When it comes to fixing America's long-term federal budget challenges, a majority of people in Grand Forks favored cutting the country's defense spending by as much as 15 percent and raising the Social Security payroll tax over the next 15 years.
Those are some of the findings released Wednesday by nonpartisan group America Speaks, which held national town hall meetings in 19 cities across the country. The goal for the 20 Grand Forks participants and 3,500 people who took part nationally June 26 was to figure out a plan to reduce America's deficit by $1.2 trillion in 2025.
Even if that goal was reached, the annual budget shortfall would still be $1.26 trillion by 2025. But the group sees it as the start of gathering a national message that could give lawmakers an idea of what residents think should be done to get the budget back on track.
Social Security
Participants spent a June day wading through 42 options to reach the deficit cut goal in 2025, an attempt to prevent an escalating annual deficit based on current policies.
ADVERTISEMENT
They then cast their votes for the options they supported, including big in spending and creating or increasing taxes to take in more revenue.
Changes to Social Security seemed to get the support of large percentages of people in Grand Forks and across the country. The tax-funded program would cost $1.48 trillion in 2025 if nothing is changed, according to America Speaks.
Just under half of those in Grand Forks said the age to receive full Social Security benefits should be raised to 69 by 2028. That would save $37 billion in 2025.
Increasing the program's 12.4 percent payroll tax to 14.4 percent would take in another $210 billion. That option was supported by 44 percent of people in Grand Forks, more than the 30 percent support it got nationally.
About 90 percent of Grand Forks' participants supported raising the limit on taxable earnings so it would cover 90 percent of total earnings in the country. That would cause a $67 billion revenue increase.
Only 6 percent said they supported the idea of creating optional personal savings accounts within the Social Security system, which America Speaks said would increase the deficit by $61 billion. Nationally, that option only got 13 percent of participants' approval.
Spending and taxes
All together, 88 percent of those in Grand Forks and 85 percent nationwide supported reducing overall defense spending by as much as 15 percent. That would save about $132 billion in 2025.
ADVERTISEMENT
Only 13 percent locally and 15 percent nationally said they didn't approve of any cuts in defense spending.
Cutting all other non-defense spending by as much as 15 percent received the support of 94 percent of people in Grand Forks. But 32 percent nationwide said they didn't want to see any cuts in this spending area. This option could save as much as $204 billion in 2025.
Half of those in Grand Forks supported creating a 5 percent value added tax, a new tax on consumption that would be similar to a sales tax and would be paid by businesses on the products they produce.
Only a quarter of participants nationally supported that idea, which could increase tax revenues by $399 billion in 2025.
Creating a carbon tax, a tax on the carbon content of fuels, was supported by 38 percent locally and 54 percent nationally. That tax was estimated to increase revenue by $186 billion in 2025.
About half of those in Grand Forks supported creating an extra 5 percent tax for people who earn more than $1 million per year, raising the capital gains tax rate and upping the top corporate income tax rate to 40 percent.
All together, those three tax increases would raise another $121.6 billion in 2025.
America Speaks is still analyzing more data from the June 26 meetings. The group's founder and president, Carolyn Lukensmeyer, presented the basic findings to the President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform earlier this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
Johnson reports on local politics. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
