> A solution to the U.S. debt problem requires radical measures,
> including: the elimination of corporate tax loopholes, a reversal of
> tax breaks for the ultra-rich, a bipartisan campaign to eliminate
> budget "pork," imposition of stringent limits on corporate debt and
> speculative lending, a vast reduction in military expenditure and,
> finally, an additional 50 cent per gallon gasoline tax that would
> slash the federal deficit, curtail energy waste and spur
> technological breakthroughs.
>
> Let us hope America heeds the warnings, dispenses with junk-food
> economics and embraces a crucial diet of fiscal discipline. It
> remains to be seen, however, whether America's political leaders have
> the courage to instigate such reforms, and whether Congress is
> finally willing to do something for the future of ordinary, hard-
> working Americans.
>
> ---
>
> Hamid Varzi is an economist and banker based in Tehran.
>
What of these solutions though? Fiscal Discipline makes me think of Ben Bernanke dressed in leather with a ball gag in one hand and a riding crop in the other. Reverse tax breaks for the "ultra rich"? What's that?