Sonoma Index-Tribune - Thompson addresses deficit woes
Thompson, who said he had been touring the district during a week-long Congressional recess, presented a 20-minute budget slideshow in an effort to reduce federal fiscal realities to some easily understood statistics and policy choices.
Noting that the current national debt has risen to $14 trillion and that the 2010 budget deficit is $1.3 trillion, Thompson said in 2000, the federal budget had a $236 billion surplus.
The national debt, he said, rose from $5.8 trillion in 2001 to $11.8 trillion in 2009.
Meanwhile, he pointed out, "today's tax rate is lower than any time since the Great Depression."
Summarizing proposals from the National Commission of Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Thompson said the goal of a balanced budget by 2015 and a $4 trillion reduction in the national debt by 2020 would require, among other things, social security reform (including an increase in the retirement age to 69 by 2075 and an increase in the Social Security payroll tax cap), a $50 billion reduction in discretionary spending by 2015 and comprehensive tax reform that would close $1.1 trillion in existing loopholes.
Thompson agreed that the corporate tax structure is "terribly flawed" with domestic corporations paying a much
higher tax rate than multinationals.
Asked to identify the most divisive issue facing Congress, Thompson reflected on threats to shut down the federal government if some compromise isn't reached on the House GOP adopted continuing resolution to provide continued federal funding. But, Thompson added, as of last week's end he was hopeful at least a temporary agreement could be reached.
Thompson said politics will necessarily play a major role in all policy decisions, noting, "Right now, all bets are on the 2012 election."
And to fix the economy, he concluded, one major step would be to "fix the trade imbalance," adding that, "oil is the biggest reason for that imbalance.