[speaker001:] first and foremost my immediate fix for the federal budget would be a two percent straight across the board cut in federal spending in all departments
[speaker002:] now dealing on the federal level
[speaker001:] yes
[speaker002:] two percent two percent is a good choice but to as far as to increase tax revenues coming in you need to a redesigning of the entire tax structure itself corporate America is getting away with bloody murder where as the people out here are having to pay such a high amount of their actual bring home salaries into taxes the corporations are getting off easy because they're actually paying in less than five percent of their gross national product or their or their
[speaker001:] gross national product or profit okay
[speaker002:] profit rather
[speaker001:] I'm not knowledgeable in that area so I can only agree with what you're saying
[speaker002:] if they made it straight across the board everybody pay five percent if their gross national profit was say a million dollars then pay five five percent of that
[speaker001:] um-hum seems fair to me also individual level
[speaker002:] but the um overall it just seem like they've modified the tax laws so bad just the last five years the rich is it's definitely case that the rich are getting richer and the working people middle class and you know the lower middle class and the upper middle class are having to carry the entire burden
[speaker001:] um-hum well I am awfully bored with uh every every tax change uh supposedly having all these built in benefits for the poor because I think we have such a mismanagement of the funds that are designated for the poor so much graft and so much misspending that that money doesn't necessarily go where it's supposed to go uh I know you don't ever cutout greed and corruption but I think the management of the welfare dollar needs to come back to to the local levels because the local people know exactly who needs that money and who doesn't need that money when it's directed from afar I think the chance for misspending is greater I I suppose I'm thinking more in terms I I'm not thinking in terms of increasing taxes I'm just thinking for a quick fix uh a cut in federal spending is I guess my solution
[speaker002:] as long as you got congressmen and senators that are getting kickbacks kickbacks from these different companies that are getting awarded for the defense contracts that's never going to happen
[speaker001:] I know that's well maybe that's what I'm saying as long as greed and corruption is in there how do we get away from that though
[speaker002:] the one thing that I had thought about to help correct that problem you've got career politicians that spend thirty forty years in Washington that's all they have ever done
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] after they've been there that long they're so deep rooted with their the old boy network
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] I think by limiting the number of consecutive terms a congressman or senator can hold whether it be a state congressman or senator or at the national level limiting the two terms and then they've got to sit out one
[speaker001:] um-hum I think that's wonderful when do we first when do we then start giving them their lifetime income as a retired politician
[speaker002:] I don't think we should ever give them a lifetime income
[speaker001:] but we do don't we
[speaker002:] unfortunately
[speaker001:] yes I know many people have said well if you throw everyone out and start over but then you uh the the amount of them who would be on lifetime income is so stupendous there's they have locked their benefits in to the point that once they've served two terms they're on gravy train anyway yes I think you're right I don't think we should ever give them a lifetime thing
[speaker002:] and they're the ones that have screamed so much much much about that don't want to increase taxes and they don't want to do this but every year they vote themselves in a very healthy pay raise
[speaker001:] it they don't they speak with fork and tongue don't they at least we're in agreement on that aren't we I'm afraid I have no other thoughts on fixes and I'm not really sure that they would accept our suggestions anyhow
[speaker002:] I think eventually it's going get to the point where there's going to be a majority of the American people that have had enough of what it's finally come to we're you getting so far down to where you're being taxed so far down where you can't even afford to change your mind
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] it's going to come to a point where the average American citizens say we've had enough
[speaker001:] how do they react then we're prosecuted if we simply don't pay our taxes so I'm not real sure how you believe then that eventually there'll be an overthrow we know communism doesn't work what do we do next
[speaker002:] well in the form of capitalism that we've got apparently that's not working real good either
[speaker001:] uh I heard uh someone uh supposedly an authority saying speaking on TV saying that the interest rate as we have known it in the past will never be the that high again and he was speaking in senior citizens living on their incomes of from interest CD interest and that sort of interest I think the voting block of senior citizens is a tremendous voting block too but every voting block is slapped and toward their own special interest and I think that makes it doubly difficult to make a change I guess I'm saying we're all selfish
[speaker002:] maybe not a case of everybody being selfish every man carry their own fair burden but not somebody else's
[speaker001:] yes that's true it doesn't seem to workout that way though does it I think that the lobbyist uh are so protecting what they have in the budget that it doesn't seem to work that every man has to pay his own fair share and maybe that's why corporate America gets away with what they're doing because of the kickbacks and et cetera I'm a bit of a a pessimist I don't see a change in my lifetime I'm afraid you're younger perhaps you can foresee one
[speaker002:] I never put anything beyond as far as when it'll happen that I'm not real sure of if it will happen I have no doubt
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum yes I think you're right I'm just saying that I don't think the American people are at this point rebellious enough that it will happen in my lifetime yes I think eventually the system will change I still think we have the best system uh with the elected officials I I'm not sure that uh it's working right now though
[speaker002:] it is the best system that's out there right now but it does need some fine tuning at this point
[speaker001:] absolutely nice talking to you
[speaker002:] okay nice talking to you bye
[speaker001:] bye