AN OVERVIEW

This chart presentation describes America’s Debt

problem briefly . . . but primarily focuses on the

problem, to set the stage for a proposed solution.

The problem is viewed largely as an indication of a

dysfunctional Congressional budgeting process,

which fails to: set integrated priorities; eliminate

old and obsolete programs; curtail costs when

revenues are lean; keep a single set of transparent

books that include Entitlement obligations; adhere

to a regimen that systematically reduces the

Nation’s Debt and makes it difficult to subsequently

increase it.

The proposal makes use of citizen involvement and

more transparency of critical summary budget and

debt element values.

• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.

• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT

UNDER CONTROL

THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND

CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.

MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T

DYSFUNCTION.

HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE

BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.

A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON

AMERICA‟S DEBT.

WHY A “DEBT” SERIES ?

• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.

• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT

UNDER CONTROL

THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND

CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.

MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T

DYSFUNCTION.

HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE

BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.

A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON

AMERICA‟S DEBT.

THE DEBT PROBLEM - - IT DIDN’T ARRIVE OVERNIGHT !

OUR GROWING DEBT IS AN ISSUE THAT HAS NOW BEEN IGNORED FOR AT LEAST 3 DECADES. VERY RECENTLY, ON AUGUST 5th, ‘11, THE FINANCIAL RATING OF THE UNITED STATES WAS REDUCED FROM AAA TO AA+ - - FOR THE FIRST TIME IN

AMERICAN HISTORY. IT WAS S&P’s WAY OF FLASHING A RED LIGHT TO INDICATE THE RATING SERVICE PERCEIVES LESS CONFIDENCE IN HOW AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN MANAGING ITS FINANCES. THIS WAS NOT A SHOCKING NEW REVELATION, HAVING BEEN PRECEDED BY MANY WEEKS OF CONGRESSIONAL WRANGLING OVER RAISING OUR DEBT LIMIT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE LAST MINUTE DECISION DECLINED TO TAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARD CLOSING THE SHARPLY GROWING DEBT THAT AMERICA OWES ITS CREDITORS, BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC.

THE RATING DOWNGRADE:

• WRONG-HEADED MOVE?

OR

• JUST DOING THEIR JOB?

MONETARY POLICY - -THE FED’S INTEREST RATE CONTROL SYSTEM

A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT APPROACH

TO AMERICA’S DEBT PROBLEM

RE AMERICA’S DEBT: • LEADERSHIP MORALITY - SPENDING/GOVERNING/TRUTH • BUSINESS MORALITY - LENDING & DONATING • POLITICAL MORALITY - CITIZEN POWER/CAMPAIGNING

TO SAY THAT MORALITY CAN HELP US FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS - - IS NOT TO SAY THAT OUR PROBLEMS ARE NOT:

• REAL • COMPLEX and, • PUTTING MANY CITIZENS IN PAIN.

OUR PROBLEMS ARE CERTAINLY REAL !

• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.

• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT

UNDER CONTROL

THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND

CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.

MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T

DYSFUNCTION.

HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE

BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.

A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON

AMERICA‟S DEBT.

GOVERNMENT DYSFUNCTION -

SOME CRUCIAL EXAMPLES A TORRENT OF LEGISLATION TOO

VAST FOR CITIZENS TO MONITOR.

A TORRENT OF REGULATIONS TOO

VAST FOR CONGRESS OR FOR

CITIZENS TO MONITOR.

UNCHECKED EXTRAVAGANCE AND

IRRESPONSIBILITY WITH THE

CITIZEN’S FUNDS.

UNCHECKED EXTRAVAGANCE WITH

CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES AND

RESULTING UNDUE INFLUENCE OF

LARGE ORGANIZATIONS TO FUND

THE CAMPAIGNS.

CONTINUED PANDERING TO SPECIAL

INTEREST GROUPS TO BESTOW

GOVERNMENTAL PRIVILEGE IN

EXCHANGE FOR CAMPAIGN SUPPORT.

• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.

• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT

UNDER CONTROL

THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND

CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.

MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T

DYSFUNCTION.

HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE

BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.

A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON

AMERICA‟S DEBT.

A “MODEST ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL” [ “MAP” ]

SEVERAL SOLUTIONS TOWARD REDUCING AMERICA’S GROWING DEBT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED. PARTIAL VERSIONS OF THEM HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE FINAL , AUG 5th CONGRESSIONAL DEAL THAT WAS REACHED, INCLUDING:

• SOME VERY MODEST SPENDING “CUTS”, TO A

BUDGET BASELINE THAT IS ALREADY

INCREASING FROM YEAR TO YEAR.

• A “SUPER COMMISSION “ OF 6 DEMOCRATS

AND 6 REPUBLICANS TO PUT TOGETHER

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A FURTHER MODEST

SPENDING CUT .

