OPINION:
Kudos to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for launching a program designed to reward whistleblowers with up to 30% of the fines imposed on fraudsters (“Treasury cracks down on cartels using illegal immigrants to rip off Medicaid, Medicare,” Web, March 30).
Yet what if the criminal fraudsters have already squandered or laundered their ill-gotten gains? In such cases, won’t the whistleblower who puts themselves on the line be out of a reward?
Mr. Bessent is on the right track with this idea, but there’s a far superior one to make America a healthier, more efficient nation.
In President Trump’s 2011 book, “Time to Get Tough,” he writes, “We’re going to have to invent our way out of the mess our country is in.”
I believe that’s half of the equation, with the other half being “incentivize our way out” of our now $39 trillion national debt.
I propose what I call the Trump 1% Rule, under which any U.S. citizen who submits a cost-saving or revenue-generating idea that improves the U.S. government’s balance sheet would receive a one-time 1% commission on the economic impact of the idea.
In effect, the U.S. government would receive 99% of the benefit of the idea, with the submitter receiving a tax-free 1% commission.
For example, there’s a wildly popular idea being pushed to eliminate “Super Sick Monday” — the day after the Super Bowl, on which millions of workers call in sick or show up with a hangover. The already established Presidents Day is just a week away on the calendar. Having Presidents Day automatically back up to the Super Bowl would save U.S. businesses $3 billion in lost productivity.
Given the 21% corporate tax rate, that’s $640 million that could be recouped by the Treasury in the form of lost tax revenue. It means $6.4 million in commission to the person who “owns” the inaugural Trump 1% Rule idea.
Using the collective brainpower and genius of the innovative U.S. population, we can successfully combat the ticking time bomb that is our massive national debt. Just imagine how the 1% commission would incentivize the American people.
LUANA DUNN
Glen Burnie, Maryland
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