Name Your Cuts

[Common Sense]

Close foreign bases and ports. Keep only the ones that are needed.
Stop unemplyment on 1/1/11
make it harder to get and keep welfare
flat tax and close the IRS
cut congress pay in 1/2
close the DoE, it made things worse
combine many of our police into larger forces
make states fund much of what they should be funding
DoT, closed, it only funds unions anyway

off the top of my head.

btw best post yet!

Close foreign bases and ports. Keep only the ones that are needed. - can agree, would just like to see a list and how many jobs it would potentially cost.

Stop unemplyment on 1/1/11- this might be the only one i disagree with since stopping unemployment may lead to higher crime and greater instances of poverty. thus becoming a bigger drain on the system itself

make it harder to get and keep welfare - 100% AGREED!

flat tax and close the IRS - agreed, but we may still need the IRS to deal with businesses and corporate taxes. but it could be scaled back trememdously

cut congress pay in 1/2 - 100% agreed

close the DoE, it made things worse - do you mean energy or education? DOE is energy, ED is education.

combine many of our police into larger forces - this could be a positive, but since police are a local and state budget concern, im not sure i see the direct impact to the federal budget. although this could significantly help the states.

make states fund much of what they should be funding - confused on exact programs. could you elaborate?

DoT, closed, it only funds unions anyway - this is not to viable, as there would be no one to maintain the roads systems. although it could be reformed to cut waste.

 

[Liability]

RAVI!











Eh? Say what?




Oh. CUTS.




My bad.



I guess I musta misread it.

 

[(R)IGHTeous 1]

Close foreign bases and ports. Keep only the ones that are needed.
Stop unemplyment on 1/1/11
make it harder to get and keep welfare
flat tax and close the IRS
cut congress pay in 1/2
close the DoE, it made things worse
combine many of our police into larger forces
make states fund much of what they should be funding
DoT, closed, it only funds unions anyway

off the top of my head.

......I can get on board with this.

 

[Bern80]

flat tax and close the IRS - agreed, but we may still need the IRS to deal with businesses and corporate taxes. but it could be scaled back trememdously

I don't think you would need an IRS if you adopted a flat tax. The goal is make it so simple that government doesn't need the IRS. So, you eliminate income and payroll tax. Replace it with the fair tax which is a federal consumption tax. It would be applied to everything and it would be a sales tax on all finished products. This would apply it to corporations as well because they would essentially pay sales tax on things like supplies and raw materials. Some numbers thrown around have said this tax would be about 15%. That seems like a lot, but you have to remember there would no longer be a tax on income. I am wiling to bet that if enacted such a tax has the potential of actually bringing in more tax revenue than the government currently gets.

 

[DiamondDave]

As for cuts to go along with revamping the tax code and the way taxes are collected in a subjective class warfare game.... let's just start with agencies and departments starting with the letter A.... get rid of these things that have no place in the federal government... if you all want, we can go thru the entire alphabetical list....

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Administration for Native Americans
Administration on Aging (AoA)
Administration on Developmental Disabilities
African Development Foundation
Agency for International Development
Agricultural Marketing Service
Agricultural Research Service
Alabama Home Page
Alabama State, County, and City Websites
Alaska Home Page
Alaska State, County, and City Websites
American Samoa Home Page
AMTRAK (National Railroad Passenger Corporation)
Appalachian Regional Commission
Arctic Research Commission
Arizona Home Page
Arizona State, County, and City Websites
Arkansas Home Page
Arkansas State, County, and City Websites
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Interagency Coordinating Committee

 

[Liability]

Liberals have advised us that there is no way -- and absolutely no FAIR way -- of cutting ANYTHING out of the Federal Budget.

The problem is intractable.

The only POSSIBLE solution (as they have told us for lo these many many years) is to increase taxes on everyone who makes any income, and especially on those greedy giant greedy huge greedy massive greedy corporations! Did I mention greedy?

Since this problem thus cannot possibly be solved, Elmo says it is time to lose all hope!

