached by these heroes........we'd eliminate this mess in 3 years tops. Done. Fixed.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Gov't cutting spending will "save the nation", but we know THAT will never happen either.

The dollar crash is inevitable. Buy Gold, Silver, Guns and Ammo.

Now. Today.

 

[bucs90]

I can't help but think.....many of the people who oppose this would gladly applaud their favorite NFL team giving 20 million to a new player. Or worse, giving 3 million dollars to a new head coach for their PUBLIC university.

 

[Moonglow]

I got a spare buck.

 

[Lakhota]

The rich have learned how to totally game the system. We only have the illusion of democracy - the powerful puppet masters rule us all - including government.

 

[bucs90]

Gov't cutting spending will "save the nation", but we know THAT will never happen either.

The dollar crash is inevitable. Buy Gold, Silver, Guns and Ammo.

Now. Today.

Gold and silver??????

Guns and ammo. Dry food. Water. Gold and silver wont be worth shit if it hits the fan. Ammo will be the new currency. If you got gold and silver...but no ammo...pretty soon you wont have any gold and silver either.

 

[Lakhota]

Gov't cutting spending will "save the nation", but we know THAT will never happen either.

The dollar crash is inevitable. Buy Gold, Silver, Guns and Ammo.

Now. Today.

Fine, cut the defense budget by 50%.

 

[bucs90]

The rich have learned how to totally game the system. We only have the illusion of democracy - the powerful puppet masters rule us all - including government.

I may be naive, but just looking at the raw numbers.....it said the top 3,100,000 richest americans have a combined $11 trillion in wealth.

What if....as I said, in a HUGE, heroic gesture to this nation, all those 3.1 million people gave the US 50% of all their wealth towards the debt (each of them has at least 1 million in wealth, most have hugely more than that though). Thats 5.5 trillion. Thats 33% of the entire debt!!!!

As I said....it isn't their obligation. It shouldn't be mandatory. Just like 18 year old kids who volunteered to go to Europe in WW2, this would be almost as heroic just without loss of life. Merely a lower standard of living.

Would this historic move cause the dollar to soar through the roof??? Combined with govt cuts, and ask for it 2 years in a row, and this thing is over, its fixed.

 

[bucs90]

How Much Money Do The Top Income Earners Make By Percentage? | Financial Samurai

More numbers, this from a right wing conservative's take above.

The top 10% of earners had an AGI (average) of $3,856,000 per year.

Now, lets say we ask these 10% of heroes, which statistically would be about 30,000,000 people, to donate, contribute or forward (pick a word) make a ONE TIME 50% yearly income donation on top of what they already pay in taxes. The debt would be GONE!!! Do the math!!! ONE TIME. Suck it up ONE TIME heroes, and you can save this nation.

Yes, it would suck hard. Storming Normandy probably did too. Both would (and did) save our country for generations to come. Both would be seen as being America's greatest heroes.

 

[Ariux]

Bucs, suppose you're a parent and your IRRESPONSIBLE kid in college maxes out his credit cards, and asks you to be nice and pay them off. If you do, he'd just max them out again.

It's completely pointless for the rich to pay off the debt.

Also, you are naive and my analogy of a college kid is inadequate. Our government wants to go into debt, while the college kid just wants to buy stuff. Deficit spending produces inflation, which effectively is a tax on all the cash the public is holding.

 

[auditor0007]

Not saying it's the long term answer, not even close. But...to eliminate the debt, at least half of it, literally almost overnight????

Sure, we'd be asking the richest 1, 5 or 10% of Americans to make a personal sacrifice towards saving the country. It would likely hit many of them somewhat hard...especially the 5-10% top. But if the debt is truly the #1 threat to national security, as many on the right say and probably is true.......then aren't we due for another generation of heroes like the WW2 men and women who fought the Japanese and Germans?? And Italians?

They gave LIVES. We need money. It would be among the most heroic and unselfish acts ever. Some group would have to organize it, as I said, it should be voluntary.

But man, what a daydream of a generation of Americans....this time the financial heroes, not military ones....stepped up to save the United States from the biggest threat to our national security.

If the Feds would match that effort with spending cuts, that would kick in as each "step" is reached by these heroes........we'd eliminate this mess in 3 years tops. Done. Fixed.

Why don't we just get our spending under control and require the wealthy to pay a bit more in taxes, so we can reduce the yearly debt to sustainable levels? Then if we get the economy moving again, we can outgrow the debt. Your idea may seem like a good idea on paper, but even on paper it's a bad idea. Taking that kind of money out of the economy all at once just to pay off the debt, well that's not a good idea at all.

