Brijalkumar Patel COM 219-02 Sequester: Cut military funding and increase taxes for wealthy families Specific purpose: By the end of this speech the audience will agree that the cutting military funding and increase taxes for wealthy families will help to secure more jobs. Thesis Claim: In order to ensure our future, I propose that the government cut military funding, increase taxes for the wealthy and insource business to ease the pains of sequestration. Introduction I. A professor of mine always mentions that in 10 years, 50% of students that are currently pursuing an Aerospace Engineering degree will not be working in the Aerospace industry. He says that many people pursue other careers because it’s hard to find jobs in this industry. Since many Aerospace companies deal with defense contracts, sequestration will have a major impact on the industry. II. The term sequester means a “group of federal spending cuts set to take effect March 1, barring further congressional action.” It was originally part of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Sequester was designed to limit the debt of United States which currently stands at $16 trillion dollar (CNN). III. Due to this budget crisis, the government is looking to cut a lot of funding from financial aid and defense contracts. This course of action will be dire for students as the dropout rate will increase due to their inability to match tuition costs and companies will lose valuable contracts forcing them to lay off people and cancelling job requisitions. Body A. Need 1. There are a few reasons as to why the defense budget should be cut. Many people would argue that cutting the defense budget would seriously jeopardize our ability to defend ourselves against foreign threats, however according to Mattea Kramer, the research director at the National Priorities Project, “The Defense of Department will have enough latitude to protect what’s crucial.” 2. According to an article posted on the International Business Times, the 2011 defense budget for United States was about $700 billion; the reporter mentions that the budget “dwarfed those of all other nations by a significant amount.” This number is astonishing because the total financial aid budget for 2012 was only mere $40 billion. 3. With regards to protecting our interest overseas and maintaining a superpower status, Todd Harrison, a defense and budget expert with Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington says America should spend “more money to train and equip special-operations forces and to develop more innovative submarines, unmanned and manned stealthy long-range aircraft, and offensive and defensive cyber warfare systems”. The defense budget is a black hole when it comes to the monetary resources. 4. Hence it’s important to downsize the budget instead of cutting essential funding like financial aid (NASFAA). Transition: B. Plan 1. Many people would say that increasing the taxes would solve nothing and would in turn cause public outrage; however, I am not speaking of a general tax increase. According a study done by Norton and Ariely in 2010, many people have no idea as to how the wealth in America is distributed. Actual distribution of wealth in this country is quite shocking. According to the study, in 2009, the total wealth of United States was roughly $54 trillion. 1% of America owned 40% of that wealth. The remaining 80% only owned 7% of that wealth between them and this has only gotten worse. 2. According to article posted on The Wall Street Journal in March 2013, The top 1% currently takes home 24% of the nation’s income and this number has tripled over the course of 40 years where as the rest of the middle class have stayed the same. The tax brackets don’t accurately reflect this. Taxing the 1% more would mean more revenue for the government which can be used to help insource businesses. Transition: Now let’s talk about the practicality of my plan C. Visualization 1. Outsourcing is a huge issue in today’s economy. Companies find it easier to outsource businesses to increase their profits and the US Tax code encourages this by giving them a credit for the taxes they pay overseas. 2. This encourages companies to outsource business because they not only make more profits, but it allows American based companies to deduct the amounts they have paid in taxes to foreign nations (Mercatus Center). 3. If the government were to stop giving Foreign Tax Credits and offer that money as grants or loans to businesses looking to insource jobs, the unemployment would surely and steadily decline. 4. If the rate is low, that means more people are working and generating more tax revenue for the government. The White House is currently holding a forum to encourage business to insource jobs. Transition: Conclusion I. Sequester is a serious issue that has relatively simple solutions, however people in the Senate have their own agenda and are blocking the committee to finalize the debt ceiling. They fail to realize that they are putting the nation’s future at risk. II. Due of their unwillingness to compromise, students may lose financial aid, business will be forced to lay off people and the nations GDP will decrease making the American dollar much weaker. III. In brief, the situation can still be resolved if the government cut the defense budget, taxed the wealthy more and insourced the business to create jobs. I will personally create a petition for students to voice their concerns so we can let the government know how we feel about this issue. Works Cited Blake, Aaron. "Just How ‘draconian’ Is the Sequester? (in 4 Infographics)." The Washington Post. N.p., 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 6 Jun. 2013. Carnevale, Mary Lu. "Budget Chief Explains Obama’s $2 Trillion for Deficit Reduction."Washington Wire RSS. The Wallstreet Journal, n.d. Web. 06 Jun. 2013. Matthews, Laura. "Sequester Defense Spending Cuts 2013: Will The US Be Less Safe After The Ax Falls On The Pentagon?" International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jun. 2013. "National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators." NASFAA Table of Enacted and Proposed Student Aid Program Funding Levels -. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jun. 2013. Rugy, Veronique De. "Mercatus Center." The Effects of Sequestration on Federal Spending. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jun. 2013. Smith, Matt. "CNN Explains: Sequestration." CNN. Cable News Network, 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Jun. 2013.