Fattah: USA Can Go Debt-Free
Congressman Chaka Fattah has introduced legislation that calls for a penny on every dollar on transactions in the United States economy to be directed to eliminating America’s national debt.
The Debt Free America Act offers a dramatic but simple new approach to paying off the debt now escalating past the $12 trillion mark. The breakthrough legislation proposes a 1% fee to be levied on all payment instruments, including cash transactions, checks, credit cards, those processed through the Federal Reserve Bank, and those collected at the point of sale.
“Interest on the national debt is an extraordinary burden that will crowd out investments on our critical national priorities such as economic development and education,” the Congressman said. “The scope of this challenge requires bold and fresh thinking, but it can be done.”
The US economy registered $750 trillion in transactions in 2008, according to the Federal Reserve. The Debt Free America Act would place the penny-on-the-dollar fee on those transactions, except stock trades. In addition, taxpayers would receive a 1% tax credit for gross income up to $250,000 to offset the impact of the fee on middle class, working and modest-income households.
The Fattah bill not only puts forth a plan to wipe out the national debt, it also goes after the root causes of the debt by establishing the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action to control and limit federal spending. In addition, once the national debt is paid down, the transaction fee opens the door to broad-based tax reform, the Congressman said.
“When enacted, the transaction fee I am proposing will generate sufficient revenue to maintain a fiscally responsible budget and allow the federal government to meet its financial obligations while paying down and ultimately eliminating the oversized national debt,” he said. “The Task Force will, at the same time, change the way we do business in Washington by forcing more responsible fiscal action on our lawmakers and executive branch.”
Fattah, an eight-term legislator from Philadelphia and a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, is an advocate for pay-as-you-go legislation, known as Paygo, which he voted for in the House.
