Compromise 1...Budget

[Missourian]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

 

[VaYank5150]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

I am not a Democrat, but I would support 10% cuts across the board, as long as NO programs were left out of the cuts.

 

[rightwinger]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

Does entitlement spending include:

Farm subsidies
Corporate tax incentives
Veterans benefits
Social Security
Capital gains

 

[Toronado3800]

I will not even cut the amount of retirement benefits. Just increase it proportionally to the increase in life expectancy. Heck, half as much.

Certainly the baby boomers are as tough as those who retired in the 40's, right?

 

[LordBrownTrout]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

Does entitlement spending include:

Farm subsidies
Corporate tax incentives
Veterans benefits
Social Security
Capital gains

Capital gains isn't entitlement spending. SS, medicare, welfare, medicaid, are entitlement spending. But to answer your question, specifically veterans, I would focus more on defense contracting waste. There's plenty of it. We could cut 10 percent out and still have the most advanced military in the world. I would not cut veterans benefits, even though they get crappy service.

End SS. All seniors continue to receive what they put in. The rest of us receive a lump sum x amount of dollars depending on the amount we have put in. Yeah, farm subsidies need to be cut along with corporate welfare ie the fed continuously bailing out banking, financial institutions.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

I am not a Democrat, but I would support 10% cuts across the board, as long as NO programs were left out of the cuts.

Ditto.

 

[Missourian]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

Does entitlement spending include:

Farm subsidies
Corporate tax incentives
Veterans benefits
Social Security
Capital gains

Farm subsidies yes.

Corperate tax incentives aren't spending,

Veterans benefits only as far as wasteful spending...they are an employment benefit, not an entitlement. Unless you'd like to put ALL government retirement plans on the table?

The same with SS...wasteful spending should be cut.

Capital gains are also not spending.

 

[uptownlivin90]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

Again no.

Nobody wants anything cut.

Defense spending needs to be cut by 25%.

Entitlements can be cut by a lot more if we put some necessary reforms in.

Social security reform won't get through but it's necessary. It should be privatized.

I wonder how many compromises it's going to take to end this silly drug war and close the bases we have in nations that haven't seen war in decades.

 

[Madeline]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

There's only two ways to cut entitlement spending....either depress benefits or raise the qualifications for eligibility. I have enough hungry families here already. There must be an extension of unemployment benefits out past 99 weeks....unemployment among blacks generally is above 16% with older people, teens, women and disabled people virtually unemployable.

Cut DOD's budget by 25% without appearing to so -- just create a substantial whistleblower reward and allow private attorneys to sue contractors etc. for fraud on the taxpayer. Exempt the "black box" budget and not only will fraud diminish, quality will improve...no more/far fewer soldiers dying beneath shitty kevlar vests.

And while we're slashing the budget, how's about we eliminate some goddamned corporate welfare? Close a few stupid and useless government agencies?

It does not take brains to shrink the budget....it takes willpower. Someone has to be willing to take on Big Agriculture, etc. and more'n a few need to be willing to fall on the swords of their political careers.

 

[loosecannon]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

There is no adult debate about cutting spending with folks who want to extend the Bush tax cuts. As they clearly have no interest in cutting the deficit.

 

[Madeline]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

There is no adult debate about cutting spending with folks who want to extend the Bush tax cuts. As they clearly have no interest in cutting the deficit.

I want to extend them, but only on the poor and middle class. The rich can pay more and should.

 

[loosecannon]

There must be an extension of unemployment benefits out past 99 weeks...

99 week unemployment benefits are crazy in the first place.

Tell them to find a job, or start a micro business.

First you will ask for 99 weeks then eventually you will be arguing that we must extend bennies for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years.

Besides they didn't pay for 99 weeks of coverage! It is an insurance after all! You have to pay for the benefits you bargain for.

 

[loosecannon]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

There is no adult debate about cutting spending with folks who want to extend the Bush tax cuts. As they clearly have no interest in cutting the deficit.

I want to extend them, but only on the poor and middle class. The rich can pay more and should.

then you aren't serious about cutting the deficit.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

If Republicans offered to cut Defense by 10%, would Democrats agree to cut all entitlement spending by the same amount?

Does entitlement spending include:

Farm subsidies - YES
Corporate tax incentives - Not Spending, therefore NO
Veterans benefits - NO
Social Security - NO
Capital gains - Not Spending, therefore NO

Well, you just scored a 20%. Well done.

Let's try:

OBAMACARE
Welfare
Foodstamps
HUD subsidies
AFDC
ACORN
NPR
PBC
Student Loan Program
Fannie
Freddie
USDoE (Energy and Education)
EPA
FDA

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

There must be an extension of unemployment benefits out past 99 weeks...

99 week unemployment benefits are crazy in the first place.

Tell them to find a job, or start a micro business.

First you will ask for 99 weeks then eventually you will be arguing that we must extend bennies for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years.

Besides they didn't pay for 99 weeks of coverage! It is an insurance after all! You have to pay for the benefits you bargain for.

99 weeks?????? Who the hell can't find something to do for damn near 2 years?

 

[Madeline]

There is no adult debate about cutting spending with folks who want to extend the Bush tax cuts. As they clearly have no interest in cutting the deficit.

I want to extend them, but only on the poor and middle class. The rich can pay more and should.

then you aren't serious about cutting the deficit.

We don't exist to serve government, loosecannon -- it exists to serve us. I am less concerned with the deficit than I am with the hungry.

 

[The Rabbi]

Simply enact the same budget we had in 2004 and everything will be fine.
2004 expenditures:$2.318T [
2010 revenue:$2.381T

What's hard about that??

 

[uscitizen]

Will congress cut it's operating budget by 10%?

 

[uscitizen]

And btw SS is not a budget cut issue. It is an employee/employer paid system not supported by tax dollars.

 

[Madeline]

There must be an extension of unemployment benefits out past 99 weeks...

99 week unemployment benefits are crazy in the first place.

Tell them to find a job, or start a micro business.

First you will ask for 99 weeks then eventually you will be arguing that we must extend bennies for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years.

Besides they didn't pay for 99 weeks of coverage! It is an insurance after all! You have to pay for the benefits you bargain for.

99 weeks?????? Who the hell can't find something to do for damn near 2 years?

Soggy, the fact is for some people re-employment is just not a viable plan. We need to incentivize the hiring of disadvantaged workers (tax breaks or even tax credits), expand SCORE, expand the Small Business Administration and outlaw the use of credit reports by employers in hiring/promotion or retention decisions that are not rationally-related to credit worthiness (e.g., bank guards, armored car drivers, etc.).

Otherwise, we will have a class of Americans who are forever unemployable and many are not eligible for any entitlement program now.....what becomes of these people? Do we just let them starve?