The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Trump Accounts: Good Idea, Bad Design
English Summary
Trump Accounts, while well-intentioned, suffer from poor tax design that makes them less attractive than existing savings vehicles. Family contributions are not tax-deductible and investment gains face ordinary income taxation rather than capital gains rates, leaving savers worse off than using regular brokerage accounts. CATO recommends Congress simplify the structure by eliminating the $1,000 subsidy, making all contributions deductible, allowing tax-deferred growth, and converting accounts to flexible Universal Savings Accounts at age 18—modeled after Canada and the UK—rather than maintaining the current complex, restricted framework.
中文摘要
儘管「川普帳戶」（Trump Accounts）的初衷良好，但其稅制設計存在缺陷，使其吸引力不如現有的儲蓄工具。家庭供款無法抵稅，且投資收益需繳交普通所得稅而非資本利得稅率，導致儲戶的處境比使用一般證券帳戶更差。CATO建議國會應簡化該結構，建議廢除1,000美元的補貼，使所有供款皆可抵稅，允許稅後遞延增長，並將帳戶轉換為靈活的「通用儲蓄帳戶」（Universal Savings Accounts），於18歲時設立，模式可參考加拿大和英國，而非維持目前複雜且受限的框架。
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