 

[Two Thumbs]

Close foreign bases and ports. Keep only the ones that are needed.
Stop unemplyment on 1/1/11
make it harder to get and keep welfare
flat tax and close the IRS
cut congress pay in 1/2
close the DoE, it made things worse
combine many of our police into larger forces
make states fund much of what they should be funding
DoT, closed, it only funds unions anyway

off the top of my head.

btw best post yet!

Close foreign bases and ports. Keep only the ones that are needed. - can agree, would just like to see a list and how many jobs it would potentially cost. Not one American job lost. The vets come home and get priority treatment on re-enlistment. Only issue would be limited enlistment of new members.

Stop unemplyment on 1/1/11- this might be the only one i disagree with since stopping unemployment may lead to higher crime and greater instances of poverty. thus becoming a bigger drain on the system itself good point, but at some point you have to take some kind of job.

make it harder to get and keep welfare - 100% AGREED!

flat tax and close the IRS - agreed, but we may still need the IRS to deal with businesses and corporate taxes. but it could be scaled back trememdously true.

cut congress pay in 1/2 - 100% agreed

close the DoE, it made things worse - do you mean energy or education? DOE is energy, ED is education. ED, let states pay and determine what they teach. Energy, meh, we need some regulations, so close it and combine with the FBI.

combine many of our police into larger forces - this could be a positive, but since police are a local and state budget concern, im not sure i see the direct impact to the federal budget. although this could significantly help the states. I should have been more specific. There are around 30 Federal police forces with full chains of cammand, they can be combined to shrink the over all size.

make states fund much of what they should be funding - confused on exact programs. could you elaborate? Education, roads, regulating mining and drilling. ex; mining in W Va is blowing up mountains, mining in Il is strip mining. Vastly different rules are needed, but they have to follow each others rules adding to cost.

DoT, closed, it only funds unions anyway - this is not to viable, as there would be no one to maintain the roads systems. although it could be reformed to cut waste. Turn it over to the states, so they can accept quality bids and not just the lowest bid as they are required to do so now.

Thank you very much.

 

[Two Thumbs]

As for cuts to go along with revamping the tax code and the way taxes are collected in a subjective class warfare game.... let's just start with agencies and departments starting with the letter A.... get rid of these things that have no place in the federal government... if you all want, we can go thru the entire alphabetical list....

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Administration for Native Americans
Administration on Aging (AoA)
Administration on Developmental Disabilities
African Development Foundation
Agency for International Development
Agricultural Marketing Service
Agricultural Research Service
Alabama Home Page
Alabama State, County, and City Websites
Alaska Home Page
Alaska State, County, and City Websites
American Samoa Home Page
AMTRAK (National Railroad Passenger Corporation)
Appalachian Regional Commission
Arctic Research Commission
Arizona Home Page
Arizona State, County, and City Websites
Arkansas Home Page
Arkansas State, County, and City Websites
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Interagency Coordinating Committee

I went to that site. it's bogles the mind.

 

[Oddball]

flat tax and close the IRS - agreed, but we may still need the IRS to deal with businesses and corporate taxes. but it could be scaled back trememdously

I don't think you would need an IRS if you adopted a flat tax. The goal is make it so simple that government doesn't need the IRS. So, you eliminate income and payroll tax. Replace it with the fair tax which is a federal consumption tax. It would be applied to everything and it would be a sales tax on all finished products. This would apply it to corporations as well because they would essentially pay sales tax on things like supplies and raw materials. Some numbers thrown around have said this tax would be about 15%. That seems like a lot, but you have to remember there would no longer be a tax on income. I am wiling to bet that if enacted such a tax has the potential of actually bringing in more tax revenue than the government currently gets.

Not going to fly.

The original income tax was a flat tax, levied on only a very few.

Turns out that politician just can't resist punishing enemies, rewarding friends and social engineering via the tax code.

Also, the last thing the feds need is anymore revenue.

