73BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK- THE OVAL OFFICE
The$20billioninsubsidiesthatgoto
thefossilfuelindustrywoulddisappear.
Hewouldfollow 25 countriesandintro-
ducea carbontax,whichhandsthejob
ofchoosingtechnologiestothemarket.
Someoftheproceedscouldbedirected
towardworkerswholosttheirjobs, such
as coal miners in West Virginia.
- Protect and unite
ThewarningsAmericahadaboutviruses
strikingitspopulationweresporadic;the
warningsaboutracistpolicinghavebeen
regularandrepeated.Nearly 30 years
afteroneofuscoveredRodneyKing’s
beatinginLosAngeles,Blacksarestill
threetimesmorelikely than Whites to be
killedbythepolice.
Twoconstitutionalproblemsbedevil
policereform.First,mostpolicing is
local.Therearemorethan18,000law
enforcementagencies,someofthem
tiny;inbigcitieslikeLosAngeles,mul-
tipleforcesoverlap.Second,expansive
readingsoftheSecondAmendmenthave
madeAmericaa heavilyarmedcountry
wheregunskill40,000peoplea year.
Thepoliceareterrifiedofbeingshot.Bill
Lincolnwoulddoeverythingpossible
togetgunsoffthestreetsandtoughen
upbackgroundchecks.That’sa long
slog,admittedly,buthewouldimmedi-
atelyabolishthePentagonprogramthat
dolesoutsurplusarmoredHumveesand
assaultriflestolocalpolice,equipping
themlikeanoccupyingarmy.
The U.S. needs to fire badcops.
Likebadteachers,they’reprotected
bypowerfulunionsthatdon’tgivea
figaboutindividualmerit.Federallaw
shouldinsistthatdisciplinaryrecordsbe
keptinfull.Americashouldfollowother
countriesandtrainitscopsforlonger:
It’sastonishingthata Louisianapolice
officercanusedeadlyforce after just
300 hoursoftraining.
Policereformbyitselfwillnotright
thesystemthatthrottledGeorgeFloyd
todeath.Whenhewasprimeminister,
Gladstonecreatedbiggovernmentcom-
missionsonthemostpressing social
problemsandimplementedtheirrec-
ommendations.BillLincolncouldset
uptwo:onetolookatcriminaljustice
(Americasendspeopletoprisonattwice
therateofTurkey,thesternestcountry
in Europe) and the other at poverty, an
obsessionforbothLincolnandGladstone.
Fromcradletograve,BlackAmericagets
theworstofthestate:shoddymaternity
care,lousypreschooleducation,substan-
dardschools,expensiveuniversities,no
sickpay,anda medicalsystemdesigned
forrichpeople.Publicspendingdevoted
torightingthesewrongsshouldbecondi-
tionalontheproducerlobbies,especially
public-sector unions, accepting reform.- Lift the fog
UnlessyouexposeWashingtontothe
light,youwillneverpersuadevotersto
acceptchange.WhenGladstonewent
intopolitics,theBritishgovernment’s
accounts,insofarastheyexisted,were
deliberatelyincomprehensible—thearis-
tocratswhoranthecountrycouldhide
howmuchcashwasbeingsiphonedoffto
theirrelations.Today,America’sbudgetis
similarlyincomprehensible,becauseit’s
stuffedwithperksandexemptionsthat
benefitspecialinterests.Billsdon’trunto
thousandsofpagesbyaccident;theycon-
cealwhatis goingonfromthepublic.
BillLincolnwouldfollowGladstone’s
practiceandmaketheStateoftheUnion
anhonestaccountingofwheretaxpayers’
moneywent.Thatwouldincludeboth
theguaranteesgivenbygovernment—for
instance,behindstudentloansandSocial
Security—andthegiveawaysUncleSam
hidesin“taxexpenditures.”Forinstance,
thetrilliondollarsthefederalgovern-
mentspendsonhealthcaredoesnot
includethe$225billionmoreit handsout
intaxdeductions for employer- provided
health care.- Simplify, cut,
modernize, sell
Withhonestnumbers,BillLincolnwould
begintosimplifyandslimWashington.
DoesAmericaneeda taxcodethat’sso
complicatedthat9 outof 10 tax-filers
payforhelptocompletetheirreturns?
Reformershavelongarguedtheincome
taxratecouldbeloweredif yougotrid
ofthe$1.6trillionofexemptionsthatgo
mainlytothewell-off.Doit now.Make
thetaxratesforincomeandcapitalgains
thesame,soricherpeoplearenolonger
incentivizedtoshuffleincomeandwealth
fromoneplacetoanother.Shiftmoreof
the burden onto consumption, ratherthanincome:Americais theonlylarge
countrywithouta value-addedtax.
Thisis whereBillLincolnwouldchal-
lenge Republicans. They claimthey
believeinsmallgovernment—butthrough
loopholestheykeepondolingoutcash
totherich.(VictorianBritaincuttaxation
from£80million,orabout$107million,
in 1816 tobelow£60millionin1846,even
asit builtmanyofthehospitals,schools,
andsewersthatarestillinuse—justby
cuttingoutthesinecuresandexemptions
thatthelikesofSenateMajorityLeader
Mitch McConnell now defend.) Bill
LincolnwouldcallouttheRepublicansas
fiscalwimpsanddefendersofprivilege.
Thenextstopwouldbetheperpetu-
allyexpandingFederalRegisteroflaws.
Onewaytocurbitsgrowthwouldbeto
usesunsetclauses,sothatlawsandrules
automaticallyexpire.Sofar,theyhave
mostlybeenaccountinggimmickstoget
taxcutsintobalancedbudgets.Butwhy
notinsistthatallnewlawsand regula-
tionsexpireafter 10 years?
AndwhileBillLincolnis simplifying
things,why notgetto workon out-
of-dateinstitutions? TheDepartment
ofAgricultureshouldfinallygo:Most
of it can be carved up among the
Environmental Protection Agency,
theDepartmentofHealthandHuman
Services(forfoodstamps),anda food-
safety agency. Selling some of the
900,000buildingsand 640 millionacres
oflandWashingtonownswouldalso
allowhimtocutthegovernment’ssize
while producing a revenue windfall.- Stop subsidizing
the rich and the old
SocialSecurity,Medicare,andMedicaid
eatupnearlyhalfthefederalbudget.Put
simply,theAmericanstateis designedto
lookaftertheold,notthepoor.Almost
90%ofsocialinsurancepaymentsgo
topeoplewhoareover65.Someold
Americansare indeedpoor.Butthe
securityof,say,BruceSpringsteenor
WarrenBuffettis innowayimprovedby
theirentitlementtoa statepension.As
theoriginalLincolnsaid,“Government
shoulddoforthepeoplewhattheycan-
notdoforthemselves,andnomore.”
Means-testingSocial Security and
raisingtheretirementagerapidlyto 70
would help balance the budget. (When