I've been looking at the new economic study on the Brookings site. Interesting. Of course, this study describes the problem and does not posit a solution. It also does not include the detail needed to estimate the cost of the solution I favor - tax reform with tax rates set to adequately fund the spending that actually exists in each of three areas: domestic defense and non-defense discretionary (paid by a VAT), entitlement spending - including health care reform (paid by expanded Business Income Taxes - which replace Corporate Income, lower rate Personal Income and Payroll taxes) and Net Interest/International - including the wars, foreign aid, IMF bad debt funding, the transition of military retirement to a funded program, repayment of the Social Security Trust fund and possibly either retirement of the debt - including that held by the Federal Reserve (paid for by high personal income and inheritance surtaxes). Each of these spending totals can be aggregated, each tax base constructed and a rate applied that could have the budget in balance in the near term, with debt retirement in the long term (with the term adjusted by the rate specified on personal income surtaxes). Determining what goes where would be an interesting exercise. If the numbers look ugly in one area (like the VAT or the Business Income Tax) it is important to know that and then decide what spending items move (or get cut).