• CONGRESS HAS COMMITTED ITSELF TO AN „UP

OR DOWN VOTE ‟ ON SUBMITTING A “BALANCED

BUDGET” AMENDMENT TO THE STATES FOR

RATIFICATION AS A CONSTITUTIONAL

AMENDMENT. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF

PASSAGE OF SUCH A BILL THROUGH THE

CONGRESS OR SUBSEQUENTLY BY THE STATES.

THIS “MAP” IS

A STEP

TOWARD

RESPONSIBIL-

ITY ON THE

PART OF THE

CITIZENS AND

ACCOUNTABIL-

ITY ON THE

PART OF OUR

CONGRESS.

A “MODEST ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL”

BUT THESE FOLLOW-ON

ACTIONS COULD TAKE A

LONG TIME AND PERHAPS

NEVER COME TO FRUITION,

BECAUSE THE BASIC DEBT

ISSUE ITSELF HAS STRONGLY

DIVIDED SUPPORT ACROSS

THE NATION.

THUS THE CONGRESS

REFLECTS THAT DIVISION AND

HAS SIMILAR DIFFICULTY

REACHING A DETAILED

DECISION. IT THEREFORE

HAS HANDED THE “HOT

POTATO” TO OTHERS TO

ACTUALLY WORK OUT THE

SPECIFIC CUTS THAT MUST BE

ACHIEVED.

T H U S , R E L AT I V E T O T H E D E P T H

O F T H E P R O B L E M , T H E C U R R E N T

L E G I S L AT I V E O U T P U T I S A

M O D E S T S T E P. SO I‟D LIKE TO

PRESENT A “MAP” : IT ESSENTIALLY LAYS OUT A SHORT LEGISLATIVE BILL DESIGNED TO HELP OUR CITIZENS GET BACK INTO SOME CONTROL OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. IT RELIES ON A 3-PAGE MANDATED TEMPLATE:

THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL

THE (“MAP”) PROPOSAL IS DIFFERENT

FROM THE PRECEDING SOLUTION PLANS

BECAUSE IT:

i. ACKNOWLEDGES THAT CONGRESS AND

THE NATION ARE DEEPLY DIVIDED

OVER HOW TO CORRECT OUR DEBT

PROBLEM.

ii. FACTORS IN THE NEED FOR THE

AMERICAN ELECTORATE TO

UNDERSTAND AND CONTRIBUTE TO A

DEBT REDUCTION CONSENSUS, AND,

iii. INCLUDES ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF THE NATION’S MUCH LARGER

(BY A FACTOR OF ABOUT FOUR) “UNFUNDED LIABILITIES”. THESE

LIABILITIES ARE ALSO OBLIGATIONS FOR PAYMENT IN FUTURE YEARS BY

THE GOVERNMENT, BUT ARE NOT TYPICALLY INCLUDED IN THE $15

TRILLION DEBT NUMBER THAT IS USUALLY UNDER DISCUSSION.

THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL

THE “MAP” PLAN COMBINES:

i. MORE TRANSPARENCY OF THE

ISSUES FOR CLEARER VOTER

EVALUATION, WITH

ii. A MANDATED PLAN SUBMITTED

BY BOTH MAJOR AMERICAN

POLITICAL PARTIES REPRESENTED

IN OUR CONGRESS, AND,

iii. A MANDATED INTEGRATED,

SINGLE, COMMON BUDGET PLAN

DEVELOPED JOINTLY BY THE 2

PARTIES AND VOTED UPON BY THE

WHOLE CONGRESS. THE TOTAL

PROCESS HAS A “CLOCK RUNNING”

AGAINST WHICH THE PROCESS

STEPS MUST BE COMPLETED IN

FULL VIEW OF THE ELECTORATE

AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

CONGRESS DEMOCRATS

GOP CITIZENS

NOTE: “RSD” = REVENUES / SPENDING / DEBT

Leader: THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL

A 1000 MAXIMUM WORD LEGISLATION IS PASSED WITH THE FOLLOWING PARTICULARS: • STEP #1A : CONGRESSIONAL DEMS & GOP (HOUSE & SENATE) EACH AGREE TO PUT THEIR ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS IN WRITING WITH A 3 PAGE (81/2 x 11) QUANTITATIVE SUMMARY** , OF REVENUES, SPENDING, AND A 5 YEAR NATIONAL DEBT (RSD) PROJECTION SHOWN AGAINST A 50 YEAR NATIONAL AVERAGE OF DEBT TO GDP. THIS SUMMARY IS CALLED THE “RSD FORM”. A MANDATED TEMPLATE** FOR EACH OF THE 3 PAGES IS TO BE PART OF THE LEGISLATION, AND AN EXAMPLE OF EACH PAGE IS GIVEN BELOW.

• STEP #1B: OF COURSE, CONGRESS CAN MAINTAIN THE MORE DETAILED BUDGET ACCOUNTING BOOKS TRADITIONALLY USED. BUT IF A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THESE TRADITIONAL BOOKS ARISES IN ANY OF THE RSD TOTALS, THE RSD FORM TOTALS WILL PREVAIL IN THE FINAL BUDGET LEGISLATION AND APPROPRIATIONS.

