What Do I Propose?

The short answer is fiscal discipline by Republicans and better tax code and trade policy.

Currently, the inevitable Congressional result is more of this for more of that. Democrats and Republicans are both in on it.

Mish Top 12 Ideas

Proposal #1: Stick to Medicaid guns. Repeal the Obama handouts to states 100 percent. Cut Medicaid funding by 25 percent. Give states a block grant. Watch the states clean up Medicaid fraud fast.

Proposal #2: Cut military spending by 25 percent. Give the money to the Pentagon as a block grant with the note "Spend it wisely". Stupid programs would be cancelled. Unneeded bases would be canceled. Pet projects like the Golden Dome would never get started. And might I suggest we do not need more tanks because neither Canada or Mexico will attack us, and I don't want the US to attack them either. We can close bases in Europe too, or make Europe pay us to defend them.

Proposal #3: Dramatically reduce the tax code by slashing all deductions. SALT gone. Charitable deductions gone. Mortgage interest (phase out over 10 years). Note that Trump is adding deductions and making the code more complex while moaning about the number of pages in the tax code and wanting to get rid of the IRS. The way to reduce the need for the IRS is to simplify the tax code, not make it more complex.

Proposal #4: End child tax credits and earned income credits, Make able bodied people work. To encourage people to work instead of receiving tax credits, make the first $35,000 in income tax-free for everyone.

Proposal #5: End all tariffs and subsidies except where genuinely needed for national security. Steel, autos, movies do not qualify. Microchips and rare earth elements would.

Proposal #6: Re-enact the USMCA, apologize to Canada and Mexico, join the TPP now called the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Following Trump's withdrawal of TPP, the remaining members struck a new deal. These countries now have easier access to each other's markets than what the US enjoys. I will do a separate post on this.