COMMON SENSE TAX REFORM – We have the money. Pay off the debt.

 

This year our national debt will reach $40 trillion. Half of that—$20 trillion—is accumulated interest. Annual interest payments now exceed $1 trillion, more than every federal budget category except Social Security. Without tax reform, the debt will climb past $100 trillion, and annual interest could reach $5 trillion by 2050—roughly equal to all federal tax revenue today. Debt and compounding interest are the greatest financial threat facing the country.

Restoring a balanced budget is a national responsibility, not a partisan one. The debt is unsustainable, and it is immoral to pass this burden to future generations.

Congress is obligated to repair the tax system. Members answer to three forces: the Constitution, their states, and major campaign donors. Donors often have the most focused agendas and the greatest influence. That is why this appeal is directed to them. The case for reform is clear, the math is undeniable, and delay only increases the cost. A market downturn would magnify the damage and leave us with fewer options.

The Problem

We spend more than we collect, running annual deficits of $1 trillion while paying another $1 trillion in interest. That interest produces nothing—it is wasted money.

How We Got Here

For decades, tax policy has disproportionately benefited the wealthy while ignoring the balance between revenue and spending. How can the wealthiest nation in history fail to manage its finances, healthcare system, minimum wage, or the solvency of Social Security?

Tax changes over the last 50 years:

• Top income tax rates fell from 91% to 37%.

• Billionaires pay an average effective rate of about 8% .and 3.4% for the 25 wealthest people.

• Estate tax exclusions rose from $60,000 to $15 million.

• Corporate loopholes cut effective rates to 8.9%.

• Retirement tax deferrals and exemptions shelter trillions from taxation.

• Section 1031 allows investors to defer taxes on one‑third of residential properties.

• Tax breaks in 2024 alone cost $1.9 trillion in revenue.

• IRS underfunding potentially allowing $750 billion in fraudulent or erroneous filings to escape audit.

• No increase in the minimum wage has shifted costs to social programs.

• No increase in FICA since 1990, leaving Social Security and Medicare nearing insolvency.

 

The results are visible in wealth concentration: 

• Without tax cuts, ultra‑wealthy households would have gained about $300 million over 50 years.

• With tax cuts, their gains exceeded $2 billion.

• There were 2 billionaires worldwide in the 1960s; today there are over 1,100 in the U.S. alone.

• CEO pay rose from 20× worker pay in the 1960s to 300× today.

Net Result of Tax Cuts: 

• Revenue losses total $30–40 trillion.

• Interest on the resulting debt adds another $20 trillion.

• Without these tax cuts, the nation would have an $11–21 trillion surplus.

Sources: Congressional Research Service, Tax Policy Center, Pew Research, IRS historical tables.

Meanwhile, wages stagnated. The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act was designed to guarantee a basic living wage. Since 1968, inflation has risen 600%, but the minimum wage has risen only 50%—and not at all in the last 15 years. Full‑time minimum‑wage workers now earn below poverty levels, forcing taxpayers to subsidize housing, food, and healthcare. Since the 1960s, subsidized housing grew from 2 million to 7 million people, food programs from 3 million to 42 million, and Medicaid/CHIP from 4 million to 80 million. These programs cost $1.3 trillion annually. Raising the minimum wage to $15 with automatic COLA adjustments would lift millions out of poverty and reduce reliance on public assistance.

Why Debt Matters

Debt is rising by more than $2 trillion this year and accelerating. The U.S. government and U.S. corporations now consume 40% of the global bond market. Other nations face similar debt pressures, creating a dangerous imbalance. Without increased revenue:

• Interest rates may rise, worsening the problem

• Markets may collapse, leaving no fiscal room to respond

• Defense funding will be harder to sustain

• The U.S. dollar and global leadership could be at risk

Lose control of our finances, and we lose control of our future.

In the 1980s, debt was 40% of GDP. Today it exceeds 100%. Many countries view debt above 60% of GDP as a warning sign.

The global reality is that raising taxes risks capital flight. This has triggered a race to the bottom, with nations cutting taxes to retain wealthy individuals and corporations. As a result, revenues have fallen below what is required to run modern governments. Nations must work together to prevent tax competition from undermining fiscal stability. No country benefits if others go broke.

Fixing the Problem

THE THREE‑GOAL SOLUTION

• Eliminate the deficit in Year One

• Pay off the national debt within 10 years

• Create a surplus and invest in the future

TAX REFORM PLAN: “We Have the Money. Pay Off the Debt.”

U.S. households hold roughly $150 trillion in liquid money (M2) and total wealth (stocks, bonds, real estate, and alternative assets). This plan restructures the tax system to restore fairness, eliminate loopholes, and generate the revenue needed to stabilize the nation’s finances.

