Roosevelt Campus Millennial Budget

8/10/2019 Roosevelt Campus Millennial Budget

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The Roosevel Insiue Campus Nework employed is unique model o suden engagemen o produce his Budge or he

Millennial America. Over he course o a year, we engaged more han 1,000 young people in person and 2,000 online in ourThink 2040 program, which asked college-aged Millennials, Wha do you wan he world o look like in 2040? Their values andhighes-ranked prioriies or Americas uure are refleced in our Blueprin or he Millennial America. In order o prove ha

his vision is achievable, and o address Millennials deep concerns or Americas fiscal uure, we designed a plan ogeher ound he uure hey wan o inheri our Budge or he Millennial America.

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Expa nd domestic investmentdramaically hrough iniiaives like universal Pre-K, an ambiious inrasrucure re-pair program, and increases in saey ne, educaion, and ransporaion programs.

Provide bold short-term stimulus funding. The economy has ye o recover, and i is a moral imperaive o geAmerica back on is ee as soon as possible.Maintain full Social Security benets. In ac, we make hem sronger hrough adjusmens in he payroll ax and

he reinsaemen o he suden survivor benefi.Save money on government health care costs by insiuing a public opion rigger, repealing he monopoly ex-

empions, and replacing he employer-provided healh insurance ax exclusion wih a ax credi ha dramaicallyexpands access o qualiy, affordable care.

End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by 2015, saving he U.S. $3.8 rillion.Institute a major tax reform, cuting corporae ax raes across he board, while eliminaing mos ax loopholes. Thelowes bracke or income axes is se a 9.5% and now applies or all households making below $79,000/year. We

also insiue a Financial Transacions Tax and a Carbon Tax as addiional revenue.

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Debt as % of GDP

Government Health Care Costs as % of GDP

Tax Revenue as % of GDP

Defense Costs as % of GDP

91.5% 63.6%

9.8% 7.3%

23.3% 22.9%

3.3% 2.9%

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R I C N | T

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Imple men bold shor-erm simulusEnd oo big o ail hrough a Sysemic Risk TaxReduce all corporae raes (raher han jus he op one)

by 3%Reormulae income ax o reflec rising inequaliy

Fund research and hen implemen 21s cenury worker

reraining programImplemen auomaic simulus during recessionsLaunch cyber securiy pushPosiion alernaive energy as a key deense prioriy


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The Roosevel Insiue Campus Neworks Budge or a Mil-

lennial America is a rigorous plan ha makes he essenialinvesmens in educaion, healh care, inrasrucure and

green energy needed o ensure a robus 21s cenury econ-omy, while reducing he ederal deb o a susainable level.

The plan reflecs he views o a cross-secion o some hree

housand Millennials. I was creaed democraically hroughhe Campus Neworks unique model o suden engagemen

wih members and nonmembers alike. The budge addresseshe roo causes, no jus he sympoms, o he ederal deb

by ending Too Big o Fail and addressing rising healh carecoss. I srenghens he social saey ne by making i more

responsive o crisis and recession hrough auomaic simulusand sronger worker reraining programs. The Budge or Mil-lennial America is he only ciizen-produced defici reducion

plan by young, old or middle-aged being given serious con-

sideraion in he public debae.

Millennials believe ha America has come o a crossroads.

The role o governmen and public spending is now holy con-esed, and our generaion is aced wih hard fiscal choices.Bu hese challenges are no inexorable. Young people across

he counry recognize ha hose in power have made choicesover he las 15 years ha led us down he pah o fiscal ur-moil and we are ready o pull ourselves ou no by making

haphazard cus and sacrificing invesmen, bu hrough a planrooed in realizing our vision or America in a fiscally respon-

sible way. Any soluion o our fiscal rouble mus no only re-solve he gap beween spending and revenue, bu also ad-

dress he underlying causes.

Millennials recognize ha much o he long-erm budge gapsems rom excess cos growh in he healh care indusry.We resis calls o simply push he cos rom governmen bal-

ance shees direcly ono he backs o American households.Raher, he Budge or he Millennial America makes a serious

effor o bring healh coss under conrol. And we are ready oinsiue a public healh insurance opion ha can hold coss

down hrough compeiion wih he privae marke i healhcare inflaion coninues o spiral ou o conrol.

When Millennials survey our counrys economic and poliical

landscape in 2011, hey can see ha he roo causes o hefinancial crash have no been addressed. They recognize ha

he housing bubble ha wiped ou he savings o millions ohard-working Americans was made much worse by irrespon-

sible pracices in he financial secor, especially rom banks

ha are oo big o ail. Any susainable soluion o Americasfiscal challenges mus include decisive acion o bring abou

a sable, efficien financial sysem. The Budge or he Millen-nial America moves aggressively o reduce he sysemic risk

in he financial secor by proposing a Too Big o Fail Tax onsysemically risky insiuions.

Finally, as young Americans coninue o sruggle because ohe Grea Recession, Millennials are commited o building a

saey ne ha will be resilien when he nex economic sormhis. Tha means srenghening Social Securiy. I means pro-

viding saes wih he ools hey need o provide essenialservices o ciizens. I means ha we don walk away rom

displaced workers, bu raher build a sysem o ge hem backon heir ee. The Budge or he Millennial America acuallyincreases domesic discreionary spending, because we be-

lieve ha invesmens in our people, inrasrucure, and econ-omy are he only viable roue o a prosperous sociey ha

provides or all Americans.

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Young Americans will inheri he consequences o whaeveracion we ake o address Americas long-erm budge chal-

lenges. Many public figures have ried o speak or us, claimingo represen heir grandchildren. Bu unil now, Millennials

have no been asked o provide heir vision o bring Americaback o fiscal susainabiliy and build a prosperous uure.The Budge or he Millennial America represens ha Mil-

lennial voice. The Roosevel Insiue Campus Nework askedhousands o young people across he counry o ideniy our

prioriies or Americas uure, coalesce around he mos im-poran oucomes, and make he ough choices necessary o

finance hem. Using he Blueprin as a saring poin, we seup our working groups o discuss differen aspecs o he

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ederal budge: Taxes and heEconomy, Healh Care and

he Social Saey Ne, Domes-ic Invesmen, and Deense.

Each group me a leas hreeimes and moved rom a very

broad se o opions o he fi-nal policy choices showcasedin he Budge or he Millen-

nial America.


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Over he pas 30 years, he American economy has becomemore dynamic, more service-oriened, and more unpredic-

able. Ye he insiuions ha compose our social saey nehave remained largely unchanged. Millennials wan o builda saey ne fi or he 21s cenury. The saey ne should

provide basic insurance or everyday Americans agains heexigencies o our dynamic economy. In order o do so, i mus

grow sronger during difficul imes, providing even more ro-bus benefis, raher han shriveling up when sae budges

ace challenges. Furhermore, i should help Americans re-bound when heir careers are sideracked by indusrial shifsha are ou o heir conrol.

To accomplish hese essenial goals, Roosevel proposes wo

key addiions o he saey ne: an auomaic simulus planha ensures saes coninue o provide needed social ser-

vices, even when ax revenues dry up during recessions, anda new kind o worker reraining program designed specifically

or he 21s cenury economy. The recen recession proved

ha saes do no have he ools o figh recessions effecive-ly. Combining an auo-simulus plan wih a Sae Budge Bank

ha can provide lending o fill budge holes during economicdownurns will give saes he firepower hey need o con-

inue o suppor healh insurance or he elderly, needy, andyoung and o keep educaion srong during ough imes. Wih-

ou his change, we can expec o once again see Americansociey begin o unravel a he seams during recessions.

Thus ar, worker reraining programs in America have ailed olive up o he promise o preparing all Americans or parici-

paion in a 21s cenury economy. Bu ha does no mean wecanno design a successul program i we pu our minds o i.

Reraining has been shown o be successul around he worldin bringing displaced workers back up o speed. I i can bedone elsewhere, i can be done here in America. We propose

unding five years o research or designing a successul pro-gram beore implemenaion. Furhermore, we see social im-

pac bonds, which draw on he capaciy o he privae secoro provide needed public goods, as an excellen resource in

solving he puzzle o geting displaced workers back on heiree and ino he job marke.

Finally, Roosevel ensures ha Social Securiy will coninue oprovide he oundaion o reiremen securiy and insurance

agains deah and disabiliy or uure generaions o Ameri-

cans. Wih adjusmens in he payroll ax, resoring i o 1990levels, we address he fiscal challenges in he program. Fur-hermore, we reinsae he suden survivor benefi in ordero make sure he children o disabled and diseased parens

coninue o receive Social Securiy benefis while pursuinghigher educaion.

