They keep asking...where can we cut federal spending ?

[ironglow]

  Of course, that is simply 'intentional ignorance', since there are hundreds of programs which could be cut to save our country from insolvency.  Here is a good place to start...if crooked judges, appointed by crooked politicians would just quit driving good ideas into the ditch..  http://spectator.org/archives/2010/02/02/show-acorn-the-money

[Junior1942]

Things would work fine as they are now if we'd increase Social Security withholding 1% and eliminate the oil depletion allowance.  If we would also stop paying farmers not to farm, we'd run a budget surplus.

[magooch]

So I guess that was why Obama favored cutting the FICA tax for a while.  That should make Social Security more solvent.  And hey, I'd be in favor of raising the oil depletion allowance if it could be shown that it would result in more domestic oil production.  If farm subsidies were eliminated completely, it would be a good thing, but as for that, or any other relatively minor program having a real affect on the deficit ... people, we are so far into the toilet, we can't even see daylight anymore.

I watched part of the House debate on cutting federal funding of NPR.  The Dumycrats thought that would be the end of the world.  My thought is that if we can't at least eliminate taxpayer funding of something like NPR, we might as well throw in the towel.

[no guns here]

Bring the troops home.  Cut the IRS.  Institute a flat tax.  Eliminate foreign assistance.  Cut Congress salary by 3/4. 
Restrict presidential travel.  Geeze there are lots of ideas that we can just pull out of mid-air.  Ban public assistance for illegals.   Just a few ideas...


NGH

[magooch]

Okay, no guns, now you've hit on it--almost.  Instead of banning assistance to illegals, why not ban illegals.  Now that would be the one thing that could begin to get this country back on track.

[Junior1942]

Okay, no guns, now you've hit on it--almost.  Instead of banning assistance to illegals, why not ban illegals.  Now that would be the one thing that could begin to get this country back on track.

Make it illegal to be illegal?  That oughta work....

[Gary G]

Government and liberty are at polar extremes to one another. The growth of one diminishes the other. To cut spending is to cut the size and power of government. It is at odds with what historically has always happened in any government who naturally seizes power a little at the time. It is understandable why they have such a hard time cutting spending as that cuts their power over the people. They will make noises and nothing of real substance will happen; not unless they see their position in extreme jeopardy. Witness Mubarak.

[DakotaElkSlayer]

http://www.globalfirepower.com/defense-spending-budget.asp

Although no one on here ever says it, me included, look at the above link and SERIOUSLY tell me why the fat can't be trimmed from that budget. 

Jim

[powderman]

A soldier told me that they dumped thousands of NEW batteries just because they were not listed on the inventory sheet and they were only allowed what was on the sheet. I'm sure there are many more acts of stupidity. POWDERMAN. 

[ironglow]

Okay, no guns, now you've hit on it--almost.  Instead of banning assistance to illegals, why not ban illegals.  Now that would be the one thing that could begin to get this country back on track.

Make it illegal to be illegal?  That oughta work....

    Well Junior;
      That is better than the politicians who want to give illegals all the rights of citizens ...and MORE in some instances.

[ironglow]

A soldier told me that they dumped thousands of NEW batteries just because they were not listed on the inventory sheet and they were only allowed what was on the sheet. I'm sure there are many more acts of stupidity. POWDERMAN. 

   Powderman;
  Sadly, that is part of the assinine system in the military and I suspect the rest of federal dependancies..that is, if the others are checked up on at all..  If the civilians aren't checked up on..they are likely more wasteful than the military.
    Such hiding (and perhaps disposing) of excess goods may occur when preparing for an I.G. inspection...ask any veteran..

   BTW:  Does anyone recall the congressional bank & post office scandals ?  ... Or how about that congressman from Chicago who had warehouses full of office furniture ?

[Gary G]

http://www.globalfirepower.com/defense-spending-budget.asp

Although no one on here ever says it, me included, look at the above link and SERIOUSLY tell me why the fat can't be trimmed from that budget. 

Jim

OK, I will tell you why. The military industrial complex has captured the federal government. Existing congressmen, senators, no longer need to worry if they will get enough votes for re-election. The know that they have enough money supplied by these military suppliers to buy huge amounts of TV time that will dwarf any competition. That is why there are so many lifers in DC.

