Let's Scrap the Seesaw Approach
to Welfare and Taxation

ComingTogether is a plan to remove welfare reform and tax reform from being a political football. It is long overdue. Depending on the latest power grabs, the poor are promised either a Big Mac in every microwave or told to pull themselves up by their Velcro tabs. Politicians can't seem to agree on whether to promote self-reliance or generosity.

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THE SUBPRIME CRISIS
 

A Balance of Security and Opportunity

Some may protest that with our two-party system and the frequent hostility between the White House and Capitol Hill, pursuing twin goals is impossible. So many government programs are unbalanced, sacrificing one good for another. Welfare plans designed to be a “safety net” become more like a spider's web.

Yet, the Constitution itself encourages us. It has protected both our love of independence and our belief in brotherhood for over 230 years!

We believe that, with a balanced, comprehensive approach to welfare reform and tax reform — not a patchwork of conflicting “fixes” — we can promote and protect two genuine American ideals: Security and Opportunity.

But this approach must work like the Constitution does, that is, Welfare Reform must apply to ALL Americans. It must be a system, as well as a foundation, which reflects both of these ideals — for all of us. ALL of us desire Security and Opportunity, for our own families, and for our fellow citizens.

One Nation, Indivisible, Coming Together

Americans are a people of compassion; we hate to see others suffer. We want the poor, disabled and elderly to feel secure about their future. We also value freedom, a practical freedom that allows individuals, families, and businesses to pursue lawful interests without constant government involvement or interference. We want our children to feel that this is a land of opportunity.

COMPASSION
In government?

FREEDOM
From government?

DICHOTOMY
Can we
break
government
gridlock?

THE
PROBLEMS
Disincentives:
Does getting ahead actually leave you behind?

The Proposal

This ComingTogether Plan is that the federal government provide funding for basic living expenses for every American citizen very efficiently through an electronic benefits transfer system, and that the income tax be converted to a flat tax without even standard deductions or personal exemptions.

Think of the single mother, and the frustration she feels when she leaves the welfare rolls and joins the workforce, only to find little improvement in her standard of living. She asks herself, "Why am I working? Why am I leaving my child?" This ComingTogether Plan gives her an answer. Her work, under this plan, will improve her standard of living — because she will receive her paycheck in addition to her benefits, not in place of them.

Or think of the factory worker, a good worker but in a declining industry. He hasn't had a raise in three years. A new factory in an emerging technology industry opens up in his town, and offers to pay him 30% more than he's currently making. But he asks himself, "What about my chronically-ill wife? How can I afford to lose my employer-sponsored health plan?" His move, under this ComingTogether Plan, will not risk his wife's medical care. Under this plan, the health benefits are his, wherever he goes.

Or think of the corporate employee, doing okay but hoping to have a business of his own. He designs an invention which he believes fills a need, and that people will buy. He asks himself, "If I leave my day job, will I still be able to eat?" His entrepreneurship, under this ComingTogether Plan, is encouraged. It will not be so traumatic to give up a regular paycheck, because he will have the basic benefits to fall back on. Becoming self-employed is no longer an impossibility for him. Under this plan, people can dare to dream, to produce, to enhance the productivity of the economy.