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Unil Congress ended he program in 1981, children o SocialSecuriy beneficiaries coninued o receive heir parens or

grandparens benefis rom age 18 o 22, as long as hey re-mained in college or vocaional school.1 Millennials srong be-

lie in he imporance o upward mobiliy and a skilled work-orce promped hem o propose reinsaing hese benefis.Indeed, wih a more globalized and compeiive inernaional

sysem, discouraging any poenial sudens rom eneringhigher educaion would hur no only Millennials career pros-

pecs, bu he role o he Unied Saes as world leader o heinormaion economy.

We propose ha young people beween he ages o 18 and22 should coninue o receive Social Securiy benefis i heir

parens are disabled or deceased. These benefis provide amuch-needed and relaively inexpensive means o increasing

he Unied Saes college graduaion rae and ensuring beterupward mobiliy or young people. I will creae a ruly level

playing field or economic success.

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Nearly all expers agree ha during imes o economic reces-sion, robus and imely fiscal simulus is needed o minimize

damage o he economy and reduce he severiy o reces-sions.2 Unorunaely, he naure o Congress ends o hinder

he swif applicaion o fiscal policy. In order o make couner-cyclical simulus more effecive, we propose an auomaed

mechanism ied o naional economic riggers ha would min-imize he impac o poliical gridlock and unnecessary unding

delays. Simulus unds would be riggered afer an observed1% increase in he naional unemploymen rae. Once rig-gered, he oal unding would be auomaically auhorized or

$7.5 billion per poin o naional unemploymen. These undswould be allocaed o saes based on populaion.

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In order o help insure ha a srong and flexible saey ne

coninues o be available o Americans when i is mos need-ed, we propose creaing a Sae Budge Bank ha allows sae

governmens o borrow rom he Federal governmen, wihineres, when naional economic riggers indicae maximum

need. We have modeled ou ederal oulays and expeced

repaymen schedule based on he amoun o relie alreadyprovided in ARRA, he aggregae sae defici projecions

over he nex 4 years, and hisorical sae fiscal behavior inprevious recessions.3 We esimae ha demand or lending

would be $198 billion over he nex wo fiscal years and haveallocaed ha sum, less $6 billion in unding remaining in he

pipeline rom ARRA. Given ha his bank will largely ake heplace o sae-wide rainy day unds, we expec ha oulayscan be repaid in ull by FY 2019.

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M F F L T

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TANF

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In imes o economic downurn and high unemploymen,

Americas vulnerable ciizens ofen find hemselves in diresraighs. Unorunaely, sae budges are consriced by he

very same orces ha increase demand or social saey neprograms. The TANF Emergency Fund, however, is one o he

mos effecive ools o alleviae recession induced jobless-

ness and proec needy amilies rom he ravages o economicsagnaion.

In he wake o he Grea Recession, he Emergency Fund

helped small businesses hire and reain workers, rehire laidoff employees, and scale-up new sar-ups. These highly flex-

ible and locally adminisered programs allowed over 240,000amilies in 37 saes o mainain gainul employmen, eed heirchildren, and say in heir homes.4 Tha is why we propose o

refill he Emergency und wih $4 billion beween FY2012 andFY2013 as well as prepare or uure recessions by appropri-

aing anoher $4 billion every en years.


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The CBO projecs he cos o ensuring decen care or he el-

derly and disabled o grow o unsusainable levels during heprime o he Millennial Generaion. Millennials believe ha

his issue demands decisive acion while upholding he corecommimen o ensuring qualiy healh care or hose ha can

leas afford o buy i on a privae marke.

Recognizing he enormous effor ha wen ino passing

he Paien Proecion and Affordable Care Ac (PPACA),Roosevel proposes o srenghen he marke reorms begun

in he PPACA and give he new sysem en years o bring gov-ernmen healh care expendiures under conrol. As such, we

recommend immediae implemenaion o several key markereorms such as repealing he monopoly exempion or healhinsurance companies, allowing saes o pool heir insurance

markes, unding comparaive effeciveness research, increas

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ing price ransparency o healh services, and replacing he

employer-provided healh insurance ax exclusion wih a gen-erous ax credi.

I hese sysemic reorms ail o bring non-Medicare govern-

men healh insurance expendiures under conrol by 2022,

Roosevel creaes a robus, naional public healh insuranceplan o compee wih he privae marke. This healh plan

would have all he negoiaing and cos-conrolling powers oMedicare, would be lised on all healh insurance exchanges,

and would be eligible or exchange subsidies hrough hePPACA.


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Ulimaely, Roosevel brings saniy o Americas healh insur-

ance marke hrough a uniquely American soluion. We bringhe ull orce o public and privae innovaion o bear on re-

ducing healh coss while mainaining consumer choice indocors and hospials. Furhermore, hrough he creaion o

a generous ax credi o help amilies buy healh insurance,Roosevel brings he opporuniy o buy high-qualiy insur-ance o low-income, par-ime workers or he firs ime in

American hisory.

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A S P I M

The healh care marke is no so much overregulaed as un-

evenly regulaed. This has resuled in perverse incenivesand a ailure o connec pay wih perormance. As various

non-parisan observers have noed, here is litle correlaionbeween high spending on medical services and healh ou-

comes.5 Millennials believe ha regulaions can guard againshe poenial abuses o profi-driven healh care, bu ha our

curren sysems ails o effecively deend paiens righs andpockebooks. We hereore propose hree simple, commonsense proposals ha improve upon he curren sysem wih-

ou compromising paien proecion or creaing an undueburden on saes, healh care providers, or insurance compa-

nies.

Firs, we propose he repeal o he monopoly exempion orhealh insurance companies. These companies operae un-der a hisorical aberraion, in which hey are proeced rom

he ree marke hrough an excepion ha has no relaion ohealh insurers modern role. When his exempion was origi-

nally negoiaed, in 1945, insurance was primarily a non-profiaffair. I healh insurance is o remain a or-profi indusry, is

consumers deserve he ree marke compeiion ha comes

wih he erriory.

Second, we propose allowing saes o negoiae he sale oinsurance across sae lines. The lef has argued ha selling in-

surance across sae lines would resul in a regulaory race ohe botom, and he righ has complained ha insurers need

economies o scale o sufficienly pool risk and lower premi-ums. We incorporae boh concerns by giving auhoriy o hesaes o creae common markes or heir healh insurance

hrough sae parnerships. I hey so choose, hey could alsopool he new healh insurance exchanges and heir Medicaid

sysems, hough hey would no be required o do so. Thisproposal, modeled on various iniiaives or capping green-

house gases (paricularly he Regional Greenhouse Gas Iniia-ive and he Wesern Climae Iniiaive), would allow saeso reain ull sovereigny over heir regulaory sysem while

graning small saes he abiliy o creae economies o scalehrough regional cooperaion.

Finally, we will require all docors, nursing aciliies, phar-

maceuical companies, and hospials o pos prices or heirprocedures boh in a cenral locaion in heir offices and ona governmen-run websie. Too ofen, paiens agree o pro-

cedures or accep prescripions ha hey are old are nec-essary, wih litle undersanding o he resulan coss. This

websie will allow paiens and docors o direcly compare

prices and paien reviews across all healh care providers ina given region. For he firs ime, a single locaion will poin ouwha he CBO and various non-parisan expers have known

or years: ha per-paien cos is almos compleely unrelaedo qualiy o care.

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The cos o Medicare in he Unied Saes rises a differenraes or differen regions. For example, while San Francisco

saw a per capia rise in expendiures o 2.4% over he pas20 years, he naional average was 3.5%.6 San Francisco resi-

dens pay he same ederal axes as he res o he counry, so

oher regions are effecively ree riding off o heir efficiency.Moreover, Medicare beneficiaries in oher regions see no ap-preciable difference in qualiy o care, despie he cos differ-ence.7 This shows ha our curren Medicare sysem can be

improved. We propose a package o reorms ha will incenefficiency and resuls, hereby significanly reducing coss.

Overall, his plan will save $7.3 Trillion in Medicare coss rom2012-2035.

Part 1: Bundled PaymentsMuch o he curren overconsumpion in he healh care in-

dusry is due o a lack o coordinaion beween care providers.

Source: Congressional Budge Office based on daa rom he Ceners orMedicare and Medicaid Services and rom he Deparmen o Healh and Hu-man Services, Agency or Healhcare Research and Qualiy, Naional Healh-care Qualiy Repor, 2005 (December 2005), Daa Tables Appendix, availablea www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr05/index.hml.