[beerbelly]

WOW that old evil military industrial complex again! I should have known! ROFLMAO

[ironglow]

  I don't consider that type waste as anything to do with a "military-industrial complex".  Each of these examples of waste are simply the stupidity of government regulations and habits developed therefrom.     
    We hear stories about how govt agencies will waste funds, rather than to turn them back in !  There is inadequate accountability on all levels for what is used and spent.  At least the military tries to keep some of this wastefulness in check by making the final users (local commanders) responsible for any excess spending.  When a given motor pool is found with 5 extra tires for a 5-ton truck and an IG inspection is looming...something must be done, or somebody's career will suffer.  Nothing to do with the much exaggerated (IMO)statement once uttered by pres Eisenhower !
  There may be some truth to the statement but since that day, there have been plenty of watchdogs after the so-called M/I complex !
   That being said, how many watchdogs have been closely observing how funds have been spent by the Dept of Education, National Endowment for the Arts, ACORN, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the War on Poverty,  agricultural subsidies and a host of other programs we are forced to fund, which have very little positive effects and a plethora of negative ones..
  Yes, some of those programs get far less than the military, but they are of absolutely no use...along with thousands of programs such as NPR that are also totally useless. 
   At least the military has a positive and worthwhile use...if we consider freedom worthwhile, that is.
       The reason the military waste shows up is because you have many a Pvt John Doe who have seen and reported it, but with the other tax sponges listed above..they are all in collusion, know they are taking dishonest money and conspiring to continue doing so.
  Ironically, 5 tires or 1,000 batteries are harder to keep under wraps in most cases that a misspent or wasted $10,000,000 !

    Remember;  Billions of dollars of our tax money were spent bailing out GM and Chrysler, only to have a large portion of of each corporation GIVEN, free of charge to the unions...
   In view of the auto companies giveaway, the union sponsored disruptions in the middle east and the rioting in Wisconsin, Let's now start speaking of the LIBERAL/UNIONS COMPLEX..

[DDZ]

Jimmy Carter created the dept. of energy to rid us of our dependence on foreign energy and to regulate oil prices. We all know how that is working for us. Since its founding the DOE has spent 750 billion, a majority of that has gone into search for alternative energies. Look what we have to show for that time and money. Almost nothing. The  DOE's key tasks should be privatized and the rest done away with.

The Dept, of education should be done away with, mainly just because its unconstitutional, among other reasons. The DoED is a boon to labor unions, that in no way has served school children. Heck even the liberals have known this. They just don't admit it. We can thank Lyndon Johnson for this mess. He tied education to fighting poverty and civil rights. The supporters of the DoED said that the program would be small and merely play an oversight role in local education. I guess they lied. When formed the budget was 13.1 billion in 2007 dollars. In 2010 it was 107 billion with an absurd 4800 employees. I wonder how many of those jobs are useless?

How about ending federal highway programs? The federal highway/mass transit has a budget proposed for 41.3 billion for 2011. Ike created this mess that was supposed to end in 1972. I guess like every other federal government involvement they just get bigger. In 05 the highway bill contained 6,376 earmarks that cost 24 billion. Stuff like a horse riding facility in Virginia, a snowmobile trail in Vermont, and a day-care center park and ride program in Illinois, and the list goes on with wasteful spending.  Give the money to the states and let them decide how and where the money is spent. Of coarse eliminating the federal highway program would end the .18 per gallon federal gas tax, and let the states pick up the slack if they need to.

Then there is the federal agriculture subsidies which is 10-30 billion a year. This was started during the depression when the situation in rural America was terrible. Farm families had incomes that were half of the rest of America. Today, the USDA statistics show that the income of farm house holds is higher than the national average. The program has accumulated so much fraud and waste, it needs to be ended to get rid of it.

If a task can be privatized it should be. When the federal government does something, it not only generally has a monopoly, it also has an unfair advantage because it doesn't have to worry about making money, and that is bad for the tax payers. What entrepreneur is going to compete against government when he knows that he is up against a nearly limitless pile of money.         

[Dixie Dude]

The commission Obama created with both Republicans and Democrats did come up with some good solutions. 

One was raising the retirement age over time.  People are living longer than in the 1930's, about 10+ years longer. 

I do agree with a lot of the above.  I think the highway tax should only be used for maintenance or expansion of the interstate highway system only.  Let the states do the rest.  Lower the tax to the bare minimum to maintain the I system.  The interstate highway system was created to move troops quickly from one part of the country to another like Germany's Autoban did for the Germans in WWII.

I like the idea of a flat tax across the board with no deductions.  Rich and poor would pay the same percentage. 

Government has done well in research and development like Nasa and military spinoffs.  In the area of social engineering, they have created a mess.  They need to get out of the welfare business and health care business.  This should be a states rights issue.  It would be less expensive and get the freeloaders of the dole.  Only mentally and physically handicapped, should be on welfare.  Able bodied should fend for themselves.  Eliminate minimum wage and then Americans would have jobs, and illegals woud have to go home.  Without minimum wage, there would be more competition in the work force.  More education, mover value your job.  I remember when companies didn't have to pay minimum wage unless they had over 500 employees.