America's Dumb Budget

Discussion in 'Politics' started by TruthSeeker, Aug 7, 2007.

  1. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    "Poll: Balance the budget? Yes and no
    An MSN-Zogby poll says most Americans want the next president to make the government live within its means. But they don't support cuts in programs and aren't willing to pay more taxes.
    By Bradley Meacham

    The vast majority of Americans want the next president to balance the government's books, yet they oppose cuts in the costliest federal programs.

    According to a recent MSN-Zogby poll, 94% of Americans want the presidential candidates to explain how they would make the government live within its means.

    Most Americans oppose cuts in major government programs, but 50% also said they wouldn't vote for a candidate who proposed higher taxes to balance the budget. Only 35% said they would be willing to pay more taxes to maintain the current level of spending."

    Since you waste like 80% of your money on stupid military, why don't you just cut the military?

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  3. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    To be honest, TS, I would think that rather obvious. We've sort of gotten ourselves into something, and it's a little tough to get out. The problem with balancing the budget is that special interests have the ears of our legislators. Even cutting the budget, military spending will increase, corporate entitlement will increase, and the only things that will be decreased are social programs. There's an old bumper sticker, poster, and probably t-shirt that reads, "It will be a bright day in America when the schools have all the money they need and the Air Force must hold a bake sale to buy a bomber."

    I understand the need for defense. I just wish our government did not continually seek to exacerbate that need. Unfortunately, Bush has dug us a hole we can't easily get out of. Maybe we should blame Flordia, but nothing justifies what my American neighbors did in 2004.

    Truth is that nearly 100% of Americans would like a peaceful, secure nation. But less than a quarter are willing to actually do anything to contribute to it. We could have secured our ports, done a hell of a lot about our crumbling infrastructure, assisted our resource-strapped schools, and made significant strides in alleviating the costs of healthcare with the money we've spent in Iraq, but let's face it: the people just don't want to do it. They would rather complain and feel righteous than actually do anything about it. They would rather send our troops overseas to kill and die than simply conduct themselves with the honor and integrity worthy of the American myth we cling so desperately to.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2007
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  5. desi Valued Senior Member

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    If we cut the military we'd have the oil producing countries in the Middle East trading in stuff like Euros because they'd know we wouldn't be able to stop them. This would cause the petro dollar to free fall and the US would be broke. US military is spending isn't stupid if you trade in US dollars.
     
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  7. quadraphonics Bloodthirsty Barbarian Valued Senior Member

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    No, military spending is only about 17% of the federal budget. Social Security is the single largest item, and worker's comp and medicare are set to surpass defense within a few years.

    Also, the best way to balance the budget is through economic growth. That way, tax revenues go up without a tax increase. So, as long as spending doesn't increase, the deficit diminishes. This is exactly what's already been happening for the past few years.
     
  8. pjdude1219 The biscuit has risen Valued Senior Member

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    are tax levels are at a point where raiseing them would increase revenue
     
  9. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    Oh really....

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    Check your facts, please...
    http://www.truemajorityaction.org/oreos/

    Yeah... with like... the smallest growth in history plus largets deficits...

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  10. Count Sudoku Banned Banned

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    Typical average voter stupidity. This is why I oppose democracy. Anyway, the USA doesn't spend 80% of its money on the military, in fact I would be surprised if it was even 10%.
     
  11. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    Why do you people INSIST it is as low as 10%! Follow the link, please!!
    http://www.truemajorityaction.org/oreos/
     
  12. Count Sudoku Banned Banned

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    I don't insist that it is below 10%, I said I would be surprised if it was 10%. I suppose I remember before Iraq when we were at "peace" and military spending was 3-4% of GNP tops. Save me the suspense, is military spending really 17% of the USA budget now? If not, what is it?
     
  13. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    All in how you say it

    The War Resisters' League suggests some interesting numbers for the FY 2008 budget:

    Total Outlays (Federal Funds): $2,387 billion
    MILITARY: 51% and $1,228 billion
    NON-MILITARY: 49% and $1,159 billion

    Their numbers do require some artistic mathematics; it depends entirely on what you consider "military" expenditures, and whether or not you're willing to include a large portion of the federal debt as a military expenditure; it served their purposes to presume a larger number than the range "experts" argue about.

    To the other, though, they also cite the Office of Management and Budget and the Washington Post in presenting "the government view of the budget" ... oh, hell. Here:

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    'Tis a curious difference, indeed.
     
  14. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    P-lease! Get your facts straight! Go to the website. You are just ignoring it because you want to.

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  15. TW Scott Minister of Technology Registered Senior Member

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    DO you honestly think those are the only items in the budget? There are many, many, many more itmes in the budget. However i will point out a large percentage of the Military budget is Salary.



    Even if they were, the military budget is ~71% of what we see
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2007
  16. quadraphonics Bloodthirsty Barbarian Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah, that chart doesn't include the other big ticket items (or even say how much the budget is as a whole), so that data can't be used to calculate the percentage of the budget that goes to the Pentagon. No that math (or, for that matter, facts) was ever TruthSeeker's strong suit...

    The other stupid thing with that site is that he's got his panties all up in a bunch about how the federal government spends so much more on defence than education, and seems totally oblivious to the fact that education is funded by state and local government, not the federal government. US education spending dwarfs military spending:

    http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/10facts/index.html

    K-12 education spending roughly equals the military budget, and if you add in spending on higher education, ongoing training and preschool, you easily get to double the military budget.
     
  17. superstring01 Moderator

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    Here is what I was able to dig up from the Whitehouse website:

    Whitehouse Office of Management & Budget

    The following chart was found from the PDF file published at that site: Mid-Session Review, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2008

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    ~String
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2007
  18. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    The chart shows the main ones. What are the "big ticket items" that it doesn't show?

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    The federal government largely funds state and local governments. Dummy.

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    HAHAHA!!! You're hilarious!!!!!

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  19. quadraphonics Bloodthirsty Barbarian Valued Senior Member

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    Gee, why don't you check the 10 different posts that list them in this thread?

    You are some kind of idiot.
     

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