Noes: The composie measure o he qualiy o care, based on Medicarebeneficiaries in he ee-or-service program who were hospialized in 2004,conveys he percenage who received recommended care or myocardialinarcion, hear ailure, or pneumonia. Spending figures convey averageamouns by sae.


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Tha is why our firs reorm proposal is o bundle paymens

or mos ypes o medical care. This plan, which allocaesunding or he comprehensive cos o procedures over hecourse o reamen or an ailmen, has reduced coss in he

pas while obaining he same or beter resuls, and i hashe suppor o he nonparisan Medicare Paymen Advisory

Board as a mehod o reducing inefficiency.8,9

Currenly, he Medicare paymen sysem encourages doc-ors, nurses, and hospials o maximize he ess done beore

a procedure, he equipmen used during he procedure, andhe days paiens spend in he hospial, because each healhprovider is paid individually. I we move o a sysem ha pays

hospials a lump sum or he ull cos o hese procedures,

each hospial will have an incenive o coordinae wih oherproviders and minimize he care hey provide while sill ensur-

ing effecive resuls. This has he poenial no only o reducecurren cos growh, bu also o deflae high coss incurredover he pas weny years by encouraging docors and hos-

pials o slash he unnecessary procedures ha have becomerouine. We expec he Medicare bundled paymens reorm

o save a leas $360 Billion by 2035.

Part 2: Regional Cost CompetitionIn order o promoe he bes pracices o efficien Medicareprovision, demonsraed by cerain regions, Roosevel recom-

mends a new model or ee updaes, based on regional cosgrowh. Raher han heavy-handed governmen inervenion

wih healh care providers, we merely propose ha he ed-eral governmen updae ees in order o reflec regional e-

ficiencies in care. Conrolling or healh oucomes as well ashe cos o living, we inend o updae ees according o per

capia spending growh or Medicare. The Cener or Medi-care and Medicaid Services will be insruced o divide he

naion ino regional healh care markes, and will measureper capia spending on Medicare each year. Regions whose

spending increases he mos will have heir paymens or in-

dividual procedures reduced, in order o reflec a more evendisribuion o per beneficiary benefis. Wha people pay in

will finally reflec wha hey ge ou o he sysem. Regionswill be arranged by percenile o cos growh, and ees will be

updaed according o he ollowing schedule:

90th-99th percentile: update payments by GDP-4%

60th-89th percentile: update payments by GDP

40th-59th percentile: update payments by GDP+1%

10th-39th percentile: update payments by GDP+2%

1st-9th percentile: update payments by GDP+4%

Regions will, raionally, compee wih each oher o reduceheir per capia coss o ensure ha heir ees are maximallyupdaed, hrough policy changes ha promoe efficiency and

qualiy. Measuring he progress o differen regions owardefficien Medicare provision will promoe policy innovaion,and ulimaely produce sysem-wide savings. Rewarding effi-

ciency in paymen updaes will resul in $5.8 Trillion in savingsby 2035.10

Part 3: Comparative Effectiveness Research

The healh care indusry has made remarkable breakhroughsin equipmen, drug reamen, and medical procedures over

Source: See endnoe 11


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he pas hiry years. This has led o grea srides orward inour undersanding o healh care, bu i also creaes a dangero overconsumpion o unnecessary procedures. Technologi-

cal innovaions are only valuable o he exen ha hey im-prove paiens healh; a more expensive drug ha keeps a

paien sick longer is no an innovaion ha Millennials wano pay or.

Thereore, we believe he ederal governmen should undsubsanive research ino he effeciveness o various rea-

mens o individual ailmens, and auomaically inegrae hefindings o hose sudies ino paymen policies or Medicare.

CBO scoring does no allow us o book savings or compara-ive effeciveness research, because he oucome o he re-

search is unknown. We expec savings o be significan, bu dono include his savings in our long-erm projecions.

Part 4: Require Medicare to directly negotiate for price withdrug manufacturers.

Currenly, Medicare operaes a an insiuionalized disadvan-age when negoiaing wih drug manuacurers. Despie hold-

ing one o he sronges posiions in he marke or pharma-ceuicals, policy-makers have neuered Medicares abiliy oconrol coss by delegaing he negoiaion o Medicare drug

rebaes o privae insurers, resuling in as much as a 15% priceincrease or all axpayers on Medicare.12 Millennials believe

ha governmen should seek he lowes coss or is consiu-ens, and direc negoiaion o drug rebaes is one means by

which o do ha. This opion would replace he inermediar-ies wih he sysem ha has proven successul under Medic-aid, in which he Cener or Medicare & Medicaid Services

(CMS) ses prices and drug rebaes in direc negoiaion wihpharmaceuical companies.

Part 5: Limit awards for medical malpractice torts.The causes o medical cos inflaion are varied, and Millenni-als do no believe ha a single reorm will be he silver bulle

or he problems o he medical sysem. Neverheless, orreorm will gran considerably more budgeary cerainy ordocors and conrol some cos growh among medical pro-

essionals. Recen research suggess ha reorming he wayAmericans seek redress or medical malpracice will deliver

savings. The Congressional Budge Office (CBO) projecs hahis reorm will save $263 Billion by 2035.13

O H R

Public Funding for Medical Student EducationMillennials are inheriing a medical sysem ha no only is ac-

ing runaway coss, bu also achieves sub-opimal oucomesand leaves vas swahs o he populaion wihou adequae

care. Reorming he way ha we rain physicians is a crucialsep in working oward improving naional healhcare ou-comes, expanding access, and reducing sysem-wide coss.

Unorunaely, massive deb burdens currenly limi he num-ber o docors willing o go ino high need, bu relaively low

paying Family Pracice. In ac, we will need 40,000 moregeneral pracice physicians over he nex en years in order

o mee demand.14 Wih average per-suden deb a nearly

$160,000, he American Medical Associaion repors haheavily indebed med sudens are avoiding amily pracice inavor o oher specialies.15

We propose a program ha direcly subsidizes uiion a pub-

lic and privae medical colleges and implemens a pos-grad-uae repaymen sysem ha charges a variable percenage

o a physicians gross income. The repaymen ormula would

be designed o incenivize high-need pracice areas and loca-ions, using he exising models uilized by he Naional Healh

Service Corps.16 In he long run, his program can becomesel-financing and uncionally off-budge. However, his ore-

cas simply scores he direc oulays. We projec ha oaldemand or new physicians can be me wih roughly $1 Billion

a year, wih he firs ull class beginning repaymen in 5 years.

Replace the employer-provided health insurance tax exclu-

sion with a refundable tax credit.Millennials believe in he power o new ideas o spur eco-

nomic growh, and endorse he vision o America as an in-novaion-powered sociey. Alhough he curren model o

employer-based healh care has offered comor o millionso Americans over he years, i also impairs economic mobiliyby wedding Americans o heir jobs, and reinorces inequaliy

by guiding he bes healh insurance plans oward Americanswih ull-ime, well-paying work. Furhermore, he ax benefi

ha companies receive inspires employers o provide gener-ous healh care packages insead o higher wages.

Roosevel recommends he replacemen o he ax subsidyor employer-provided plans, wih a ax credi o $2300 per

adul, and $1700 per child, wih a cap o $8,000 per amily.The ax credi will be reundable up o $4,000. Removing he

employer healh insurance exclusion will enhance mobiliyby

allowing Americans o ake heir insurance wih hem rom jobo joband wagesby incening employers o offer workersbeter pay raher han beter coverage as hey age. Americans

will be able o buy healh insurance on he exchanges creaedby he Affordable Care Ac, using heir ax credi o subsidizehis purchase and o help pay ou-o-pocke expenses.


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We canno le he enormous ederal budge numbers pro-

duced by he economic downurn disrac rom a more urgenproblem he economic downurn isel. Unemploymen a

he dae o his wriing is 9.2%, almos double he ypical raeo he pas 20 years. This represens an enormous pain ha is

el by working Americans across he counry, and Millennials

more han any oher group.

In ac, we are looking a he possibiliy o anoher los gen-eraion. A huge cadre o promising young people is saring a

a job marke wihou jobs and a uure wihou skills. Thebes hing we can do o ensure ha America coninues o be

compeiive ino or he nex fify years is o ge young peopleback o work, back o earning, and back o learning as soon aswe possibly can. Every day we don is a day wased in he lie

o his promising generaion.