 

[rightwinger]

1. Military- end Iraq and Afghanistan, pull out of Europe completely, cut down on the number of nuclear warheads and platforms, cut down the number of carrier task forces and submarines, stop defending the world
2. Social Security- Raise the age to 70, end the cap on contributions
3. Farm Subsidies- eliminate
4. Homeland Security- eliminate and use military forces pulled from overseas

 

[cutter]

1.Do away with the Dept of Education
2.Do away with DHS.
3. Do away with HUD
4. Do away with all foreign military bases. Have the strongest military in the world and
station it in country. When you need a foreign base use your carrier fleet.
5. Do away with all "czars"
6. Do away with the FED
Just a quick list given time there is a lot more the gov is doing that they have no authority to do. The first 3 are state responsibility. Before the Dept of Ed we had the best education in the world.
7. do away with the ATFE

 

[Bern80]

flat tax and close the IRS - agreed, but we may still need the IRS to deal with businesses and corporate taxes. but it could be scaled back trememdously

I don't think you would need an IRS if you adopted a flat tax. The goal is make it so simple that government doesn't need the IRS. So, you eliminate income and payroll tax. Replace it with the fair tax which is a federal consumption tax. It would be applied to everything and it would be a sales tax on all finished products. This would apply it to corporations as well because they would essentially pay sales tax on things like supplies and raw materials. Some numbers thrown around have said this tax would be about 15%. That seems like a lot, but you have to remember there would no longer be a tax on income. I am wiling to bet that if enacted such a tax has the potential of actually bringing in more tax revenue than the government currently gets.

Not going to fly.

The original income tax was a flat tax, levied on only a very few.

Turns out that politician just can't resist punishing enemies, rewarding friends and social engineering via the tax code.

Also, the last thing the feds need is anymore revenue.

I know, but a guy can dream. That's the problem with congress. No balls to do something major.

 

[Oddball]

Well, here we go with the list, for the umpteenth time:

Abolish the Departments of Education, Commerce, Labor, Energy (including the AEC, TVA, etcetera) HHS & HUD, DHS, FEMA & TSA. Furthermore, privatize the practicable functions of the DOT (i.e. AMTRAK and ATC) & EPA to market-based operations and devolve Ag Department functions to the states. Likewise, end the utter scam that is the federal highway "trust fund" and leave the building and maintenance of roads and bridges to the states and localities.

End the idiotic federal "war" on (some) drugs, the FDA, DEA & ATF and devolve any and all responsibility for medicinal and recreational drug policies to states and/or the free market.

Eliminate the FED, income tax, abolish the 16th Amendment & IRS. Furthermore, tell the FED to suck a big chili dog, as it relates to any more interest payments from the Federal Treasury going to fuel their fiat money Ponzi scheme.

Close all military bases on foreign soil --especially those where the wars have been over for decades-- and bring the troops home to protect AMERICAN borders and sovereignty. Then adopt a policy of "harbor enemies and screw with our citizens, we turn your country to a giant glass doorstop".

Phase out Medicare/Medicaid & Social Security and fully repeal Obolshevikcare. Do this by selling off federal land holdings to keep the promises made to those who've already been bilked, and freeing those who will be phased out from the onerous 15% payroll tax. To that end, the BLM & USFS (i.e. Department of Interior) can be eliminated, with forest and park functions devolved to the states.

Junk the FCC and all spending on CPB, PBS & NPR.

End all farm, ETOH, "alternative energy" and oil/natural gas subsidies.

End all taxpayer funded foreign aid and evict the U.N. from American soil.

End all fringe benefits and pensions for congressweasels, their staff and all federal bureaucrats...You get a paycheck, that's it, deal with it.

Those are just off the top of my head.

 

[Liability]

Well, here we go with the list, for the umpteenth time:

Abolish the Departments of Education, Commerce, Labor, Energy (including the AEC, TVA, etcetera) HHS & HUD, DHS, FEMA & TSA. Furthermore, privatize the practicable functions of the DOT (i.e. AMTRAK and ATC) & EPA to market-based operations and devolve Ag Department functions to the states. Likewise, end the utter scam that is the federal highway "trust fund" and leave the building and maintenance of roads and bridges to the states and localities.