1. Tax Fairness and Wealth Contributions

Apply new tax brackets (see item 10).

Eliminate exclusions, deductions, deferrals, depreciation schemes, credits, loopholes, tax‑free life insurance, trust exemptions, and step‑up basis.

Income Tax

Tax all forms of income and wealth gains—including all capital gains—using the new individual brackets.

Based on 2024’s $23T in taxable income and a 30% average rate:

Revenue: $6.9T

Estate Tax

Tax all estate wealth using the new brackets, with the highest rates applied to extreme concentrations of wealth to reduce generational inequality and political influence.

Over $100T will transfer through estates in the next 20 years.

Divide by 20 and apply a 35% average rate:

Revenue: $1.75T

Corporate Tax

Apply the new corporate brackets (item 10).

Using 2024’s $4.2T in corporate taxable income and a 45% average rate:

Revenue: $1.9T

 

2. End All Tax‑Free/Deferred Retirement Programs

Allow a 10‑year payoff period for existing tax‑free or tax‑deferred balances. These trillions in untaxed assets increase the debt and interest burden every year. Retirement incentives fail when people lack income to save; this is addressed through strengthened Social Security (item 3).

Over $40T in retirement accounts, divided over 10 years at a 30% average rate:

Revenue: $1.2T

 

3. Social Security and Medicare 

Eliminate payroll taxes on employers and employees. The worker‑to‑retiree ratio makes the current system unsustainable. Fund Social Security and Medicare from general revenue.

Guarantee retirees at least $30,000 per year plus COLA, with supplemental payments funded by ending tax‑free/deferred retirement programs.

 

4. Increase the Minimum Wage to $15 with COLA. 

    This change will reduce the cost of $1.3T social programs.

    Savings: TBD 

 

5.  Tax Audits: Increase staffing and modernization and perform 100% audit/reviews 

     Estimated fraud of 10/15% on $5T tax revenue

     Potential revenue increase of $500/750B 

 

6. End Fossil Fuel Subsidies 

     Cost and Savings: TBD

     

7. End section 1031, permit a ten-year payoff for existing properties. It is

    currently shielding hundreds of billions from taxes. Investors have been buying 

    1/3 of all residential properties with tax benefits paid by taxpayers. Home buyers

    are, in turn, dealing with bidding wars, escalated prices, and higher rents. Higher 

    rents add more people to the Section 8 rental voucher program, which is paid by

    the taxpayers. 

    Saving & Revenue: TBD

 

8. “Sin Taxes”

      There is an estimate of 1.1 million deaths and $3 trillion in health care costs

      because of sugary products, smoking, alcohol, guns, and fossil fuels. Add or

      increase tax on sales.

      Revenue: TBD

      Saving by reducing medical cost: TBD 

 

9. End-of-Life Directive: Required by everyone 65 or on Social Security

      Currently $1.25T is spent in the final year of life

      Revenue: TBD, reduction of the final year medical cost

 

10. Income Fair Tax Brackets

Income Range       Rate (Top rate was 91% in the 1950s & 60s)

$0–$75,000             0%

$75k–$150k          10%

$150k–$30k          20%

$300k–$450k        30%

$450k–$1M           45%

$1M+                    70%

Corporate Tax:

Profit Range Rate (Top rate was 52.8% in the 1960s)

Under $1M           20%

$1M-$10M           30%

$10M-25M           40%

$25M plus            50%

Estate Tax: 

Estate Value       Rate (Top rate was 77% from 1941 to 1976)

$0–$1M               25%

$1M to 10M        50%

$10M to 100M    70%

$100M to 1B       80%

$1B plus              90%

 

 Impose a 90% total wealth country exit tax and create a Global Agreement against 

 tax piracy 

•   Discourages tax flight.

•   Establish international standards for fair taxation to prevent race to the tax bottom. 

Eliminate Inheritance Tax

 

TOTAL IMPACT

 

We need ≈ $13T annually:  

- $7T for operations  

- $1T for interest  

- $1T+ for investment  

- $4T debt repayment  

 

This plan raises approximately $13T per year.

 

 WHAT THIS ENABLES

✅ Eliminate the deficit in year One  

✅ Pay off the debt within 10 years  

✅ Invest in America’s future:  

- Medical research (curing Alzheimer’s = $1T savings)  

- Infrastructure ($1T backlog)  

- Education & innovation 

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 JOIN THE MOVEMENT: “We Have the Money. Pay Off the Debt.”  

Careful reform can get us back to where we need to be. Let’s have the courage to move forward with these changes. We can restore fiscal sanity, fairness, and hope. 

Contact your representatives. Share this plan. Support the movement.