The American economy behaves undamenally differenlyhan i did when he grea social saey ne programs o he

20h cenury were developed (1934-1974). Americans used obe able o depend on heir pensions or a secure reiremen.

M I N R A M C

Today, hey are lucky o have a good 401(k) accoun. Ameri-

cans used o be able o depend on advancemen wihin a sin-gle company over he course o heir lieime. Now, very ew

Americans say wih he same company or an enire career.These changes have helped give America he mos dynamic

economy in he world. Bu hey have also desabilized he

rajecory or success and securiy in America. Susained suc-cess has become more difficul and enuous or Americans,

even as we have collecively produced more wealh han anycounry in hisory. Failing o recognize and respond o hese

challenges as a sociey would represen a moral ailing. Tha iswhy Roosevel proposes creaing a robus, worker-reraining

program ailored or he 21s cenury economy.

Furhermore, ailing o anicipae and prepare or he ac

ha our economy goes ino recessions every so ofen, and willsurely all ino recession again, represens a ailure o inelli-

gence. Roosevel believes ha immediae and decisive simu-lus can be a game changer or avering deep recessions. Tha

is why we build in auomaic simulus spending and a SaeBudge Bank o ensure ha saes uphold heir responsibili-ies o heir ciizens during recessions.


12/24

This is a generaion wih an ambiious vision or wha is pos-

sible in America. Millennials wan an America ha doesn juscompee in a race o he botom bu recognizes he unique

dynamism o our economy, and leverages ha o provideequal opporuniy o is ciizens. Tha means invesing in edu-

caion a all levels closing he achievemen gap and makingcollege affordable or anyone who wans o atend. Millennialsare commited o solving Americas mos pressing challenges

climae change, globalizaion, and income inequaliy andwe know ha we need a good educaion o do i.

I E C E

We recommend a bundle o improvemens o early childhoodeducaion, such as doubling oal annual unding or Innova-

ion (i3) grans, dramaically expanding he Early LearningChallenge Fund o suppor Pre-K and kindergaren program-

ming, a 10% annual increase in Head Sar unding, and a 10%

annual increase in Childcare and Developmen Block grans.

The need o improve he American educaion sysem has be-come clich. Tes resuls and degree atainmen coninue o

slip behind oher developed counries as a growing numbero sudens are relegaed o choosing beween ailing schools

or expensive privae uiion. Numerous sudies demonsraewha Millennials undersand inuiively, ha invesmens in

early childhood educaion are some o he mos valuable edu-caion dollars ha he governmen can spend. These programsgenerae large reurns on invesmen in boh financial and

non-financial erms and are essenial componens o a robus,high qualiy, and universally accessible educaion sysem.17

Fory-one percen o Think 2040 paricipans cied reducinghe socioeconomic achievemen gap as heir op educaion

prioriy. To reach ha goal, we are expanding our commimeno programs ha provide qualiy preschool and kindergaren,suppor amilies o young children, and make subsanial in-

vesmens in innovaive program research. The culminaiono his commimen will be naional, universal preschool and

kindergaren by 2021.

E C A C A

P P N C

Millennials see educaional atainmens as he key o oppor-uniy and abundance. Americas educaion challenges are all

oo amiliar o Millennials. Poor preparaion or college andrampan underperormance in our ciies are problems ha we

experience he consequences o firshand. We know han anachievemen gap exiss beween poorer non-whie sudens

and more affluen, whie Americans. We know ha he cur-ren American sysem produces unequal opporuniies, andwe are commited o changing ha.

P R S I B

The current system of funding and administering manysocial service and educational interventions tends to

hinder innovation and waste money on programs that

fail to deliver the desired results. Incorporating socialimpact bonds into the funding mechanics of these pro-grams can begin to alleviate some of those problems.

Social impact bonds work by having the governmentcontract with a private intermediary who agrees to

design and execute the desired program while deliver-ing mutually agreed upon results, for a fee that is paid

aer achieving predetermined benchmarks. This in-termediary raises operating revenue by selling project

bonds to investors. This system harnesses the powerof markets to cra the best possible programs becausebond holders get paid only when they deliver results.

This arrangement can lead to improved performanceand lower costs, and accelerate the adoption of inno-

vative solutions and supporting the rapid developmentand implementation of eective evaluation systems.

Please see the Center for American Progress reporton Social Impact Bonds: hp://www.americanprogress.

org/issues/2011/02/social_impact_bonds.html.


13/24

Thereore, o ensure ha firs-rae educaion is he norm andno he excepion in he uure ha we inheri, our Budgeor he Millennial America includes invesmen in public pre-

k educaion or all Americans. Invesmen in pre-k educaionhas arguably he highes reurn o any invesmen a sociey

can make--i means ha regardless o socio-economic saus,Americas children receive inellecual simulaion and he

groundwork or a lie o learning a a pivoal ime in heir de-

velopmen. By increasing spending in his area we can breakcycles o inergeneraional povery, improve lives in communi-

ies naionwide, and ensure ha all young Americans have ac-cess o he opporuniies hey need o achieve heir American

dream. An invesmen o $81 billion per year, beginning in 2017,and indexed o inflaion, will ensure ha every American a-

ends preschool in heir ormaive years.

I S A I C

Roosevel recommends considerably increasing suppor

or sruggling American Indian communiies across he U.S.,hrough doubling he Food Disribuion on Indian Reserva-

ions Program wihin he Dep. o Agriculure, a 40% increase

in annual unding or he Bureau o Indian Affairs, riplingunding or Naive American Programs wihin HUD, and a 30%increase in he budge or he Indian Healh Service.

Indian reservaions are consisenly he poores areas o hecounry, wih many reservaions consisenly susaining shock-

ingly high levels o unemploymen and povery levels over50%.18 There is a massive inrasrucure defici on ribal lands

which prevens developmen, commerce, posiive healhcareoucomes, delivery o social services, and effecive policing.The resul is ha American Indians are he mos likely demo-

graphic group o be vicims o violen crime, domesic abuse,child abuse, alcoholism, and povery. This represens a marked

ailure o he American saey ne.

A & E R TRIO GEAR UP

A R T

Millennials believe ha while robus unding is necessary obuild a srong public educaion sysem, i is no sufficien.

The lack o good qualiaive measuremens or educaion as-sisance programs sands in he way o invesing in he mos

effecive programs and bringing hem o scale. We need effec-ive merics ha can deermine relaive efficacy o programsunded under TRIO, GEAR UP, and Race o he Top in order

o model and expand he mos valuable effors. Thereore,

we recommend $200 million a year o developing mehodso evaluae hese programs and rigorously analyzing heir im-pac. Millennials know ha smar invesmens require good

inormaion and improving our program evaluaion sysemswill muliply he effec o every dollar spen on educaion.

I P

FY &

F -P H E

A 4-year college degree is becoming as essenial o opporu-niy as a high school diploma was in years pas. Unorunaely,

a Bachelors degree is increasingly ou o reach or lower-and

middle income sudens weary o going ens o housands odollars in deb. Over he pas 15 years he cos o an educaiona a public sae universiy has nearly doubled while wages or

mos Americans have remained sagnan.19

Ensuring a highly educaed workorce will be a requisie paro Americas long-erm economic growh, and making sure

ha hose educaional benefis are broadly shared will be key

o enhancing social mobiliy. In order o enable low-incomesudens o achieve heir educaional dreams ha migh oh-

erwise be impossible, we propose a 10% increase in Pell Granunding over FY2011 levels.

T F

Closing he socioeconomic achievemen gap is one o heMillennial Generaions op prioriies, and ensuring adequaeunding or schools ha serve high-povery populaions will

be a crucial componen o any effecive soluion. Tile 1 und-ing allows eachers o provide badly needed exracurricular

assisance o over 17 million a-risk sudens a over 50,000public schools across he counry.20 When combined wih e-

ecive K-12 educaion reorms, superior program evaluaionmerics, and broad-based suppor or amilies in need, anaddiional 10% increase in Tile 1 unding will improve educa-

ional oucomes or housands o sudens.

C N M P

In 2006, 12.4 million children were lacked secure access o

qualiy ood.21This ood insecuriy presens ar-reaching prob-lems or educaional success, healh levels, and job readiness.Forunaely, he Supplemenal Nuriion Assisance Program,

he Special Supplemenal Nuriion Program or Women, In-ans, and Children (WIC), and school lunch programs have

a proven rack record o hunger alleviaion. Our proposed

increase in Child nuriion, and milk programs will make a sub-sanial impac on reducing he number o young people livingwih hunger. This unding will allow school lunch programs in

high-need areas o expand service during summers and aferschool, as well as allowing all schools o provide healhier andmore locally sourced oods o heir sudens.

