Federalism

1. How would you balance the federal budget in the long term? In your answer take on each of these issues: mandatory (Social Security and Healthcare), discretionary spending (i.e. national security), and deficit spending and the overall public debt, and tax reform.

You will need to describe the overall problem with the Federal budget and address each of the following areas in separate paragraphs. Do so by describing the particular budget problem/issue, then, give your policy solution to fix the specific policy area, and explain how your fix will help the overall Federal budget in the long-term. You must have separate paragraphs on each of these five items:

Mandatory Spending:
1. Social Security
AND (separately)
2. Medicare/Medicaid/health care

Discretionary Spending:
3. Look at National Security Spending only.
We presently spend over $1.5 trillion per year on national security.
Explain how you will alter/change this fast-growing budget item.

Debt/Deficit:
4. Explain both the debt and deficit. Focus on the increasing “cost” of making ever larger interest payments and your solution to change the trajectory of this budget item in your long-term Federal budget forecast

Tax Reforms:
There is need to increase revenues and tax fairness.
5. Explain each tax reform you are making separately and how it will contribute to
balancing the Federal budget in the long-term.