Gary Johnson On The Issues - The Economy and Taxes

The Economy and Taxes

Americans are more concerned than ever before about the future of our economy, and those concerns are well-founded. As a nation, we simply can't afford to continue borrowing 43 cents out of every dollar we spend. Balancing the budget will mean making some serious changes in Washington, but these will be the corrections America needs to remain a free, prosperous, and secure nation.
The U.S. must adopt 3 approaches:

Cut Spending
THIS RECESSION HAS FORCED FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES across America to make hard choices and limit their expenditures. We must now expect our elected officials to make the tough calls that will keep our government on a sustainable path moving forward. We must restrain spending across the board:

* Revise the terms of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which threaten to bankrupt the nation's future.
* Eliminate the costly and ineffective military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan; limit defense spending to actions that truly protect the United States.
* Stop spending on the fiscal stimulus, transportation, energy, housing, and all other special interests. The U.S. must restrain spending across the board.

Cut Taxes
THE U.S. TAX SYSTEM IMPOSES AN ENORMOUS toll on productivity through high marginal rates, absurd complexity, loopholes for the well-connected, and incentives for wasteful decisions. The government must lower the tax burden to stimulate the economy.

* Eliminate punitive taxation of savings and investment.
* Simplify the tax code; stop using it to reward special interests and control behavior.
* Eliminate the corporate income tax so that America will once again be a great place to start a business.

Reduce Federal Involvement in the Economy
MUCH FEDERAL INTERVENTION IS A PAYOUT TO special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth.

We should:

* Reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy.
* Restrict Federal Reserve policy to maintaining price stability, not bailing out financial firms or propping up the housing sector.
* Eliminate government support of Fannie and Freddie.
* Reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
* Legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition.
* Eliminate needless barriers to free trade and make it easier for would-be legal immigrants to apply for work visas.