E G D A

The Federal governmen spends $15-30 billion dollars a yearon agriculure subsidies. No only do hese programs disor

agriculure prices, and lead o over consumpion o corn-based sugars, bu hey primarily benefi a small number olarge agribusinesses. We propose phasing ou he vas major-

iy o exising agriculural subsidies. Hal o he annual savingswill be applied o defici reducion while he oher hal will be

used o promoe susainable, local agriculure and und pro-grams ha address urgen problems such as ood desers and

lack o access o resh ruis and vegeables.

I C D B G

Communiy developmen block grans (CDBGs) provide aflexible unding source or he provision o basic services o

underserved, underrepresened, and disempowered popula-ions across he counry. CDBGs provide direc invesmen


14/24

o local communiies or emergency services, urban develop-men, public housing, and job creaion hrough a compeiivegran process. Presiden Obamas budge proposal suggess

slashing CDBGs by 50%, arguing ha unding cus will makehe program more compeiive. Bu in a ime o slow economic

recovery when saes slash budges o crucial social services,we srongly suppor a 50% increase in CDBG unding.

D P-ARRA A B CNCSMillennials overwhelmingly suppor civic engagemen as a key

value and recognize communiy service as an inegral drivero American democracy. AmeriCorps, VISTA, and oher pro-

grams sponsored by CNCS provide housands o communiyservice jobs across America every year. Insead o slashing

governmen invesmen in communiy service jobs, we pro-pose o double unding o communiy service. In a slow anduncerain economic recovery, he responsible posiion o he

ederal governmen is o creae jobs. Furhermore, undingjob creaion ha provides social services adds he exra ben-

efi o relieving over-sressed local governmenal resources.

T/P S L FAmerica is a he crossroads o inernaional compeiiveness,ye aces an ineresing paradox. Throughou our hisory, our

mos alened young people have graviaed oward solvinghe mos challenging problems o he ime: rom Eisenhowers

Deparmen o Deense, o Kennedys Peace Corps. Ye oday,wih unprecedened levels o compensaion in he financial

secor, he mos gifed young people are increasingly orgoingpublic service or he rewards o Wall Sree. Recognizing hanow more han ever, America needs is op alen as eachers,

docors or he poor and public officials, Roosevel recom-mends insiuing a more ambiious Public Service loan or-

giveness program han has ever been atemped previously.

The Loan Forgiveness Program will receive $5 Billion annually,indexed o inflaion.


15/24

Millennials see climae change as a paramoun challenge o

our generaion. The economic downurn has creaed an in-credible opporuniy o rebuild he American economy in a

more susainable, efficien mold. We are commited o fighingenergy scarciy and global warming while invesing in commu-

niies and lisening o communiy voices. We have proposed a

se o ransormaive ax reorms and invesmens o ensureha he 21s cenury green economy comes o ruiion as soon

as possible.

Too ofen, climae and environmenal advocaes are unwillingo lisen o communiy voices who are invesed in a qualiy o

lie based on unsusainable pracices. Roosevel believes hain order o effecively implemen good climae change policy,we mus be responsive o helping communiies adjus o a less

carbon-dependen economy. Tha is why we have developedan innovaive program called ARPACT, which invess in areas

adversely affeced by he implemenaion o he carbon ax.I is a clear moral imperaive o reverse he ide o climae

change, bu Millennials recognize ha we canno do so wih-ou assising hard-working Americans who may be hur by hedecline o he ossil uel indusry.

A U

T C B

I Y B

Wih almos every non-parisan exper adaman abou he

dire consequences o inacion on climae change, Millenni-als believe ha he scienific evidence in suppor o climaechange is oo convincing o ignore. Success or ailure in solv-

ing climae change will deermine he orunes o he enireMillennial Generaion. Millennials undersand he scale o

sacrifice necessary o fix our ragile ecosysem, bu insis ha

i is our responsibiliy o save ourselves rom long-erm envi-ronmenal caasrophe. Millennials will bear mos o he coss

i he Unied Saes ails, bu hey are also prepared o carry

he burden o miigaing his hrea.

We hereore propose he inroducion o an upsream car-bon ax o $23 per on o carbon dioxide equivalen, beginning

in 2012. This price will increase by 5.6% each year, which is

consisen wih he EPAs conservaive esimaes o he socialcos o carbon.22 The CBO has projeced ha i will reduce

emissions by 36% o projeced levels by 2026, seting us on apah o responsible levels o emissions over he long erm.23

We ake he view ha a ax is more efficien han a cap-and-

rade sysem, as i coners more cerainy abou he uureprice o carbon. This cerainy makes our ree marke sysemriendlier o innovaors and encourages enrepreneurialism

hrough guaraneeing he uure coss and revenues romshifing o low-carbon producion.

Furhermore, we propose he ull repeal o he ederal gas

ax. The double axaion ha a gas and carbon ax would en-ail is unnecessary; in ac, a carbon ax is simply a broaderversion o a gasoline ax.

S L-I F U B

We expec ha making he ax upsream, ha is, paid bybusiness insead o consumers, will parially lif he burden

rom poor amilies, who spend a disproporionae amoun oheir income on carbon-inensive producs like uiliies, gaso-line, and ood. However, we remain concerned ha business

may ulimaely pass he cos o a carbon ax on he consumer.In order o miigae ha impac, hen, we propose a reund-

able ax credi or all Americans o $500 or every amily or

individual making less han $50,000 per year, wih an addi-ional $50 per child. However, we do no wan o provide ax

M I B E G E


16/24

credis or he very carbon consumpion ha we are seekingo eliminae. Tha is why we propose ransiioning hese cred-is away rom uiliies in general oward uiliies rom susain-

able sources alone beginning in 2022. Credis will decline a arae o 10% per year, while credis or susainable sources will

increase by a proporionae amoun.

Finally, Millennials believe ha i is imperaive ha he Unied

Saes excels in he field o green jobs and susainable con-sumpion. Tha is why much o he revenue generaed rom

our carbon ax will go o subsanive invesmens in he neweconomy o green manuacuring. Robus ederal invesmen

in susainable consumpion will ensure ha he ransiion oa low-carbon economy can be relaively fluid, ensuring ransi-

ion rom carbon-inensive manuacuring o a more susain-able uure. We do no argue ha he challenge o minimizingglobal warming will be easy or painless. However, we see i as

he responsibiliy o our generaion, and mankind more gener-ally, o proec he ecosysem and ensure ha our children

enjoy he same luxuries we have.

A R P A AA C T

ARPACT

Millennials recognize ha a carbon ax may disproporion-

aely affec cerain regions o he counry, hrough no aul oheir own. Places like he oil-producing Gul Coas, and he

coal-rich Appalachian region would be especially hard hi.In order o spur he developmen o alernaive indusries

less dependen on he carbon economy in hese regions,Roosevel recommends a revializaion program specificallyargeed a hese regions. Governors, planning commissions,

and oher governmen and non-governmenal organizaionswill be eligible o apply or ARPACT grans. Roosevel recom-

mends making $45 Billion in gran unds available o carbon-

dependan communiies every year rom 2013-2021.

H S I P R

A majoriy o Americans lives in urban areas and would benefirom improved inerciy mobiliy. Invesmens in highly efficienransporaion inrasrucure will no only srenghen he US

economy and creae more livable ciies, bu also reduce ourdependence on oreign oil and miigae highway congesion.

As China and Japan increasingly recognize he imporance ohese invesmens, coninued suppor or high-speed rail will

insure ha he Unied Saes remains globally compeiive.Connecing our naions large and mid-sized ciies wih afford-able, high speed, mass ransi will also decrease long-erm un-

employmen by allowing maximum labor mobiliy.

We propose supplemening exising unding or he HighSpeed Inerciy Passenger Rail program wih an exra $3 bil-

lion per year, indexed o inflaion, hrough 2025. This long-ermcommimen will guaranee Federal suppor o apprehensivelocal parners and insure he programs success.

E S G I G P

F

In order o unleash he ull power o American creaiviy on

solving he problems o climae change and energy depen-dence on he Middle Eas, America mus develop he capaciy

o sore energy more efficienly. Developing a robus domes-ic marke or renewable sources o he energy was one o he

mos imporan Millennial Generaion prioriies expressed in

he Blueprin or he Millennial America. Thereore, Roosevelrecommends expanding he ederal governmens commi-

men o nururing hese markes hrough invesmen in SmarGrid echnology. In our vision, Americans will be able o gen-

erae elecriciy in heir own backyards and sell back o helocal energy grid, creaing myriad opporuniies or enrepre-

neurship and paving he road o energy independence andefficiency.