If you do want to go the radical route though, I have one that is much better and actually might work. American businesses are sitting on over $2 trillion in cash. Tax them the full amount or make them put that money into play. If they don't use it, they lose it. This is actually something that should have been done a long time ago. Our tax policies are making it easy for businesses to keep money sitting on the sidelines where it is doing no one a single bit of good. I can guarantee you that these companies would not hand it over to the government, which would be fantastic. But by making them use it, they would be forced into expanding their businesses and paying more to their employees, all things that would put more money into the economy creating solid economic growth. In the long run, it would be great for everyone including government coffers.

 

[occupied]

Conservatives who bitch about the deficit as their #1 political issue would sooner douse their genitals in gasoline and set them on fire than pay an extra nickel to do a damned thing about it.

 

[bucs90]

Bucs, suppose you're a parent and your IRRESPONSIBLE kid in college maxes out his credit cards, and asks you to be nice and pay them off. If you do, he'd just max them out again.

It's completely pointless for the rich to pay off the debt.

Also, you are naive and my analogy of a college kid is inadequate. Our government wants to go into debt, while the college kid just wants to buy stuff. Deficit spending produces inflation, which effectively is a tax on all the cash the public is holding.

Which is why I said this heroic, unselfish act would need to be accompanied by a Federal bill, by Obama, or Romney, whoever wins.........that automatically kicks in spending cuts with each "step" met. Say each step is 1 trillion dollars.

Just like how the Feds asked the citizens in WW2 to step up and fight Germans, or stop building cars and build tanks....or to donate all metal items they could to build arsenals. And entire country came together and saved the nation. If Obama (or Romney if he wins) proposed that, and got it done, they'd go down in history with Lincoln and others as the greatest presidents.

Another joint, volunteer effort like this would be on scale with WW2 easily. We could be THAT generation in the financial form. Save America for our kids.

Again, not saying it's "fair" or their duty or obligation. But it's a way.

 

[auditor0007]

The rich have learned how to totally game the system. We only have the illusion of democracy - the powerful puppet masters rule us all - including government.

I may be naive, but just looking at the raw numbers.....it said the top 3,100,000 richest americans have a combined $11 trillion in wealth.

What if....as I said, in a HUGE, heroic gesture to this nation, all those 3.1 million people gave the US 50% of all their wealth towards the debt (each of them has at least 1 million in wealth, most have hugely more than that though). Thats 5.5 trillion. Thats 33% of the entire debt!!!!

As I said....it isn't their obligation. It shouldn't be mandatory. Just like 18 year old kids who volunteered to go to Europe in WW2, this would be almost as heroic just without loss of life. Merely a lower standard of living.

Would this historic move cause the dollar to soar through the roof??? Combined with govt cuts, and ask for it 2 years in a row, and this thing is over, its fixed.

And what happens to the massive sell off in the markets to come up with all this money to pay to the government? You are missing a big point to this idea; all those rich people have all that wealth, but it isn't in cash, it's in assets. In order to convert those assets to cash so they could actually pay the taxes you are talking about, they would have to sell off all those assets, which means they would all have to find buyers. Basically, you would be looking at a fire sale that would dramatically reduce the value of those assets overnight. Sorry, but you plan is a massive fail; it just would never work, even if everyone wanted to do it.

 

[bucs90]

Not saying it's the long term answer, not even close. But...to eliminate the debt, at least half of it, literally almost overnight????

Sure, we'd be asking the richest 1, 5 or 10% of Americans to make a personal sacrifice towards saving the country. It would likely hit many of them somewhat hard...especially the 5-10% top. But if the debt is truly the #1 threat to national security, as many on the right say and probably is true.......then aren't we due for another generation of heroes like the WW2 men and women who fought the Japanese and Germans?? And Italians?

They gave LIVES. We need money. It would be among the most heroic and unselfish acts ever. Some group would have to organize it, as I said, it should be voluntary.

But man, what a daydream of a generation of Americans....this time the financial heroes, not military ones....stepped up to save the United States from the biggest threat to our national security.

If the Feds would match that effort with spending cuts, that would kick in as each "step" is reached by these heroes........we'd eliminate this mess in 3 years tops. Done. Fixed.

Why don't we just get our spending under control and require the wealthy to pay a bit more in taxes, so we can reduce the yearly debt to sustainable levels? Then if we get the economy moving again, we can outgrow the debt. Your idea may seem like a good idea on paper, but even on paper it's a bad idea. Taking that kind of money out of the economy all at once just to pay off the debt, well that's not a good idea at all.

