Tea Party patriot volunteers her proposal to help America

Pomp media and bloggers claim conservatives don’t have any answers. We’re the “Party of No.” I’d say right now ‘no’ isn’t in the federal government dictionary where it really needs to be. But I have quite a few ideas about dealing with government spending. Here are selected suggestions from a patriot and blogger in Jacksonville, Florida who is more than likely tucked away somewhere on a government security list because I’m a conservative!

Drum roll:

•President Barack Obama and Congress should require all federal agencies except Defense, Homeland Security and others tied to national security or law enforcement, to immediately cut budgets across the board by 10 percent. Agency heads will balk, so asking for 10 percent means we might actually get 5 percent which is a good start. We taxpayers have cut our own budgets by more, so asking for 10 as a starting point is fair to the second power.

•Ask Congress to freeze earmarks for the next 5 years. Zero tolerance policy. Earmarks not only usurp taxpayer dollars for questionable projects, they also contribute to corruption.

•Begin the process of dismantling the Dept. of Education. Establish a council for oversight of the states.

•Let open positions at all non-vital agencies go unfilled and set goals for gradual de-funding.

•Dismantle the National Endowment for the Arts. True art is not compatible with government.

This Jacksonville patriot invites you to our fair city where you can take a water taxi to the Jacksonville Landing. Frankly, we need your tourist dollars and it would be patriotic of you to come here and spend some. [photo by Kay B. Day]•On healthcare, redirect entitlement programs to the truly needy. Give those above the needy quintile a tax credit for funds expended on insurance coverage and healthcare and do not tie that credit to income.

•On healthcare, set a zero goal for in-hospital infections.

•On healthcare, set a zero goal for patient deaths due to prescription and other errors.

•On healthcare, permit companies to compete for customers and permit customers to craft their own agreements either as trade, professional or even religious groups to increase purchase power leverage.

•On healthcare cut out the middle man in Medicaid. Processing organizations often simply create problems for hospitals and they obviously cannot control fraud which is at record levels anyway.

•On undocumented foreigners in the country, there are several common-sense approaches. For one, establish a migrant worker program that satisfies unfilled jobs without costing American laborers jobs. Set a rule that if a child is born on American soil, his parents must have documentation in order to obtain welfare and medical services. Deport any foreigner in the country illegally if he or she has a criminal record.

•Secure the borders with a military presence. Nothing else has worked or will work. At present the federal government assumes everyone coming across the border is a well-meaning migrant worker. You’d really have to be delusional to believe that.

•Enact the Fair Tax. This is the only proposal that will capture income that at present is either under the table or otherwise off the books.

•Review every federal agency. Those that are not directly related to vital areas should begin the process of dismantling.

•Get a grip on GSEs like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and on Medicaid fraud. These actions would produce remarkable savings as well.

•Respect the sovereignty of each state. Bow out of social issues and anything else the states have the right to decide and administer for themselves.

•Ask church and spiritual leaders from all faiths to tell followers two things before asking for donations/offerings: (1) Stop killing each other and (2) Take personal responsibility for your choices and your actions.

So there are my patriotic tea party suggestions for Congress and the president. I could write a book of suggestions for the court, but I don’t think there’s any point in spending time trying to reel in that branch of government. And if you’re an elected official, I’ll be glad to volunteer to help you get some of these proposals going—be glad to buy you a cup of tea too.

Oh, and one other thing: have IRS audit returns of every member of Congress and the cabinet. We'll have a small windfall for the federal coffers. I guarantee it.

Tea Party patriot volunteers her proposal to help America by Kay B. Day