USA, Land of the Free?
According to the article found in the Heritage Foundation that talks about various Reforms to Regain U.S. Leadership in Economic Freedom, the United States is no longer one of the world's ten freest economies. The article also states that Economic freedom is the foundation of U.S. economic strength which shows the posistion of the U.S. as a world leader. Since September 11, America has fallen from sixth to twelth as one of the world's freest economies according to the 2005 Index of Economic Freedom. What type of reforms can be made in order for America to regain its posistion as one of the world's freest economies? Two reforms caught my attention as I read this article.
The first reform is to cut government spending in the fiscal year. Most of the spending binge is blamed on the events that took place on September 11, 2001, but according to the article most of the funds have been spent on things that are unrelated to 911. Social Security and Medicare programs are two examples of finantually troubled programs that the U.S. is spending money on to help these programs become more finantually sound, however this money is money that we as job holders have earned, but are never able to use. I totally agree with the article that the government should cut its spending so that we can have more control over our own money and not have the government spend it on unstable programs.
The second reform would be to cut taxes. This reform in my opinion is the most important. The corporate tax rate in America is among one of the highest in the world at 35% according to the Index of Economic Freedom. This rate has to go down. Businesses in America have a hard time keeping production up because of high taxes and low competitiveness in the U.S. economy. If this remains this high, the burden on production in American businesses will be tough. Lowering taxes will help our economy to grow, and it will give the American business, as well as consumer, more freedom to invest our money in any way we choose.
"With greater freedom, America will grow faster, continue to inspire other nations, and leave a more promising future for future generations." These are the last words of the article in which the author so soundly states the reason of why our economy needs reform. If nothing is done, and the economy is left as it is now, I believe that America is destined for an economic collapse. I fear that then, we will loose more than just our economic freedom.
The first reform is to cut government spending in the fiscal year. Most of the spending binge is blamed on the events that took place on September 11, 2001, but according to the article most of the funds have been spent on things that are unrelated to 911. Social Security and Medicare programs are two examples of finantually troubled programs that the U.S. is spending money on to help these programs become more finantually sound, however this money is money that we as job holders have earned, but are never able to use. I totally agree with the article that the government should cut its spending so that we can have more control over our own money and not have the government spend it on unstable programs.
The second reform would be to cut taxes. This reform in my opinion is the most important. The corporate tax rate in America is among one of the highest in the world at 35% according to the Index of Economic Freedom. This rate has to go down. Businesses in America have a hard time keeping production up because of high taxes and low competitiveness in the U.S. economy. If this remains this high, the burden on production in American businesses will be tough. Lowering taxes will help our economy to grow, and it will give the American business, as well as consumer, more freedom to invest our money in any way we choose.
"With greater freedom, America will grow faster, continue to inspire other nations, and leave a more promising future for future generations." These are the last words of the article in which the author so soundly states the reason of why our economy needs reform. If nothing is done, and the economy is left as it is now, I believe that America is destined for an economic collapse. I fear that then, we will loose more than just our economic freedom.
3 Comments:
At 11:08 PM, AO2001 said…
I do feel there is a huge burden on America to cut government expenditures. However, I do not feel that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid should be greatly reformed. Their answer always seems to point towards, “let’s reduce the health or financial benefits for the younger generation.” They claim they are trying to protect future generations but their actions do not follow their words.
Special interest programs can be extremely therapeutic and helpful to many, but the government spending on these could be drastically reduced. Private funding can be an option for this. I think America also needs to cut taxes and deregulate some sectors of the economy.
Everyone has their own idea of the way things should be run. I think it will be very interesting to see where the American economy ends up within the next twenty years.
At 12:49 AM, J2 said…
Americans want, "to have their cake and eat it too." We demanded top of the line homeland security in the wake of 9/11 and then complained about the cost of it. The same goes for government sponsored, publicly funded programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. Americans feel that they are entitled to the benefits of these programs and also be awarded a tax cut at the same time. When Americans begin to take on some of the financial risk or accept that they will have to give up public services, then the Economy will be on its way back up.
At 8:08 PM, KVerble said…
I agree with J2, and I think that cutting taxes will only negatively impact homeland security and Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. The last three are already struggling with taxes like they are now...why make it worse, especially when no one has come up with any alternatives yet?
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