The federal government has become far too bloated, bureaucratic and over-reaching, so it’s time to return to the roots that made America great: lots of freedom for individuals and a minimal amount of government.
Elon Musk is a bold and creative thinker, so he’s a great choice to help us figure out how. But Mr. Musk hasn’t called or Xed yet for my advice. Neither has President-elect Donald Trump. I haven’t heard from JD Vance or Donald Jr. either. So let me save them the trouble by offering five ideas.
Tax reform: Spending needs to be reduced, but tax reform should come first if we want to reunite our divided nation. In any democracy, citizens must believe the tax system is fair. But they don’t, and it isn’t.
The highest-earning 20% of Americans have gotten richer over the past three decades, while others have lost ground. Lobbyists and their legislators have corrupted the tax system with endless tax credits and deductions; it’s so complicated that people can’t even fill out their own tax returns.
So, let’s simplify. Everybody should pay something, so how about one low rate — maybe 1 or 2 % — on the first $100,000 of every individual’s gross income, but progressively higher rates for each additional $100,000 of income. But no tax credits, and no deductions. None! Those with higher incomes will pay more, but successful people should be proud to do so in gratitude to the nation that makes it possible.
Let’s do the same with corporate taxes. It makes no sense to base their income tax on their net income after expenses like multi-million salaries and bonuses for executives. Instead charge a low tax on total income, with progressively higher percentages for higher income. Another benefit: this would encourage the voluntary breakup of huge companies into smaller ones — not “too big to fail” and small enough to provide good customer service.
And guess what? With a simple graduated income tax with no deductions or tax credits, we’d all be able to fill out a simple one-page tax return. We would no longer need the IRS. But don’t worry, I have other plans for the 90,000-plus IRS employees.
Immigration reform: 45,000 former IRS employees could transfer to Immigration Services, so we can finally secure our border and process citizenship applicants promptly.
A guy as smart as Mr. Musk will figure out that we don’t need to build an ugly wall to secure our borders. Requiring work permits would be the most efficient way to reduce illegal immigration, while drones and other high-tech solutions could provide the border security we need.
He’ll also know that we need legal immigration because of our aging population, and that we can be selective about who to accept. Those 45,000 IRS agents will help speed up the process — ending the delays that have caused so many people to feel compelled to enter illegally because they felt they had no other choice.
But let’s also be selective about who we deport, beginning with those with criminal records or terrorist connections. Many others are here because our loose borders were like a wink and a nod to “come on over.” So why not issue work permits to immigrants who are self-supporting and have stayed out of trouble?
Efficiency reform: Federal agencies are bloated because legislators always create programs to solve problems or serve needs, but never measure the results. Then bureaucrats always ask for more money, regardless of whether their programs are working or not.
Legislators and bureaucrats brag about throwing more of our money at problems, but the rest of us are the losers because so many of our hard-earned tax dollars are being wasted on unaccountable “programs.”
So, Mr. Musk might want to reassign 45,000 former IRS agents to the General Accounting Office, to provide independent audits of the thousands of federal programs that aren’t working.
Federal focus reform: Let’s stop burying the country — and future generations — in government debt. The federal government tries to do too much and doesn’t do much of it well. Let’s limit the feds to the roles specified in the Constitution and return power and responsibility to the state and local governments, or to the people themselves.
Free markets — not government bureaucrats and politicians — should set interest rates, the value of the dollar, wages and prices. Let’s stop federal funding for state and local projects. Let’s end government bailouts, corporate welfare, crony capitalism, guarantees and federal “insurance” (such as flood insurance). Let’s make government employees subject to at-will employment just like most private-sector employees.
Let’s replace all federal welfare programs with a negative income tax that would give people a temporary helping hand when they most need it, provide incentives for people to pull themselves out of poverty and climb the economic ladder, and eliminate the bureaucracy, waste, and fraud in the existing programs.
Social Security reform: Social Security is a Ponzi fraud. The government has never invested the money we paid in. People are living longer, so most recipients will collect $600,000 more than they put in. With an aging population, more people are collecting benefits and fewer are paying in. It will go bankrupt if we don’t make reforms.
First, let’s do away with the cap on the Social Security tax. Why should individuals who earn millions pay the tax only on the first $168,600 of their income? We should all pay the tax on all our income, which would allow the tax rate to be lowered for everybody. Second, let’s gradually increase the age at which full benefits can be drawn, to correspond with increasing life expectancies.
So that’s my free advice for Elon Musk, and worth every penny. He can text or X me if he wants to hear more.
Editor’s note: A former journalist, now retired in Scottsdale, Joe Smyth is the author of Fixing America’s Broken Politics. The opinions expressed here are his own. Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
