Where would you make the cuts? Not just directing this at you... its just something that I hear sooo many people say, and I'm wondering if there is just something that they all know about the budget that I don't. 60% of the budget is comprised of defense spending, Social Security, and Medicare/Medicaid (mostly Medicare) at about 20-21% each. 13% goes to so-called "entitlement" programming. 6% goes to interest payments on the national debt. The last 20% miscellaneous, but no less important. Like roads/transportation, public schools, NIH/research funding, VA bennies. Stuff like that.
Where would you make the cuts? Just curious.
Since there are no easy answers and answering a question like this is bound to open up criticism but Im fine with that. Here is a broad based plan from me. Keep in mind I dont do this for a living. You surely wouldnt ask someone in economics or policy to reduce your fracture or suture up your kid.
Here goes.
1) End the war in afghanistan, cut 7.5% of our military spending, let the military decide where. Cuts by 1% per yr and 0.5% the last yr.
2) Allow the govt to negotiate prescription drug costs (somehow as docs we get screwed but big pharma reaps the rewards, they have one of the highest profit margins as a group of any publicly traded sector).
3) Medicare starts at 67 for anyone under 50 on Jan 1 2013
4) Legalize and tax weed like tobacco
5) Cut the 60 billion found in the dept of education.. cut it to about 1/3 of that. Fix whatever idiot rule allows the interest rate on this money to go to 6.8%. Mine were all cheaper and were not subsidized. I know this would cut some aid, so be it.
6) Repeal obamacare
7) simplify the tax code (I would be fine for an extremely simple tax code for example 10% VAT type tax plus 10% for all income above 150k leaving ONLY the mortgage tax deduction. NOTHING ELSE. I am open to other options).
8) I wouldnt touch social security but I believe I addressed the other 2 big ones.
9) Shrink federal govt employment by 10-15% through attrition, bring pay in line with private jobs.
10) Bring congress back into social security
11) Continue to stop medicare/medicaid fraud (10% of all costs of the program)
12) Cut aid to all countries that dont support us (Pakistan, Egypt etc).
I would then raise taxes 0.5% per yr across the board until we reach the pre bush tax cut numbers (assuming #7 is a no go).
Oh some extra money here..
http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public...&File_id=b69a6ebd-7ebe-41b7-bb03-c25a5e194365
My favorites:
$30 million to help Pakistani Mango farmers: This was part of a four-year, $90 million effort to boost hiring and sales among Pakistani businesses funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development.
$765,828 for pancakes: Federal funding went to the Anacostia Economic Development Corp to build an International House of Pancake franchise (and train its workers) in an "underserved community." The underserved community, however, turned out to the a toney area of Washington D.C. - Columbia Heights, which is termed "one of Washington's more desirable neighborhoods."
$120 million in retirement and disability benefits to federal employees who have died: The Inspector General for the U.S. Office of Personnel management found that "the amount of post-death improper payments is consistently $100 million - $150 million annually, totaling over $601 million in the last five years."
$652,740 to create an Oklahoma "visitor's center": The scenic highway that runs from Talihina, Oklahoma to Mena, Ark., already has three visitor's centers, but this federal grant would create a fourth. The abandoned rock house that the government proposes to turn into a new visitor's center will cost more than 14 times the median value of a home in the area. That would be bad enough, but the Talimena Drive area is in good shape, while the rest of eastern Oklahoma's roads could use some serious attention. The area ranks 8th in the nation for its number of "structurally deficient" bridges.
$113,277 for video games: The International Center for the History of Electronic Games got the money to conduct a detailed conservation survey of video games.
$484,000 for pizza: A private developer was giving federal grant money to build Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers, an Arlington, Tx., outlet known for its tongue-in-cheek references to drug and hippie culture.
$100,000 for a celebrity chef show in Indonesia: The Washington State Fruit Commission asked for the grant to help promote their fruit and cooking recipes in "an emerging market." Can you spell "Boondoggle?"
$10 million for Pakistani Sesame Street: We must really love the Pakistanis. We must have a close and trusting relationship with the country that somehow managed to miss the fact that Osama bin Laden was living within spitting distance of a Pakistani military base for years. Because, after funding the Pakistani Mango growers, the government felt it needed to spend some time and money remaking big bird and the other Sesame Street characters into a show called "SimSim Humara" for the Pakistani market.
$550,000 for "Rockin' the Kremlin: A documentary on how rock and roll contributed to the end of the cold war.
$702,558 to bring television to Vietnamese villages: No, it wasn't just for the sitcoms. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University wanted to know how television affects family formation and reproductive health. So where better to study the problem than 14 remote Vietnamese villages, where the government paid to bring the t.v.s and gas generators, because, of course, these villages also don't have electric power?
In quotes is about 163 Million. Enough to throw a great party.
Send that to the CBO for scoring ok? I can help you.. it would bring us way in line.
Glitterbox What would you do? Keep in mind even if you taxed every penny earned over 250k you couldnt balance the budget.
Scotch as an itemized expense.