R A I P

Millennials undersand ha a successul, efficien economy

depends on a srong inrasrucure. According o he Ameri-can Sociey o Civil Engineers, America has a in $2.2 Trillion in-rasrucure deficiand ha is jus o bring Americas sanding

inrasrucure up o dae, no o build he new inrasrucureneeded o run he 21s cenury economy. Wih he phasing ou

o he Morgage Ineres Tax Deducion, Roosevels budgewill de-emphasize home consrucion. We use par o he rev-

enue rom ending he morgage deducion oward rebuildingAmericas inrasrucure. Under he Budge or he MillennialAmerica, Americans will sop building homes we don need,

and sar building he bridges, railways, and elecrical grid haour economy requires.

G J C

Large areas of the United States remain aicted bythe loss of manufacturing jobs during the late 20th

century. To remain globally competitive we need acomprehensive, national approach to job creation. Wepropose the creation of a Green Jobs Corps that tar-

gets investments in job creation through existing feder-al agencies, such as the Department of Labor and the

Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS).Providing training for green building and clean tech in-

dustries will help the US build a mobile, exible corpsof workers that can compete in a globalized economyand revitalize the American middle class. To that end

we recommend a 50% increase in the Department ofLabors Training and Employment Services, and a 100%

in funding for CNCS to facilitate the creation of com-

munity service jobs in the green economy.

Please see the Center for American Progress reporton Social Impact Bonds: hp://www.americanprogress.

org/issues/2011/02/social_impact_bonds.html.


17/24

H S I M A I

P

Millennials recognize ha paricipaion in he modern Ameri-

can economy increasingly depends on he abiliy o accessand respond o daa cheaply and in real ime. In order o spur

rural economies, and ensure ha all Americans can parici-pae in a 21s cenury economy, Roosevel recommends ha

we inves in expanding our broadband and mobile access in-

rasrucure o cover 100% o Americans.


18/24

During he Cold War, here was a clear overarching goal or

US oreign policy ha was acceped by Washingons poliicalesablishmen: conain and deea communism. Bu since he

end o he Cold War, when he US became he worlds onlysuperpower, we have operaed wihou a coheren long-erm

sraegy ha defines our posiion in he inernaional sysem,

oulines our goals or engagemen wih oher counries, andprovides a plan or ensuring ha our oreign policy builds our

naional prosperiy. We need a Grand Sraegy o ensureha America wins he 21s cenury.

Naional deense expendiures are approaching $700 billion/

year, and he US miliary budge is nearly wha he res o heworld pays or in deense combined. There are approximaely440,000 US roops saioned or deployed overseas, close o

he number overseas a he close o he Cold War. The hreaso US naional securiy have changed dramaically since he

all o he Berlin Wall; rogue non-sae acors, ransnaionalcriminal neworks, and ailing saes ha serve as sae havens

or exremism are he new securiy hreas. These new chal-lenges demand a new sraegic approach.

As a consequence, our aniquaed nuclear arsenal no longerserves as a useul deerren agains oreign aggression. There

is srong bi-parisan consensus ha 21s cenury hreas needo be addressed wih a mix o oreign policy ools, a concep

commonly reerred o as smar power, ha places moreemphasis on developmen and diplomacy as effecive oolso saecraf. Our miliary also needs he abiliy o reorm in-

siuions o implemen he use o new operaional sysems,reorming he US oreign assisance srucure and creaing a

cenralized cyber securiy command. Through rebalancing he

deploymen o US orces overseas o reflec curren hreaso naional securiy and mixing he use o deense, develop-men, and diplomacy, he Unied Saes can reduce naional

deense expendiures and work more effecively o ensureglobal sabiliy.

And while he US miliary has made heroic srides owardsmodernizing is fighing orce o address curren hreas o

he inernaional sysem, Congress has consisenly reusedo reorm a broken weapons procuremen sysem or provide

unding or he research and developmen programs ha ourmiliary needs o keep our counry sae and promoe Ameri-can prosperiy. Our miliary needs he abiliy o more ighly

conrol he arms procuremen process and more unding ogenerae he nex generaion o echnological advances ha

will propel he US economy ino he 21s cenury. Furher-more, we recommend cancelling oudaed or inadequae

weapons, such as he MV-22 Osprey and F-35, saving billionso dollars in he coming decades.

No only does he Millennial Grand Sraegy make sense givenour budge and global resource consrains, i also expresses

sound policies ha will save America money, resore Ameri-cas image abroad, and save American lives.

R C T A I

B

Millennials recognize ha o mainain US global leadership,

our oreign policy will have o be argeed owards clear, de-finable goals. Currenly, he disribuion o US non-comba

roops saioned overseas reflecs Cold War prioriies, wih

ens o housands o soldiers in Korea, Germany, and Japan.We would re-balance our overseas orce srucure o reduce

he US miliarys global ooprin and pu our orces in heposiion o respond rapidly and decisively o 21s cenury

hreas.

Unorunaely, he US is currenly bogged down in wo warso occupaion ha have no clear, definable goals or achievingvicory and hus, no exi sraegy. Millennials overwhelmingly

disapproved o he invasion o Iraq, and he curren large-scaleoccupaion o Aghanisan, viewing hese wars as misguided,

cosly endeavors ha disrac US resources rom waging aneffecive war agains global errorism. Roosevel recommends

scaling down and ending he US occupaions o Iraq and A-ghanisan o ree up our orces or poenial deploymen inoher, uure conflics.

Under his scenario, he number o miliary personnel de-

ployed or war-relaed purposes would decline over a five-year period o an average o 180,000 in 2011, 130,000 in 2012,

100,000 in 2013, 65,000 in 2014, and 45,000 in 2015 and here-afer. The US would save over $1.1 Trillion rom 2012-2021.

S B US N P

The curren nuclear archiecure, largely a relic o cold-warbuild up, ar exceeds wha is necessary o provide or robus

securiy and second srike capabiliy or he US and is allies.Currenly he US mainains nearly 2,000 operaionally de-ployed sraegic warheads wih anoher 5,000 oal warheads

in sockpile. Reorming he nuclear posure would be fiscallyresponsible, decrease he probabiliy o nuclear accidens,

and be consisen wih he recen raificaion o he newSTART reay. In accordance wih he Susainable Deense

M A M A

P R

D A

An addition to the specic weapons program termina-tions described above, Roosevelt proposes to reform

the defense acquisition system. A major guideline inthe medium and long-run will be acquiring and manag-ing hardware and weapons systems in a way that keeps

total annual defense spending under 3.6% of GDP.

In doing this, we propose to implement policy changesthat are broadly consistent with the 2010 CRS report,

Defense Acquisitions: How DOD Acquires WeaponSystems and Recent Eorts to Reform the Process.


19/24

Task Forces recommendaions, his proposal would reducehe US nuclear warhead oal o 1050, reire he bomber leg ohe nuclear riad, and cancel he developmen o he Triden

II missile. All old, scaling back Americas nuclear posure willmake or a saer world, and save over $11 Billion annually

I A E D

R P-P P R

Robus evidence exiss ha secure and sable access o en-ergy resources will be criical o he securiy o he Unied

Saes. While alernaive energy developmen has clear spill-over effecs on he domesic US economy and non-deense,

privae enerprise, he Deparmen o Deense possess bohhe resources and poliical gravias o ake he lead role in

hese projecs.

Our plan involves ully unding he recommendaions o he

Pos-Parisan Power repor, which akes a holisic view o hemuli-aceed invesmens needed o aggressively develop,

scale-up, and deploy alernaive energy sysems. Specifically,we aim o double yearly appropriaions or DOE Science bud-

ges, und he Naional Deense Educaion Ac, esablish Re-gional Energy Innovaion Insiues, and scaling up ARPA-E.

D USAID B

We envision a leaner, more agile miliary ha is ocused on

conroning 21s cenury hreas, incorporaing our allies inoburden-sharing arrangemens, and ha works hand-in-hand

wih robus diplomaic engagemen and a comprehensiveglobal developmen sraegy.

In order o conron hese modern challenges we will need obe able o effecively deploy our diplomaic resources in high-

risk areas. Avoiding armed conflic by promoing economic

developmen and he mainenance o sable social insiu-ions abroad is essenial work ha is bes done by he SaeDeparmen and USAID. Reorming hese sysems o work e-

ficienly and wih he res o our naional securiy resources isa op prioriy. In order o ensure ha we have he resourceso proacively engage in his way, we are doubling he USAID

budge o $16.2 billion.

