Skeleton Government

Further Considerations

   To improve efficiency, a skeleton government will adopt a project-oriented, or P-series, government bond system. So, rather than an open-ended fund that encompasses all federal programs, every project will have a separate P-numbered bond that encapsulates government programs better (e.g., no more dipping into a general fund that hides cost overruns, or siphoning funds meant for other projects). A project-oriented bond will also allow the public to have greater discretion on deciding which projects should be funded compared to others regarding their ethical considerations.

   For example, voters of a pure democracy may approve of a new project for renewable energy (wind/solar) to replace fossil fuel dependency. A new P-numbered bond will be assigned to the project that will be primarily funded by private investment. The role of government will only be to initiate the project, facilitate public funding, and assist with general management. Redemption of the P-series bond will be provided after the project is completed (e.g., it pays for itself after becoming fully operational), so only a minimal amount of federal tax dollars will be given to the project if any.

   In order to achieve the low tax rate of a skeleton government, spending would have to be significantly reduced for the nation. For example, a 5% tax rate will require the active military force to be replaced with a volunteer-based civilian force (much like Minutemen of colonial times). The minimal defense budget would primarily be used for maintaining special/elite forces, while a smaller portion will be used for volunteer training camps. In any given year, taxes may be temporarily raised for weapon procurement if needed.

   Otherwise, nations will need to evaluate if an excessive military is truly necessary for their country's needs. For example, since World War II, America's involvement in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq were against popular opinion at the time that shouldn't have resulted in their military engagement. In fact, only the 9-11 incident involving the attack on the World Trade Center required the use of their military to resolve the situation. So, in America's case, only one incident in the past eighty years actually necessitated military action, which doesn't justify excessive defense spending over the years.

   When the minimal need for involvement is combined with the overall effectiveness of pure democracies around the world (that prevents wars by its very nature), nations will need to evaluate if excessive military spending is appropriate for them in the future. The "walk softly and carry a big stick" philosophy of maintaining a large military presence in order to intimidate others and prevent conflict did very little for America's case (e.g., Somalia, Iran), or Russia's (e.g., Afghanistan, Ukraine).

   In addition, if every nation adopted the low taxation policy of a skeleton government, their economies would improve to the point where the population will become more satisfied and content in life. This will encourage goodwill among others resulting in fewer hostilities around the world. The combined effects of pure democracies with skeleton governments will promote world peace by a significant factor that didn't exist before. So, voters will need to decide if excessive military budgets are truly necessary for their countries with these new factors in place.

   Further cuts in government spending will be necessary to achieve a skeleton government with several programs/services being replaced with better alternatives. Listed on this website are examples how to resolve government pension plans (c.f. Social Security), health care costs (c.f. Medical Insurance), debt issues (c.f. National Debt), costs on goods and services (c.f. Inflationary Tax), among others.

   Even entire programs may be eliminated such as replacing the failed incarceration system that hasn't deterred crime for years with a more effective punitive system (c.f. Eye-For-An-Eye Justice System). Or, impose an exile measure since criminals have failed to uphold the laws of the country (c.f. True Citizenship).

   State/province and local city governments will also be reduced to their skeleton equivalents. State sales taxes and local property taxes will be eliminated in most cases since only wages/revenue will be taxed by the government.

  In principle, a skeleton government should have a maximum 15% total tax rate for federal, state, and city combined. Voters will decide how this may be divided (e.g., 3% federal, 4% state, 8% city).

   Municipal cities will have a higher percentage of this ratio to accommodate everyday needs at the local level (e.g., police, fire, schools, road repair, garbage collection, etc.). Schools both at the collegiate and K-12 grades may require less funding when replaced with a better alternative (c.f. Free College). In order to eliminate property and workplace city taxes, both federal and state taxes should be under their 5% maximums to allow for a greater portion to be used for residential city taxes.

   Overall, there will be significant spending cuts in all areas in order to accommodate a skeleton government's 15% maximum tax rate.