End the idiotic federal "war" on (some) drugs, the FDA, DEA & ATF and devolve any and all responsibility for medicinal and recreational drug policies to states and/or the free market.

Eliminate the FED, income tax, abolish the 16th Amendment & IRS. Furthermore, tell the FED to suck a big chili dog, as it relates to any more interest payments from the Federal Treasury going to fuel their fiat money Ponzi scheme.

Close all military bases on foreign soil --especially those where the wars have been over for decades-- and bring the troops home to protect AMERICAN borders and sovereignty. Then adopt a policy of "harbor enemies and screw with our citizens, we turn your country to a giant glass doorstop".

Phase out Medicare/Medicaid & Social Security and fully repeal Obolshevikcare. Do this by selling off federal land holdings to keep the promises made to those who've already been bilked, and freeing those who will be phased out from the onerous 15% payroll tax. To that end, the BLM & USFS (i.e. Department of Interior) can be eliminated, with forest and park functions devolved to the states.

Junk the FCC and all spending on CPB, PBS & NPR.

End all farm, ETOH, "alternative energy" and oil/natural gas subsidies.

End all taxpayer funded foreign aid and evict the U.N. from American soil.

And all fringe benefits and pensions for congressweasels, their staff and all federal bureaucrats...You get a paycheck, that's it, deal with it.

Those are just off the top of my head.

Imagine if you gave it a little thought and effort?

 

[Common Sense]

Well, here we go with the list, for the umpteenth time:

Abolish the Departments of Education, Commerce, Labor, Energy (including the AEC, TVA, etcetera) HHS & HUD, DHS, FEMA & TSA. Furthermore, privatize the practicable functions of the DOT (i.e. AMTRAK and ATC) & EPA to market-based operations and devolve Ag Department functions to the states. Likewise, end the utter scam that is the federal highway "trust fund" and leave the building and maintenance of roads and bridges to the states and localities.

End the idiotic federal "war" on (some) drugs, the FDA, DEA & ATF and devolve any and all responsibility for medicinal and recreational drug policies to states and/or the free market.

Eliminate the FED, income tax, abolish the 16th Amendment & IRS. Furthermore, tell the FED to suck a big chili dog, as it relates to any more interest payments from the Federal Treasury going to fuel their fiat money Ponzi scheme.

Close all military bases on foreign soil --especially those where the wars have been over for decades-- and bring the troops home to protect AMERICAN borders and sovereignty. Then adopt a policy of "harbor enemies and screw with our citizens, we turn your country to a giant glass doorstop".

Phase out Medicare/Medicaid & Social Security and fully repeal Obolshevikcare. Do this by selling off federal land holdings to keep the promises made to those who've already been bilked, and freeing those who will be phased out from the onerous 15% payroll tax. To that end, the BLM & USFS (i.e. Department of Interior) can be eliminated, with forest and park functions devolved to the states.

Junk the FCC and all spending on CPB, PBS & NPR.

End all farm, ETOH, "alternative energy" and oil/natural gas subsidies.

End all taxpayer funded foreign aid and evict the U.N. from American soil.

End all fringe benefits and pensions for congressweasels, their staff and all federal bureaucrats...You get a paycheck, that's it, deal with it.

