What is the biggest challenge facing America today, and how can it be solved?

The biggest problem in America today is our economy.  Overspending, two wars, globalization of the job market, and a tax system that is just plain not working is destroying America.  The many expensive and poorly regulated social programs in America such as, welfare, unemployment, and disability are also no small part of our economy's problem as well.  Even as insurmountable as these problems seem, they can be fixed and corrected with ease if our government were to sit down and think logically instead of pursuing ridiculous partisan ideals.  There is hope though, just like there always is, that one man or woman will take action in our House or Senate and finally make the rest see reason.

Since overspending pretty much covers all our economies woes I will start with the number one item I would cut which leads me into our military.  We are fighting two wars which cost millions of dollars everyday, if not billions.  The first thing I would do if I were in charge would to be to stop the wars immediately and withdraw all troops and funds from both countries.  As a former Marine, I personally know that if the President gave the order to withdraw that every single piece of United States property and our personnel could be withdraw in under thirty days if not sooner.  Though I agree morally and ethically with the reasons we are in those countries and with all of my soul support our troops, I do not believe that America should continue in it's pursuit of nation building or involvement in other countries affairs or be the world police.  If we brought home all of our troops (which includes all government funded contractors), stopped handing money over to untrustworthy and unstable governments, and also removed all of our bases from foreign soil we would save literally hundreds of billions of dollars.  Something as simple as removing Marine Corps Base Okinawa from Japan and moving it to Guam would save billions of dollars a year by itself and keep our money in an American territory.  If the Army bases in Germany were closed down and then rebuilt along the United States-Mexican border we would save billions of dollars not just on payments to Germany but also it would improve security along the border exponentially.

With the planet quickly becoming more and more of a global market each day and jobs being outsourced to countries like China and India, due to lower costs and higher profit for companies, it gets harder for people to find a job in America today.  But this solution at least is a simple one.  The United States of America needs to invest heavily in it's infrastructure.  We need jobs that can stay at home, never be outsourced, and will improve the quality of life for the workers and all of America and investing in infrastructure is the way to do it.  Massive projects involving our deteriorating roads, government buildings, and environment could employ millions of people in the United States while simultaneously improving the country itself. 

I would also include education in the United States' infrastructure.  While some people consider education a social program I would disagree to my dying breath.  In modern society it is absolutely necessary to get an education and should be the number one item the United States government spends it's money on.  Every single job on the planet could be improved upon if the workers were better educated and it does not matter the job is to work on a farm or to become a teacher it is important in all that we do.  To be a teacher should be one of the highest paid salaries on the planet and they should be revered for their importance in America.  In South Korea, not only is it extremely difficult to even get a position as a teacher, teaching is the most respected profession in the country and they are well compensated for it.

I'm sure you are wondering by now "How do you plan to pay for all of this?"  Simply, fix the tax code.  It is simple.  Make the Federal Income Tax a flat tax and make everyone pay 10% of their income, including businesses.  Basically, if you make $10,000 dollars a year you pay $1000 and if you make $1,000,000 a year you pay $100,000.  Simple, clear, fair. Under this plan there would be absolutely no tax write offs or tax returns.  Not only would we save millions of dollars on paperwork alone, but the government could create a solid budget with which they could not only pay off our enormous debt but we would be able to start spending money on programs that matter.  Our government should handle its money like a family.  Parents need to work hard to earn money, invest in their children, and should save in case of emergencies.  It should not hand out money to other countries or let people leech off the system for undefined amounts of time.  I would also like to mention that a person cannot collect from our social welfare programs until they have put into the system. Nor should they be allowed to be on any social welfare system for more than two year cumulative.

In conclusion, America has many problems today.  But they can be solved, logically and without partisanship as I showed you.  Under the simple tax system, America could even fund all the social programs we currently have with absolutely no problem!  Though I recommend a reform for those aswell which I will cover in another post.  And all our leaders ever needed to do was to define the problem, think logically about solutions, reason and debate logically about their solutions, and finally organize their thoughts into a plan and then ACT!  If even I can figure this stuff out surely they can.

Nation Debt $14.7 Trillion as of 14 September 2011 and reported by http://www.usdebtclock.org/

"For decades, we have neglected the foundation of our economy while other countries have invested in state-of-the-art water, energy, and transportation infrastructure, wrote Michael B. Likosky, a senior fellow at New York University's Institute for Public Knowledge, in a July 12 New York Times op-ed.

ABC's "20/20" reports that US Public Schools are failing all around America. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1500338