Fair taxes and balanced budgets

Taxes are necessary for the maintenance of infrastructures, our military, and for the pay of government employees. Our tax code, however, requires a virtual Ph.D. to understand and apply correctly and there is plenty of discussion about how to both simplify the tax code and ensure that everyone pays their fair share for the welfare of our nation.  There is also the matter of an ever-growing 14 trillion dollar debt we owe as a nation, primarily to China, and how to get out from underneath such a load while maintaining a balanced budget.  Here are my suggestions.

1) Implement a flat tax rate based strictly on income.

A flat tax rate of 15% for all persons of legal voting age is fair and reasonable. It ensures that no one bears too great an economic burden but that all participate to the best of their ability. 

2) Eliminate all deductions and tax credits.

Deductions and tax credits complicate the tax code unnecessarily and create special protections for special interest groups. 

3) Eliminate all welfare and entitlement programs.

Tax money should never be used to fund charity programs of any kind. Using tax money to fund charities is like forcing a man at gun point to give his money to someone else. Not only does it breed resentment, but it also lends to distrust.  People are more likely to give when they are not forced to do so, and to give more generously when they give voluntarily. Let those who are concerned about those in need roll up their sleeves and do something about it personally or get together with other like-minded individuals and  work together to do something about the problem. 

All those who have paid into Social Security should be given a lump-sum refund along with 1% interest for each year the money was kept from them, and no more than that. Retiring for reasons other than your physical or mental incapability of working is something that should be discouraged, not endorsed. For those seniors who have reached a state where they are no longer capable physically or mentally of working, let them be cared for first by their families, then by their Church or other organization they belonged to, and then by those in the community.  

4) Where possible, replace paid government employees with volunteers.

If Americans are committed to these things, if they believe they are worth keeping, let them demonstrate their care and commitment by service and not by forcible taxation.

5) Establish a national language, and only print documents in that language.

Printing costs money, and printing in multiple languages is a huge waste of time and resources. Establish a national language (I do not care if you pick Spanish, English, Latin, or some derivative thereof, but pick one) and then only print things in that language.  Catering to those who refuse to learn the national language does not help anyone and creates an atmosphere of distrust and disunity.