Those are just off the top of my head.

the most interesting thing about everything that you have listed is that this will lead to millions of people losing their jobs and the privatization of many branches of the government.

for example:
excluding Iraq and Afghanistan - there are approx. 125,000 service men and women abroad. this eliminates all of those jobs.
well done, great idea for the economy to add another 125,000 people to the unemployed list. and you idea of "harbor enemies and screw with our citizens, we turn your country to a giant glass doorstop". great idea, lets threaten to nuke the whole world all the time. thats great foreign policy.

if you simply eliminate medicare you leave approx 43 million people without any form of health care. thats a great way to overburden the system immediately.

if you eliminate SS, you take money away from approx 40 million people, and even if only half depend solely on that payment, you just put 20 million people into poverty. how to deal with 20 million people unable to support themselves who are over the age of 65?

if you eliminate the income tax, the government has a $915 billion shortfall. how do you suggest that revenue be replaced?

if you eliminate the FDA, all legal drugs can will no longer have testing and trial standards, thus leading to more unsafe drugs hitting the market, which would in turn lead to more accidental deaths.

if you eliminate the DEA and ATF, who will be responsible for overseeing and regulating drug policies (for things like narcotics and barbituates) as well as alcohol, tobacco and firearms? or does none of that matter anymore?

if you privitaze the DOT, you thus make it a for profit enterprise. the companies that then own the interstate system can charge you at will for use of their roads. congratulations, you just made every road in essence a toll road.

if you eliminate the FED, who is in charge of printing and monitoring our currency? also by doing this we lose the FDIC, which mean that banks who hold our money would not have to guarantee that if they went insolvent, our money was still accessible. yet another great idea..

if you eliminate the FCC, who then regulate the airwaves. (im not talking about what is said or done on the airwaves) but how to you protect the bandwith from becoming overburdened and congested? how do you prevent radio from not using the same frequencies as air traffic or television, or internet?

i could go on and on, but i dont see a point. hence why in the original post i put "viable" solutions.

the essence of your argument really isnt to eliminate many of these programs, but to shift the burden from the Federal level to the state or local level. the civil war was won by the north, whom supported the idea of a strong federal government as opposed to the south who wanted states to be more powerful. your plan sounds a like more like a confederacy than a federal system.

 

[Avatar4321]

First off, We aren't discussing tax cuts. We are discussing not raising taxes. IE We are arguing for the Status Quo. Personally, I think we should argue for tax cuts after Obama's stirring speech today.

Second, 15% spending cut across the board. Eliminate the Department of Education, Energy, and May as well eliminate Homeland security as well. We did fine without it before the last 8 years.

this thread is not about tax cuts or not raising taxes at all.

this thread is about cuts to the budget and overall spending.

And I told you where I would start with the cuts. Obviously you didn't read my post very clearly.

 

[Common Sense]

First off, We aren't discussing tax cuts. We are discussing not raising taxes. IE We are arguing for the Status Quo. Personally, I think we should argue for tax cuts after Obama's stirring speech today.

Second, 15% spending cut across the board. Eliminate the Department of Education, Energy, and May as well eliminate Homeland security as well. We did fine without it before the last 8 years.

this thread is not about tax cuts or not raising taxes at all.

this thread is about cuts to the budget and overall spending.

And I told you where I would start with the cuts. Obviously you didn't read my post very clearly.

how do tax cuts cut spending?

everyone wants to eliminate DHS. but you fail to realize the DHS was in direct response to 9/11.

"The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet department of the United States federal government with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the U.S. from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. DHS absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection."

In response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. The office was headed by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who assumed the title of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. The official announcement stated:
The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States.
Ridge began his duties as OHS director on October 8, 2001.
The Department of Homeland Security was established on November 25, 2002, by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It was intended to consolidate U.S. executive branch organizations related to "homeland security" into a single Cabinet agency. The following 22 agencies were incorporated into the new department:

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer addresses Dick Cheney (center), then Vice President of the United States, Saxby Chambliss (center right), a U.S. senator from Georgia and Michael Chertoff (far right), then United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2005
Customs Service – Treasury
Coast Guard – Transportation
Secret Service – Treasury
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service) – Justice
United States Border Patrol (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service) – Justice
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service) – Justice
Federal Protective Service – General Services Administration
Transportation Security Administration – Transportation
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center – Treasury
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Agriculture
Office for Domestic Preparedness – Justice
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Strategic National Stockpile and the National Disaster Medical System – HHS
Nuclear Incident Response Team – Energy
Domestic Emergency Support Teams – Justice
National Domestic Preparedness Office – Justice (FBI)
CBRN Countermeasures Programs – Energy
Environmental Measurements Laboratory – Energy
National BW Defense Analysis Center – Defense
Plum Island Animal Disease Center – Agriculture
Federal Computer Incident Response Center – GSA
National Communications System – Defense
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) (formerly the National Infrastructure Protection Center) – Justice (FBI )
Energy Security and Assurance Program – Energy:

