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From: fair@dual.UUCP (Erik E. Fair)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Ronnie, Ronnie, ...   Balanced Budget
Message-ID: <280@dual.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 14-Feb-84 23:06:22 EST
Article-I.D.: dual.280
Posted: Tue Feb 14 23:06:22 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Feb-84 00:41:06 EST
References: <870@ihuxm.UUCP>
Organization: Dual Systems, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 35

There's this neat tenet of Keynesian Economics that says that deficit
spending by the gov't in times of econimic downturn, recession,
depression, etc. is necessary to stimulate recovery. Why do you think that
we're in an economic upturn anyway? Ronnie has been spending megabucks
for his (our) war machine, and not in the places where it needs it, like
salaries & benefits, but in the places that do the `military-industrial'
complex some good (i.e. weapon systems).

If you look at it through Keynesian glasses, most of the unemployment
and other `entitlement' programs are an automatic way of increasing
gov't spending when the economy dips. No congressional or executive
mandate/resolution/action needed.

In short, I don't think there will ever be any sort of rule, constitutional
amendment, etc. that will force a balanced budget, unless the people force
it on the Congress. They'll wish they hadn't later on, anyway.

What would be more interesting is a flat percentage income tax rate with NO
deductions, or execptions. Then congress would have to worry a lot more
about increasing the tax rate, because it would be more obvious to 
everyone. Most of what the IRS does now would be reduced to figuring out
just what is income and what is not.

Better yet, (and just as unlikely), suppose we push legislation that
says that the individual taxpayer may say exactly on which departments
and programs his money may be spent... You could remove the Congress from
the loop (and incidentally remove about 4 months worth of bickering),
and the people would really get what they asked for each year. (Question,
will they be smart enough to know what they want?)

	Erik E. Fair

	dual!fair@BERKELEY.ARPA
	{ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,amd70,zehntel,fortune,unisoft,onyx,its}!dual!fair
	Dual Systems Corporation, Berkeley, California