The political pundits have made a pronouncement, the country's economy is headed for catastrophe! There are all sorts of indicators of this, but the bottom line is that in order to have a healthy economy, people have to have a source of income. Unfortunately, more and more sources of income are being outsourced to other parts of the world. So the problem posed is how to save the economy, reduce government spending, cut taxes, raise employment and create Utopia! Like most things, the solution is simple and it has been staring us in the face forever. It's called “The Spirit of Christmas”, North American style, practiced year round, or at least until tax time.
There is no denying it, we do need government. But do we need so much of it? It costs an awful lot to look after all these civil servants. And why are there so many? Because of the “socially disadvantage”. And why are the “socially disadvantaged” so “socially disadvantaged”? Primarily because they are economically disadvantaged. They don't have full employment, or owing to outsourcing, any employment at all. Therefore, the government has to take money to create agencies, programs, etc. to make sure that the economically disadvantaged receive various benefits and incentives to make them less socially disadvantaged (or more socially acceptable, at any rate). The trouble is, it doesn't work! And rather than come up with a solution that does work, they create task forces, blue ribbon committees and more agencies to find out why what doesn't work, doesn't work. However, all this costs money, which means more taxes, of which very little seems to get into the hands of the actual economically oppressed, as verified by the fact that there are just as many “disadvantaged” as there ever was. Indeed, their numbers seem to be on the increase, in direct proportion to the latest government benefits package created to effect their decrease.
So how does the “Spirit of Christmas” enter into this? Most retailers will tell you the bulk of their profits come at Christmas time. This is why the Christmas season has been expanded to include the week before Halloween, the entire month of November and the first 25 days of December, as well as the “After Christmas Sales Season”, which encompasses the balance of December and the month of January. In an effort to get everyone into the spirit, the “Christmas Season” has even been renamed “The Holiday Gift Giving Season”. And there you have it, the basis of the solution.
What is required is this: the creation of an economic opportunity that would be equal to or greater than Christmas that would appeal to everyone! Call it “Merchandisemas” or something and celebrate it for as long as it is wished, only it ends on the day taxes are due.
This is how it works. Everything, absolutely everything, that you spend your hard earned money on, food, entertainment, clothing, housing, mortgage, rent, whatever, is 100% tax deductible, so long as the object of the purchase or expenditure is made in the United States of America, using certifiable legal American labor and materials. The only thing that would remain taxable is what an individual actually has left in liquid cash at the end of Merchandisemas. And that would be taxed at an extremely high rate. All other taxes, with the exception of a nominal sales tax, would be abolished.
You can see what a panic of purchasing would ensue. Domestically produced goods and services would be in demand as they never had been before. In order to meet this demand, established factories and services would have to increase their staffs on an unprecedented scale. New businesses would blossom forward and full employment would be achieved, all created by the Private Sector. The benefits of obscene spending and splurging by an economically invigorated populace would plunge into the Capitol's coffers like Niagara Falls and the government would be able to look after things that really needed looking after. Like dealing with those civil servants who, unfortunately, would be unemployed, being skilled at nothing in particular. Perhaps we could help them sneak into Canada.