If you do want to go the radical route though, I have one that is much better and actually might work. American businesses are sitting on over $2 trillion in cash. Tax them the full amount or make them put that money into play. If they don't use it, they lose it. This is actually something that should have been done a long time ago. Our tax policies are making it easy for businesses to keep money sitting on the sidelines where it is doing no one a single bit of good. I can guarantee you that these companies would not hand it over to the government, which would be fantastic. But by making them use it, they would be forced into expanding their businesses and paying more to their employees, all things that would put more money into the economy creating solid economic growth. In the long run, it would be great for everyone including government coffers.

I think peer pressure works better than higher taxes. This is a national security issue, so we're told, and we need this next "Greatest Generation" to volunteer like the ones in the 1940's who saved America did.

If tens of thousands of 18 year olds are willing to go overseas and die for America........surely the top 10% are willing to put up a ONE TIME 50% AGI contribution that would literally eliminate the debt.

Imagine...if combined with concurrent spending cuts......what America's global standing would look like! How valuable the dollar would become!? The lone superpower in the world...with no debt.

China probably would go to war over it.

 

[auditor0007]

Gov't cutting spending will "save the nation", but we know THAT will never happen either.

The dollar crash is inevitable. Buy Gold, Silver, Guns and Ammo.

Now. Today.

Fine, cut the defense budget by 50%.

I have little problem with that.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Some simple math on how the richest 5% of Americans.....could instantly fix our national debt. And how Romney or Obama could capitalize on this fact.

The US set a record last year for total number of millionaires (U.S. Has Record Number of Millionaires - The Wealth Report - WSJ) at 3,100,000 (about 1% of the population). They had a combined wealth of about $11,000,000,000 (trillion).

US national debt is about 16 trillion. (U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time).

Now, if the top 1% of Americans, all millionaires with 11 trillion in total wealth, EACH dedicated 1,000,000 in ONE single contribution to the country.......in one year, overnight with one collective act, the top one percent of earners in this nation would cut the national debt by 20% instantly.

And what if we asked the top 5% to do the same, but a bit less for each step? Say the top 2-5% each contribute 500,000, or 250,000??? Thats about 15,000,000 people. If each of those top 5% gave 500,000.......thats another 7.5 trillion dollars.

Combined...thats over half the national debt GONE, instantly.

It would be voluntary. A massive collective effort. An epic act equal to World War 2. Literally SAVES our nation. Romney or Obama could call for this epic, unselfish act. Pass a bill that says once these brave, heroic private citizens reach that total voluntarily, the federal govt automatically kicks in spending cuts of equal proportion until this damn thing is balanced and the debt gone.

Some would be angered by this very notion.

- "It aint fair"
- "It aint my job to pay the debt"
- "Why me, why dont the bottom half pay??"

Well, like I said, this would be an effort economically that would equal the WW2 generations effort to save this country. Would we be up to it? What if after we asked the top 5%, we then asked the top 10% to pitch in another contribution? The top 6%-10%, abuot another 15 million people, could kick in 100K each. Thats another 1.5 trillion GONE from the debt!!!!

And what if...God help us.....we asked the top 10% to do this 2 years in a row. We looked to them as the true saviors of our nation, and they equalled the effort we put out in WW2 to save this nation. They could erase the debt in 2 years. Gone. Add in the Fed's agreed-upon cuts in spending.....and wow, what a potential miracle.

Any chance the top 1%, then top 5%, then top 10% of wealth earners in this nation would make the personal sacrifice to save this nation? Our military has been doing it for centuries. Our teachers, cops, firemen have been doing it to save our communties for centuries.

Now is the time that the financial and economic kings of our land COULD step up, and put forth this herculean effort to save this country.

Damn, you are even dumber than I thought.

Just because someone has a million dollars on paper does not mean they have liquid. Most of those millionaires would have to sell their homes to be able to pay your "voluntary donation." That would cause a massive downward impetus in the price of housing when the supply suddenly massively exceeds the demand. The negative impact this would have on the economy would echo throughout the world, decrease overall government revenue, lead idiots like you to demand more government spending, and, ultimately, result in an increase in the deficit.

 

[bucs90]

Gov't cutting spending will "save the nation", but we know THAT will never happen either.

The dollar crash is inevitable. Buy Gold, Silver, Guns and Ammo.

Now. Today.

Fine, cut the defense budget by 50%.

I have little problem with that.

Why? Its tough on everyone out there. EVERYONE in the private and public sectors are hurting. IT's just reality.

- We pay for OFF BASE apartments. Why? The rest of us dont get that.
- We pay for IN COUNTRY haircuts, and food, and clothing. Why? We dont get that??
- We pay for lifetime healthcare and a 20 year retirement with pension. THats a sweetheart deal at the expense of the taxpayers.

There is so much waste in the military and DoD. Cut it....like the rest of us have to do.