Forum/gorchov/Cw1st/mark2nd
With the federal budget surplus expected to reach $3 trillion over the next 10 years, debate has intensified over how the windfall should be spent. The Republicans want to cut taxes and the Democrats want to boost Social Security and Medicare funds. So the Business Journal asks:
How do you think the federal government should spend the surplus?
Dick Askin
President & Chief Executive
Tribune Entertainment Co.
It’s such a lot of money that there isn’t one specific answer. First, on a national level, part of it should be spent to pay down the national indebtedness, and also a certain portion allotted to sustain the longevity of Social Security. Off the bat, those are two musts. A little more broadly, I would like to see more funds funneled to upgrade social programs which were cut back during the Reagan era, such as programs to help the indigent and health insurance.
Chris Funk [pic was scanned for 7/26forum]
Partner
McClintock, Weston, Benshoof,
Rochefort, Rubalcava & MacCuish LLP
First of all, the surplus should not be spent, in the sense that special programs or a tax cut is like spending the money. We should use it for real bread and butter things like Social Security and Medicare. We should also recognize that we have a tremendous national debt, and our first priority should be paying down that debt because it affects interest rates and a variety of other things. As Clinton has said, we should look at long-term goals for Medicare and Social Security because we’re not going to have boom years every year. We have to recognize we’ll probably be in another recession in a few years.
Yosef P. Rosen
Chief Executive
L3i Learning Systems
Tax cuts. Let each individual decide how to spend their money. It’s their money anyway. Tax cuts is the way to do that.
Don Miller
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
PropertyFirst.com Inc.
I believe the budget surplus should be applied to three things in equal proportion: First, to reduce the federal debt. Second, an across-the-board decrease in tax rates for both individuals and corporations. And third, to add to the financial integrity of the Social Security system. What it should not be applied to is additional government spending programs, such as road improvements or infrastructure improvements, or disaster recovery programs. Those should remain at the present levels.
Stephen Meadows
Owner
Studio Gallery
It should really go to public education and stricter gun control. I had a great public school education back east in Atlanta. Now our system is severely lacking in producing graduates who have a comparable education to what we had when I was younger. I used to teach at a community college in the San Francisco area, and I would get a lot of (public school) students whose math skills were equivalent to a fifth grader. We’ve got to do something. These days, you look at what happened at the Columbine School and it makes me very worried I have three young kids they all go to private school.
Bill Hanck [pic5-31nm]
Associate Publisher/West
PC World Magazine
My rule of thumb is, you should be conservative. First, we should confirm that we actually have a budget surplus. With what’s been happening in the stock market, (the surplus) could very well dry up. Any spending programs would then go unfunded and cause taxes to go up. To be safe rather than sorry, the surplus should be used to pay down the debt. Twenty cents gets spent on every dollar of taxes, paying the interest on the debt.
Mendes Napoli
President
Napoli Management
It should be spent with great caution. I don’t think it should all be spent, some tax cuts are in order, but we should be careful and study our history. Let’s not forget the Reagan era. We had a deficit that wouldn’t quit. As a former television news person, I remember covering that story all the time and the answer was always, “We don’t know how we will get out of this.”
