ROADMAP FOR U.S. FULL EMPLOYMENY, PROSPERITY, & PRIMACY
The primary cause of U.S. structural unemployment, economic stagnation, adverse balance of trade, shrinking revenues, and expanding debt is the export of our high and low tech manufacturing, services, and R&D instead of goods and sophisticated services. This also empowers our global competitors at our expense.
The U.S. must produce what it innovates and consumes. SOLUTION: proactive, cost free, Economic Agenda:
(1) REINDUSTRIALIZATION with its multiplier effect on service and supplier job creation together with relevant skill and apprenticeship training. Require recipients of government research, development grants, and tax or other R&D incentives to produce the created products and their components in the USA for 3 to 5 years. After that period, these goods would likely become generic and could be offshored through patent, copyright, and/or joint venture or other arrangements. This would make room for the next generation of innovation, maintain full employment, and avoid protectionism. Non-compliance would result in the imposition of duties on such goods produced overseas in whole or in part. All research and development would be required to be done in the U.S. Innovative high tech (our strength) creates its own demand and markets in all economic cycles. Sovereign and foreign investment in U.S. high tech must be strictly regulated to protect against industrial theft and to strengthen national security. We must also increase our technical schools and community colleges and renew and expand our infrastructure.
(2) Change our immigration and citizenship regulations to attract and keep the world's leading scientists, engineers, researchers, and skilled workers and grant automatic green cards to qualified foreign graduates of American and overseas universities in select disciplines. This would make the U.S. a magnet for the best and brightest and ensure our innovation leadership. (3) Promote domestic insourcing by incentivizing skill training, and automation for low tech manufacturing and routine services to reduce dependency on the importation of low tech goods and services. This would help achieve a favorable balance of trade, produce jobs for the unskilled, increase revenues, boost demand, and reduce the national debt and inequality; (4) Universal Healthcare, livable Social Security , and public education are human entitlements. They are the responsibility of central governments in all civilized nations and not imposed on the private sector. Obamacare must be restructured and converted into Universal Healthcare (by expanding Medicare and eliminating Medicaid) and livable Social Security made solvent. These entitlement systems including free public college are necessary to be globally competitive. They would be funded and made affordable by an insignificant, hardly felt, dedicated fractional tax (less than 1%) on all stock, bond, and derivative transfers. Any funding shortfalls would be covered by a FICA type levy). (5) TAX REFORM: Enact a new flat tax code (graduated above the poverty levels for individuals (middle class, wealthy, and super rich) and a competitive single flat tax on consolidated business global earnings. No deductions. Business investment in new plant and equipment capitalized. The base tax rates would be set by the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget to cover all government operations and programs with separate surcharges for healthcare, Social Security, and the military. This would: create a taxpayer watchdog effect on the cost containment and operational efficiency of said entitlement programs and military budgets; make our businesses more competitive in the global economy; save our cities, states, public authorities, and education and labor unions from default by relieving them of their unsustainable financial burdens of healthcare and pensions; and stop corporate tax avoidance (inversion, domestic earnings stripping, borrowing to pay dividends. 80 to 90 % of existing overseas corporate cash hordes would be repatriated at capital gains rate. 80 to 90% of future foreign profits would be automatically repatriated and taxed as part of global earnings. (6) FINANCIAL REFORM: Restore Glass Steagall; eliminate carried interest, naked trades, and credit default swaps; and regulate derivatives, shadow banking, and dark financial transactions. Set minimum bank reserves of 12% tier 1 Assets and maximum leverage of 8.5%. (7) Conversion of existing pension fund, traditional IRA, and 401k accounts into Roth IRA accounts and/or a special inflation protected government bond issue on a pro rata basis at capital gains rate. Pension underfunders remain liable. (8) Require reciprocal market access, set labor and environmental standards, and ban currency manipulation (or levy compensating import duties) with all global trade partners. (9) Permit only government campaign financing funded by tax surcharges for qualified candidates. Make voting compulsory. (10) Set low individual usury interest rates. Grant bankruptcy eligibility for student college loans. Detailed proposals are available. Harry L. Langer, NYC E:harrylanger@hllanger
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