R USMC A G F E S

S D T F R

This opion would cap rouine US miliary presence in Europeand Asia a 100,000 personnel, which is 26% below he currenlevel and 33% below he level planned or he uure. All old,

50,000 personnel would be wihdrawn. End srengh wouldbe reduced accordingly as would associaed asses and unis.

Savings would include reduced personnel coss, miliary hous-ing expenses, incremenal coss o saioning roops abroad,

seady-sae acquisiion coss or reduced orce srucure, andoperaions and mainenance coss associaed wih reducedunis and personnel. Today here are more han 317,000 ac-

ive-duy US miliary personnel saioned or deployed over-seas. In he Cenral Command area, encompassing Iraq and

Aghanisan, here are approximaely 180,000 acive compo-nen personnel as well as over 45,000 reserviss.

Approximaely 150,000 acive-componen US miliary per-sonnel are officially assigned o Europe and Asia. However,abou 15,000 o hese have been re-deployed o he wars.

The remaining 135,000 in Europe and Asia represen he cur-ren minimum US presence in hese regions. No even he

exreme demands imposed by he Iraq and Aghanisan warshave compelled a reducion in his minimum. These changes

will save a leas $8 Billion annually

I A F C S O

B

Cyber warare is almos assured o be an ongoing componen

o he miliary batle space in he very near uure. Atackssuch as he Suxne worm and ohers highligh he need or

he US o develop robus capabiliies ha are boh offensiveand deensive. The creaion o US CYBERCOMMAND is animporan sep, bu making subsanial invesmens in hese

operaions is crucial in order o saeguard our domesic andmiliary inrasrucure as well as insure our global leadership

in cyber developmen. We are proposing a 20% annual in-crease in he Cyber budge.24

C U W PWe envision a leaner, meaner, and more agile miliary ha is

geared oward combaing 21s cenury hreas. Wih ha inmind, we can arge a number o weapons sysems ha ha

are no only cosly, bu do no provide real value o he mili-ary. The MV-22 Osprey program has been consisenly over

budge while ailing basic saey and perormance ess. Weshould cancel his program in avor o exising alernaives haare boh more cos effecive and beter perorming. The F-35

program has become similarly bloaed and represens a visiono miliary sraegy ha is oudaed and non-responsive o u-

ure needs. Replacing he join srike fighers wih F-16s and F-

18s is a beter decision or Americas uure. These acquisiionchanges, along wih canceling he unnecessary, bu expensiveMariime Preposiioning Force, are sraighorward and wise

decisions ha will help ensure he counrys coninued secu-riy and fiscal sabiliy. These procuremen adjusmens havebroad, biparisan suppor among expers and praciioners

and have only gone uncorreced due o parochial Congres-sional poliics. Millennials, however, reuse o le hose cynical

concerns coninue o jeopardize our uure.


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Millennials know ha in order o provide opporuniy or all

Americans and build he kind o sociey prepared o compeein he 21s cenury, we mus make invesmens in our people

and in our inrasrucure. To finance his, Millennials are willingo raise more revenue hrough he ax sysem. We will raise

axes as necessary, bu no unil we eliminae he billions o

dollars in ax giveaways o corporaions and special ineressdisribued hrough he ax code. Roosevel eliminaes loop-

holes and exempions o make he ax code more equiable,while implemening a financial ransacions ax, and cuting

corporae raes across he board.

We also implemen major income ax reorm. Currenly heop 10% o earners hold more han 45% o he wealh in Amer-ica. While cuting income raes o hisoric lows, we amend

he sysem o designae ax raes based on he disribuiono wealh, so ha as inequaliy rises or alls, he ax sysem

auomaically adaps o ollow he money. Is a smarer, moreequiable ax code, responsive o changes in inequaliy ha

makes i possible o inves in educaion, figh climae change,and updae American inrasrucureall while bringing debunder conrol.

T E P

We propose he removal or reducion o a large number oax expendiures, wih a view o ulimaely reducing overall

income and corporae ax raes. The American income andcorporae income ax code is a mess. The labyrinhine collec-ion o ax expendiures we have amassed since he las major

ax code overhaul in 1986 has made our naion unatracive ooreign invesors who canno navigae our code, poorly ar-

geed o he original goals o he expendiures, and prone o

poliical manipulaion by lobbyiss. The recen financial crisiswas a leas encouraged, i no direcly caused, by he heavyax subsidies governmen has provided o he privae housing

marke. Overall, we simpliy he ax code, cuting governmenoulays by over $5 Trillion by 2035.

R

The morgage ineres deducion was originally designed o

encourage homeownership. However, he people who benefirom his enormous ederal program usually are no he oneswho need i mos; over wo hirds o he revenue los o he

deducion goes o he op quinile o income earners in heUnied Saes.25 Moreover, young people undersand ha

over-subsidizing home building conribued o he nighmareo economic collapse in he all o 2008.

We hereore propose wo policies relaed o he morgageineres deducion. Firs, we inend o lower he ceiling or

morgage deducions rom $1 million o $500,000 morgages,and o allow deducions only or primary residences. In order

o ensure ha he housing secor survives is curren roubles,hough, we propose reducing he ceiling by only $100,000 per

E S F B

year beginning in 2013. Millennials believe ha individuals liv-

ing in $1 million homes have he resources o pay or homeshemselves; hey do no require addiional assisance rom

he ederal governmen. Furhermore, we propose replacinghe curren ax deducion wih a ax credi o 15%, hereby

reducing he regressiveness o home morgage subsidies

and encouraging invesmen in homes more direcly by pooramilies. This proposal, which was a eaure o boh Presiden

Obamas and Presiden Bushs ax reorm commissions, is amiddle-o-he-road proposal o creae a more balanced in-

vesmen climae, a more efficien and argeed ax code, anda ederal governmen more responsive o he specific needs

o is ciizenry.26

I N I T C R

C I

Income inequaliy has risen in he pas hiry years o is high-

es level since he 1920s.27 This rising issue has affeced youngpeople prooundly, and Millennials believe ha a jus eco-

nomic and civil sociey mus be ounded upon economic op-poruniy. We envision a sociey ha rewards hard work buensures opporuniy or all, and his includes having a progres-

sive ax code.

However, in recen years, our income ax sysem has beenunresponsive o he changes in sociey ha have developed

since he las major reorm o our ax code weny-five yearsago. Income ax brackes which updae wih inflaion alone willeiher pu everyone in he op bracke (assuming equiable

wage growh) or ail o reflec he income growh accruing dis-proporionaely o he upper classes. Thereore, we propose

a new income ax code which bases bracke assignmen upon

share o overall American income, raher han he haphazardreorms which currenly characerize he process.

Brackes will be based on he percenile o oal income

earned in he Unied Saes, as seen on page 19.

This new bracke sysem amouns o a ax cu or he vasmajoriy o working amilies. We combine he botom wo

brackes under he curren sysem ino a single bracke wiha 9.45% income ax rae, versus he exising 10 and 15% raes

or he curren wo brackes. Our second bracke, a a raeo 15.75%, compares avorably o he 25% individuals are pay-ing in his bracke even under he Bush-era ax cus. Every

oher rae is lower han hose under Presiden Clinon, andour eliminaion o a wide range o income and corporae ax

loopholes ensures ha he sysem is boh sraighorward andriendly o oreign invesors.

Moreover, our sysem eliminaes many o he problems Con-gress currenly resolves on an annual basis. We permanenly

eliminae he marriage penaly under he Alernaive Mini-mum Tax. Furhermore, our new income share sysem auo-

maically incorporaes revisions o he AMT so ha i affecsonly he ruly wealhy, permanenly resolving wha Congress


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0-20th $0$0 ~60,000,000 9.45%

20th - 40th $79,073.53$39,536.76 ~55,000,000 15.75%

40th - 60th $131,789.22$65,894.61 ~40,000,000 26.25%

60th - 90th $168,020.31$84,010.16 ~10,000,000 31.50%

80th - 90th $417,337.87$208,668.94 ~1,000,000 AMT tax threshold

90th - 100th $1,419,359.67$709,679.84


22/24

E

Naional Academy or Social Insurance,1. Fixing Social Security:

Adequate Benefits, Adequate Financing(Oc 2009), pp. 11-12,available a htp://www.nasi.org/sies/deaul/files/research/

Fixing_Social_Securiy.pd; accessed 3/7/2011.Paul Krugman. Simulus Arihmeic. 2009. htp://krugman.2.

blogs.nyimes.com/2009/01/06/simulus-arihmeic-wonkish-bu-imporan/

CBPP analysis ound in Saes Coninue o Feel Recessions3.Impac, 2011. htp://www.cbpp.org/cms/?a=view&id=711Based off o daa rom CBO, US DHHS, and US DoE.

