This is when everyone gets angry at me because I am somehow raising taxes for them or someone they know.

 

But government spending needs to be reduced. We make $2 trillion and spend $3.5 trillion.

 

That is simply too much money. China has four or five times the population of the U.S. and spends less than we do.

Shared sacrifice requires all people to give up something so the prosperity of this fine nation can be maintained.

My first idea is to cut every government employee’s salary by 5 percent and those government salaries above $125,000 by 10 percent.

 

All members in Congress, however, would lead by example and take a 40 percent salary cut. The pay for their staffs and budgets would be cut by 20 percent.

However, in years when the government runs a deficit above $500 million, government salaries in the next year will be cut by an additional 10 percent and congressional salaries will be cut by another 40 percent.

This will make government employees think twice before foolishly spending money or attempting to expand government.

However, in years when the United States has a surplus above $100 million, government employee salaries will increase by 30 percent during the next year from the previous year and congressional salaries will expand by 50 percent.

This idea will put government’s interests in alignment with the rest of the country.

My second idea is for any government official who is convicted of accepting any bribe to receive a 10-year prison term. They also should serve the first 9 months of their term in the general prison population.

Idea #2: Any member of Congress convicted of accepting a bribe will get a 20 year minimum prison term and will be forced to serve the first one year in the general prison population — and not some federal prison with tennis courts.

Politicians and government officials should get harsher sentences than some poor scared teenager who steals to feed his family. This will guarantee that government workers will be less apt to sell their power and will think twice about doing anything dishonest.

 

In the old days folks who committed treason were hung and disputes in Congress were fought with duels.

My third idea is for a flat 15 percent “death tax” for all estates above $10 million, even if it is given to charity.

Warren Buffett talks about paying his fair share but skirts the estate tax with the bulk of his wealth. This behavior is incongruent and unfair.

If Mr. Buffett wants to give his $70 billion estate to charity, let the country get $10.5 billion and the charity get $59.5 billion.

 

If your estate is less than $10 million, why should you pay a 55 percent tax if you want to give it to your family, while the richest men like Bill Gates and Mr. Buffett pay nothing?

Under my plan, below $10 million, you would pay nothing. After all, you have been paying taxes all your life on the income.