No! We are not in a hole that we can’t get out of. Someone on the GLD board challenged people for ideas on how to help pay it off and concluded that it was impossible and that we are doomed...so I felt compelled...

here is what I said-

We can pay it off! To even think we can’t is wrong, defeatist, and the reason we keep getting more and more into debt.

First of all...change your mind set...we can pay this off.

Second...Fix our entitlement programs...they are a terrible mess. The government needs to get out of the entitlement business slowly and altogether. How? Privatize social security and wean the elderly off of Medicare and Medicaid (Slowly!)...they need to cease to exist.

Then what do we do with health care? We fix it! Open up competition between the private plans between states by tort reform. Again...get the government out of health care! They are miserable at it! Give every man woman and child a tax credit towards buying their own coverage. But what about the uninsured? They already get treated in any hospital!!! Bill them and let them pay it back over time...medical debt is always at 0% interest and you can pay back as little as you want over any period of time. Most docs and hospitals are willing to settle for way less than they originally bill. And don’t pay for illegal immigrants health care! Still give it to them but make them begin to pay for it or send them back. All this bull crap about everyone needing insurance is stupid!

Banks...don’t force them to make risky loans!!! Kill Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as we know them or make them 100% private. Banks don’t make risky loans when they are not forced to. Also, get us back on the silver standard! No more inflation!

Lower our business taxes...and yes, even for large businesses! Encourage business and companies to move to the U.S. to do business. Lowering business taxes will increase revenue...its a proven fact...and guess what...it creates jobs!!!

make a flat income tax for everyone...15% seems to be what a lot of economist believe would get the job done and is more than fair and kill all the other tax loopholes. The more you make the more you pay. If you make only 10k a year you pay only 1,500 in taxes. If you make 1 million you pay 150k in taxes...what’s not fair with that? Speaking of fair...if we all have the same access to roads, defense, fire dept, police, courts, libraries, schools etc. wouldn’t a real flat tax just be dividing up the total needed revenue by worker and making everyone pay the same exact amount? yes it would, but I’m not even proposing that. 15% for everyone.

What else can we do? How about teaching basic financial planning in the class rooms? Make it a mandatory pre-req for high school. Everyone must learn personal finance such as how to balance an account, live within their means, how 401(k)s, IRA's (Traditional and Roth), privatized social security, etc work. This would go a long way!

Pass legislation that forces congress to pass only budgets that are balanced at first…then budgets that reduce our debt. Simple…just cut out all the pork that hurts our country anyway. Socialism is what got us into this mess! Oh yeah, and no more earmarks…not a single one! Outlaw them!!

I have another idea…this one even helps lower our energy dependence and the environment while saving us cash...how about every time someone purchases a home they can also wrap the cost of a solar panel system, hot water heater, wind turbine, or whatever make the most sense in their case into the mortgage? This way we can save monthly cash flow immediately because the savings in electricity would be much more substantial than the cost of the extra mortgage amount.

There are a few ideas for you...I have many more.