• STEP #2: THE TWO SUMMARIES ARE PUBLISHED AND ON THE OFFICIAL “DAY #1” OF THE PROCESS EVERY CONGRESSMAN & SENATOR SENDS A COPY OF (BOTH THE DEM & GOP VERSIONS ) TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND TO THE MEDIA. ADDITIONALLY, EACH OF THE 2 PACKAGES WILL BE SCORED BY THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE FOR TOTALS OF REVENUES, SPENDING AND DEBT PROJECTION.

cont’d next 4 pages

THE “MAP” PROPOSAL IN A NUTSHELL

A 1000 MAXIMUM WORD LEGISLATION IS PASSED WITH THE FOLLOWING PARTICULARS: • STEP #3: ALL CITIZENS ARE REQUESTED TO LET THEIR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS KNOW THEIR THOUGHTS BY DAY #14.

• STEP #4: APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DELIBERATE WITH THE LEGISLATION-STIPULATED OBJECTIVE OF REACHING AGREEMENT ON A COMMON REVENUE-SPENDING-DEBT SUMMARY OF THE INTITALLY SEPARATE 3 PAGE “RSD” FORMS**. THE COMMON SUMMARY IS PUBLISHED TO CONSTITUENTS AND MEDIA AND ON DAY #59. PEOPLE ARE AGAIN BY DAY #73. A SENATE AND HOUSE “BY-NAME”, PUBLIC, “UP OR DOWN” VOTE ON THE RSD PACKAGE IS TO BE COMPLETED BY DAY #80 OF THE PROCESS.

• STEP #5: ON DAY #82, EACH CONGRESSMAN & SENATOR WILL SEND HIS CONSTITUENTS A STATEMENT OF HIS VOTE AND A RATIONALE FOR IT.

** THE RSD 3-PAGE FORM TEMPLATE IS GIVEN AS FIGURES #1, #2 and #3 IN THIS ARTICLE.

THE REVENUES / SPENDING / DEBT TEMPLATE

THIS 3 PAGE SUMMARY FOLLOWS THE MANDATED FORMAT THROUGHOUT THE “RSD” PROCESS. EACH PAGE EVOLVES FROM:

1. TWO SEPARATE PARTY-SUBMITTED SUMMARIES • THE RSD-BLU (DEM) AND RSD-RED (GOP) VERSIONS

2. TO A HOUSE & SENATE JOINT VERSION, NOW ALSO ACCEPTED BY BOTH PARTIES • THE RSD-RWB VERSION

EACH VERSION USES THE SAME TEMPLATE SUMMARY, ALTHOUGH THE $ VALUES CAN CHANGE UNTIL THE FINAL, COMMON, INTEGRATED VERSION IS PRODUCED. THEREAFTER, THESE VALUES ARE FINAL AND BINDING ON ALL OTHER BUDGET DOCUMENTS AND LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS.

RSD TEMPLATE – CHART #1 - REVENUES

RSD TEMPLATE – CHART #2 - SPENDING

RSD TEMPLATE – CHART #3 - DEBT

SEE CHART, NEXT PAGE

THE MAGICAL

WORLD OF

“UNFUNDED

LIABILITIES”

• DEBT PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT & TOUGH.

• A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO GET IT

UNDER CONTROL

THE ISSUE HAS MANY ELEMENTS AND

CONSEQUENCES; A FEW SELECTED EXAMPLES.

MUCH OF THE ROOT CAUSE IS GOV‟T

DYSFUNCTION.

HERE‟S ONE SOLUTION APPROACH - - FIXING THE

BROKEN FEDERAL “BUDGETING PROCESS”.

A LOOK-AHEAD: OUR 6 MONTH SERIES ON

AMERICA‟S DEBT.

SO WHY WOULD THIS “MAP” SUCCEED

WHILE OTHER ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED ?

I THINK FOR THESE REASONS:

• IT ADDS CITIZEN DIRECT OVERSIGHT TO A DIFFICULT

ISSUE ( NOT EXACTLY A REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT ).

• IT GIVES CONGRESS A STRONGER SENSE OF WHAT THE

PEOPLE WANT - - “IN WRITING” FROM CONSTITUENTS.

• IT PUTS EVERY LEGISLATOR ON DISPLAY TO EVERY

CITIZEN DURING THE PROCESS.

• IT GIVES EVERYONE MORE CONFIDENCE IN A FAIR ,

ORDERLY, UNDERSTANDABLE AND RESPONSIVE

GOVERNMENT.

A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT APPROACH

TO AMERICA’S DEBT PROBLEM

THE END ACTUALLY, IT‟S NOT THE END - - YOUR VOICE IS

IMPORTANT TO OUR NATION. CITIZEN INTEREST,

DIALOG AND DATA ARE CRITICAL TO GOOD CIVIC

OUTCOMES. AND THAT INCLUDES OUTCOMES WHICH

SIMPLY ASSURE PROPER CONDITIONS FOR THE

FREE MARKET TO WORK.