Unlike All Other Candidates, Georgia U.S. Senate Candidate Buckley Proposes Means To Reform and Reasonably Reduce Entitlements

    ATLANTA, GA, August 26, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Unlike all of the other candidates, Allen Buckley, a fiscal conservative independent candidate in the special election race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kelly Loeffler, proposes means of reforming and reasonably reducing entitlements. In 2019, federal entitlements spending made up 61 percent of federal spending. That percentage is expected to grow in future years.

In 2007, when total federal debt was less than $9 trillion, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said: "GAO's current long term simulations continue to show ever larger deficits resulting in a federal debt burden that ultimately spirals out of control." The national debt is now approaching $27 trillion. Annual revenue has never exceeded $3.5 trillion. The budget has not been balanced since 2001. Federal revenue for 2020 will likely be in the $3.2-$3.6 trillion range. The 2020 deficit is estimated to be $3.7 trillion. Both the GAO and the Congressional Budget Office have for years called the nation's financial situation "unsustainable."

Buckley has drafted a bill titled "The Financial Sanity Act." It would gradually transition the normal retirement age for Social Security and the Medicare eligibility age to 70, and then adjust it every decade for changing life expectancy, so that each person would receive benefits over a constant percentage of life expectancy. It would also slightly reduce the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) to match the tax system's COLA. And, it would modify the provisions of the tax system so that tax subsidies for health coverage and costs would be available for only high-deductible health insurance and health savings accounts (HSAs), while changing the high-deductible health plan rules to require the co-insurance percent (paid by the patient) to be at least 25 percent, and permitting no deductible as long as the co-insurance percent is at least 50 percent.

In 2014, along with Jonathan Godbey, PhD, Finance, Buckley co-authored a book titled "Why Work? How the Federal Entitlements and Tax Systems Equalize Income and Wealth." In the book, the authors pointed out how many lower income households have a higher standard of living than many middle income households, due to the entitlements and tax benefits that are not available, or not available to the same degree, to middle income households. On his campaign website, Buckley explains the problem and suggests a means of addressing it, by providing for household income to only increase as earned income increases. Also on his campaign website, Buckley notes the problem that single parents receive more federal subsidies and tax benefits that married parents, thus encouraging single parenthood.

Annually, Buckley publishes a book titled "Legal Handbook for Financial Planning in (year)." Among other things, it covers the federal tax and retirement systems, all major federal entitlements, college aid, and Obamacare. In 2017, he wrote and had published a lengthy article in Tax Notes magazine titled "Eliminating the Income Tax . . . While Balancing the Budget." The article explored all options for a different, simpler, tax system that will produce balanced budgets in non-recession years, and then ultimately recommending a better system. In 2009, he wrote and had published in Daily Tax Report an article regarding Social Security titled "Fixing Social Security: What is Fair and Practical?"

Buckley said: "If the nation's debts spiral out of control, as forecast by the GAO in 2007, no issues will matter. Our nation's greatest problem is our national debt and the unwillingness of the major party candidates to deal with it. I deal with it. I have proposed a tax system that forces balanced budgets in non-recession years by using algebra. The Financial Sanity Act is a reasonable proposal to with the aging of our population on a fair basis. We need to reform other entitlements so that living standards only increase as income increases, while discouraging planned single parenthood. Health coverage should receive subsidization only if it encourages competition and incentive to control costs while not breaking anyone in the process."

Mr. Buckley's "Save Tomorrow" campaign is about living for today and tomorrow, instead of living for today to the detriment of tomorrow. The focus is on doing things to make tomorrow as good as or even better than today, by acting now to address the nation's financial challenges and confronting global warming in a practical way.

Mr. Buckley is an attorney/CPA. He can be reached for comment at (404) 610-1936. Mr. Buckley's campaign website is www.buckleyforsenate.org.

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