Dear Editor,
I am writing to ask voters to support legislation to enact the recommendations of the Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
The fiscal commission plan details how it will work and how it affects the population, and it has a realistic chance of being approved by both houses of Congress and the president. The budget proposal that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives does neither. The fiscal commission plan details 10 changes to make Social Security sustainable for the next 75 years and beyond.
It quantifies how Social Security payments would change for each income bracket from the lowest (about 3 percent more than currently scheduled) to the highest (about 20 percent less).
The House budget proposal simply says the president must submit a plan to make Social Security sustainable.
The fiscal commission plan replaces $1 trillion of tax deductions with a small number of provisions that promote work, home ownership, health care, charity, and savings, and it lowers tax rates.
It details the effect on 12 major areas of taxation such as home mortgage interest and charitable giving.
It quantifies how the after tax income would change for each income bracket from the lowest (decrease by about 2/10s of 1 percent) to the highest (decrease by about 4 percent).
The House budget proposal simply says to consolidate the current six income tax brackets, reduce the top rate from 35 percent to 25 percent and broaden the tax base.
The proposal also questions tax rates on interest, dividends and capital gains, but does not state what action should be taken.
In his Roadmap for America’s Future, Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said that the tax rate on income from interest, dividends and capital gains should be zero.
Just as the House budget proposal was approved by the House along party lines, it is expected to be rejected by the Senate along party lines. It bolsters division between the parties and helps ensure that little action is taken and that our debt problem will continue to worsen.
The fiscal commission plan, House budget proposal and Roadmap for America’s Future are available online at  www.fiscalcommission.gov/, budget.house.gov/ and paulryan.house.gov.
Please contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to vote for legislation to enact the Fiscal Commission Plan recommendations without modification.
It is the best path and possibly the only path we have to meet our responsibility to solve our federal debt problem.
John Sturn,
Ellinwood