Cener on Budge and Policy Prioriies.4. Going, Going, AlmostGone: Job Creating TANF Emergency Fund Set to Expire.

July 26, 2010. htp://www.cbpp.org/cms/?a=view&id=3240

Fisher ES, Wennberg DE, Sukel TA, e al. The implicaions5.o regional variaions in Medicare spending. Par 1: he

conen, qualiy, and accessibiliy o care. Ann Intern Med2003 Feb 18;138(4):273-87. htp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

pubmed/12585825.

Elliot S. Fisher, MD, MPH; Julie Bynum, MD, MPH; Jonahan6.Skinner, PhD, The Policy Implicaions o Variaions in Medi-

care Spending Growh, The Darmouh Insiue or Healh

Policy and Clinical Pracice, A Dartmouth Atlas Brief Report.Feb. 27, 2009. htp://www.darmouhalas.org/downloads/repors/Policy_Implicaions_Brie_022709.pd, p. 1. Accessed

3/2/2011.

Fisher ES, Wennberg DE, Sukel TA, Gotlieb DJ, Lucas7.FL, Pinder EL, The implicaions o regional variaions in

Medicare spending. Par 1: he conen, qualiy, and ac-cessibiliy o care, Annals of Internal Medicine, February

18, 2003. 138:4, pp. 273-87. htp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

pubmed/12585825?dop=Absrac, accessed 3/2/2011. Seealso CBO Budge Opions Volume 1: Healh Care. Decem-

ber 2008, available a htp://www.cbo.gov/fpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealhOpions.pd, p. 3. Accessed 3/2/2011.

htp://www.randcompare.org/policy-opions/bundled-pay-8.

men, Accessed 3/2/2011. Also htp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11434712, Accessed 3/2/201

htp://www.kaisernework.org/daily_repors/rep_index.9.cm?DR_ID=50804, Accessed 3/2/2011.

We also recommend fixing paymen updaes o docors by10.permanenly insiuing he annual Doc Fix. Alhough his

will cos $1.4 Trillion by 2035, creaing a susainable soluion

o updaing docor ees is essenial.htp://www.darmouhalas.org/downloads/repors/Policy_Im-11.

plicaions_Brie_022709.pd, accessed 03/02/11Biparisan Policy Ceners Deb Reducion Task Force,12. Restor-

ing Americas Future(Nov. 2010). htp://www.biparisanpolicy.

org/sies/deaul/files/BPC%20FINAL%20REPORT%20FOR%20PRINTER%2002%2028%2011.pd, accessed 3/7/2011.

p. 52.Douglas Elmendor, Leter o Senaor Orrin Hach, Oc 9,13.

2009, p. 1. Available a htp://www.cbo.gov/fpdocs/106xx/

doc10641/10-09-Tor_Reorm.pd, accessed 3/7/2011.Dr. Ted Epperly in Family Docors: An Endangered Breed.14.

CNN Money, 7-18-2009 htp://money.cnn.com/2009/07/16/news/economy/healhcare_docors_shorage/

American Medical Associaion.15. Background on Student Debt.htp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/abou-ama/our-people/

member-groups-secions/medical-suden-secion/advocacy-

policy/medical-suden-deb/background.shmlThe Naional Healh Service Corps places housands o phy-16.

sicians ino high-need areas in exchange or deb orgiveness.

They have already developed crieria or deermining opimal

pracice locaions and sies. htp://nhsc.hrsa.gov/abou/Highscope Perry Preschool Sudy. 2004. Highscope Educa-17.

ional Research Foundaion. htp://www.highscope.org/Con-

en.asp?ConenId=282American Indian Saisics by Social and Economic Facors.18.

From Census 2000 Daa. htp://www.ovc.edu/missions/indi-ans/indsocia.hm

College Board.19. Trends in College Pricing 2010.htp://rends.

collegeboard.org/downloads/College_Pricing_2010.pdUS Deparmen o Educaion.20. Improving Basic Programs Op-

erated by Local Educational Agencies(Tile 1). 2009. htp://www2.ed.gov/programs/ileipara/index.hml

Child Food Insecurity: The Economic Impact on our Nation.21.2009. Feeding America. htp://eedingamerica.org/SieFiles/

child-economy-sudy.pd

Frank Ackerman and Elizabeh Sanon, The Social Cos22.o Carbon: A Repor or he Economics or Equiy and he

Environmenal Nework. April 1, 2010, htp://www.e3ne-work.org/papers/SocialCosOCarbon_SEI_20100401.pd, p. 1.

Accessed 2/28/11.

Congressional Budge Office,23. Budget OptionsVolume 2,(Congress o he Unied Saes: Washingon, Augus 2009),

p. 254.htp://www.birchmeregroup.com/news/us-cyber-command-24.

chie-wans-secure-nework-or-civilian-gov-agency-and-

criical-inrasrucure-sysems/Eric J. Toder, Benjamin H. Harris, and Kaherine Lim, Dis-25.

ribuional Effecs o Tax Expendiures, Tax Policy Cenerworking paper. Washingon, DC: The Urban Insiue. htp://

www.urban.org//UploadedPDF/411922_expendiures.pd, p. 9.Accessed 3/2/2011.

Presiden Obamas Naional Commission on Fiscal Respon-26.

sibiliy and Reorm, final repor available a: htp://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sies/fiscalcommission.gov/files/docu-

mens/TheMomenoTruh12_1_2010.pd, p. 31. Accessed3/2/2011. Presiden Bushs Advisory Panel on Federal Tax

Reorm, final repor available a: htp://govino.library.un.

edu/axreormpanel/final-repor/TaxPanel_1_11-1.pd, p. xvii.Accessed 3/2/2011.

htp://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cm?a=view&id=2908. Ac-27.cessed 3/1/2011.

htp://www.econ.berkeley.edu/~saez/TabFig2008.xls. Ac-28.

cessed 2/15/2011.htp://www.axpolicycener.org/publicaions/url.29.

cm?ID=1000505. Accessed 3/2/2011.


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The Roosevel Insiue Campus Nework, a naional suden iniiaive, engages young people in a uniqueorm o progressive acivism ha empowers hem as leaders and promoes heir ideas or change. Throughcommunicaion and coordinaion wih poliical acors and communiy members, sudens ideniy press-

ing issues acing heir owns, counies and saes. Taking advanage o he unique resources on heir col-lege campuses, hey engage in policy research and wriing and hen connec he ruis o ha research ohe poliical process, delivering sound, progressive proposals o policymakers and advocacy groups. Wecall our unique model o policy acivism Think Impac. Adding policy papers o picke signs, Think Impacengages young people in acivism ueled by innovaive, suden ideas.

Founded in he wake o he 2004 elecion, he Roosevel In-siue Campus Nework was ormed in order o srenghen

he progressive movemen by meaningully engaging youngpeople in poliics. The Campus Nework emphasizes hayoung people can do ar more han paricipae in campaigns;sudens are asked o ake acion on heir ideas and creaean impac in heir communiies. I encourages hem o cam-paign or he progressive policies ha hey have writen. Igives hem an opporuniy o reshape heir communiies. I al-lows hem o experience, firs-hand, he power o progressivehough in creaing posiive change. And he Nework empow-

ers sudens o see hemselves as progressive leaders in heirown righ.

Today, he Campus Nework boass more han 7,000 members organized a approximaely 80 chapersacross he counry. Chapers oser debae and dialogue on campus, each policy courses, engage wihlocal policymakers, generae policy, and promoe suden ideas hrough conerences and publicaions.Since is ounding, Roosevel members have presened suden policies on Capiol Hill, esified o ciycouncil, implemened legislaion, and worked direcly in heir communiies. The iniiaive is always grow-

ing, always evolving, and always looking owards he uure.

The Roosevel Campus Nework is a division o he Franklin and Eleanor Roosevel Insiue, an organiza-ion dedicaed o preserving and promoing he legacy o heir namesakes or uure generaions. You canlearn more abou he Insiue a www.roosevelinsiue.org.

About

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Roosevelt Campus Millennial Budget

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Transcript of Roosevelt Campus Millennial Budget