and he is, he would put Len Burman and Michael Graetz on the Commission as well.  A tax and spending reform plan that they would agree on would likely pass if given serious consideration and bring us back from the brink fiscal ruin.

I urge the CRFB to add both of their current tax reform proposals to your Exercise in Hard Choices.  It would be eye opening for all concerned.

Please start with some common sense painless measures:   get rid of the penny, get rid of paper dollars. Tax softdrinks and alcohol--soft drinks are practically free, and I will gladly pay another couple of dollars for a bottle of wine--it is a voluntary tax. I doubt it would make a dent in any industry's  profit. And the one folks will cry about is to slowly increase gasoline taxes (10cents every 6 months?)  until we approach par with Europe. The money pays for foreign wars -- if we want to use petroleum products, we should pay its true cost.  Part of the money invests in  high speed rail  inter city rail--lets get rid of all those wastefull short haul commuter flights in the hub and spoke system. And lets get as much of those behemoth semis off our highways as we can. 

I have noticed over the years that there are a substantial number of persons over the age of 65 that are drawing old-age belefits but do not need them because they have substantial other income. 

The news for decades describes cures for the problems that Social Security faces as coming from one of two sources:  a reduction in benefits or tax increases (or both).  There is, however, a third choice, which is presented below:

The Plan:  Asset Conversion

In this country's infancy there were times when, for example, Georgia gave up claims on territories west in favor of the Federal Government, so that Government could sell the lands to payoff burdensome debt.

The Federal Bureau of Land Management oversees more than 250 Million acres of Federal, non-national-parks land, and over 700 million acres of mineral rights, etc.

I propose a program that would be voluntary for those currently above age 50:  In exchange for any monies owen them through Social Security, the Federal Bureau of Land Management would identify appropriate acreage to be divided into parcels that could be awarded to these recipients.  The value of the acreage, determined by appraisals, would equal 150% of the "present value" of the recipient's lifetime payments, based on actuarial tables.  The additional 50% would provide for:  1.  an incentive to participate.  2:  costs related to selling the land if they chose to do so and manage the funds themselves and  3:  allow for any short-term depreciation involved in considerable sums of acreage possibly hitting the market at once.

For all persons less than age 50, it would involve mandatory participation.  Parcels of land would be identified for them, by lottery, individually by age 55, at which time they can choose to either retain it and have it awarded to them at retirement age, or begin the process of selling it on their bahalf, with the proceeds held in escrow/lockbox till normal retirement age.  The proceeds would then be delivered to them to manage for their retirement as they see fit.

Finally, for those new to the workforce:  I propose having their Social Security payroll taxes go into an individual, lockboxed accont whose funds can be invested in approved mutual funds and securities.  This would allow for maximum gains over the years.  At age 55, the recipient will have a period of 5 years to convert the funds to government-issued securities.  This 5-year period will allow persons to maximize the yeld at conversion should there be any temporary adverse market conditions.  At retirement age, the funds become theirs to convert to annuities or us/mange as they wish.

To summarize, this plan would take the place of funding the requirements of 30+ years of recipients through asset conversion instead of the current funding scheme.

J. Bedford

bamaunderwriter@aol.com

 It seems to me that after 65 years since the end of WW II, it is time to pull our troops out of Europe and Japan.Let them take care of their own military needs! The Cold war is OVER. We bailed Europe out of two world wars. When is it ENOUGH! Our own borders are like a sieve, and our current government don't seem to give a damn. The problem goes back many years as our various federal Agencies were too lazy to do the job they were paid to do. Get rid of the federal reserve system. it is shere lunacy to have the taxpayers shell out interest payments(our tax dollars) to a PRIVATE BANKING GROUP. There is nothing federal about it. Our crooked Congress of 1913 an our so called progressive president, Woodrow Wilson, sold out the American taxpayers to the big PRIVATE  banking interest inNew York City.One of the bankers, a Rothchild stated "he didn't care what laws we passed, just give me control of the money, and to hell with the people". Talk about arrogance,..........

   Pres. J.F. Kenedy saw through it, and signed an Executive order in 1963, doing away with the Fed. Banking system, and I always beleived that is why he was killed! Lyndon Johnson ignored it, and it is still on the booksI I beleive. 

     Also we have a real big monster in FOREIGN AID! Billions go to Egypt, Israel and countless other nations. WHAT RETURN ARE WE GETTING FOR OUR BUCK? Not a hell of a lot. So you people with your commissions, and the gutless wonders in congress,  and this current administration, is working toward the dimantiling of our country, but we are not going to go down easy!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    A senior veteran