so do we not need any of these programs that DHS oversees? DHS was created to merge several programs under one banner to allow for information to be shared more openly thus making protecting ourselves more efficient.

 

[Granny]

First and foremost, KEEP the military and defense budgets - there are very good reasons to have troops both here and overseas. It would be in our best national interest to do so.

BAN or outlaw all the earmarks for little pet projects, personal gain, etc. I can understand government funding for some things such as interstate highways because they are used by all of us - but I don't think there should be any federal funding for airports, bridges, schools, and other buildings to simply bear the names of the porkers - Murtha, Byrd, and countless others.

NO self-granted wage increases. We the People should agree to and control the amount of raises for elected public servants based on merit, sound legislation and so forth. No serious and sincere logical legislation - no pay raise, no re-election.

Congress needs to be FORBIDDEN by law to exclude themselves from any legislation that they expect the rest of us to live by. If they need to exclude themselves from living under legislation they create - then there's something very, very wrong with that legislation.

Getting rid of the Department of Education is an excellent choice by another poster. Even more departments/agencies could also be striped down to the bone or eliminated altogether.

NO grants for any kind of nonsensical "studies" that have no bearing what-so-ever on any kind of value to our lives. Medical research - yes - so long as it's not for stupid stuff.

I've got a whole laundry list of things I'd like to see cut, defunded, and/or completely done away with. WE need to be in control of every breath our legislators take instead of them being in control of every breath we take.

 

[Oddball]

Well, here we go with the list, for the umpteenth time:

Abolish the Departments of Education, Commerce, Labor, Energy (including the AEC, TVA, etcetera) HHS & HUD, DHS, FEMA & TSA. Furthermore, privatize the practicable functions of the DOT (i.e. AMTRAK and ATC) & EPA to market-based operations and devolve Ag Department functions to the states. Likewise, end the utter scam that is the federal highway "trust fund" and leave the building and maintenance of roads and bridges to the states and localities.

End the idiotic federal "war" on (some) drugs, the FDA, DEA & ATF and devolve any and all responsibility for medicinal and recreational drug policies to states and/or the free market.

Eliminate the FED, income tax, abolish the 16th Amendment & IRS. Furthermore, tell the FED to suck a big chili dog, as it relates to any more interest payments from the Federal Treasury going to fuel their fiat money Ponzi scheme.

Close all military bases on foreign soil --especially those where the wars have been over for decades-- and bring the troops home to protect AMERICAN borders and sovereignty. Then adopt a policy of "harbor enemies and screw with our citizens, we turn your country to a giant glass doorstop".

Phase out Medicare/Medicaid & Social Security and fully repeal Obolshevikcare. Do this by selling off federal land holdings to keep the promises made to those who've already been bilked, and freeing those who will be phased out from the onerous 15% payroll tax. To that end, the BLM & USFS (i.e. Department of Interior) can be eliminated, with forest and park functions devolved to the states.

Junk the FCC and all spending on CPB, PBS & NPR.

End all farm, ETOH, "alternative energy" and oil/natural gas subsidies.

End all taxpayer funded foreign aid and evict the U.N. from American soil.

End all fringe benefits and pensions for congressweasels, their staff and all federal bureaucrats...You get a paycheck, that's it, deal with it.

Those are just off the top of my head.

the most interesting thing about everything that you have listed is that this will lead to millions of people losing their jobs and the privatization of many branches of the government.
It will also unleash hundreds of billions of dollars to be used for productive pursuits, thereby available to increase demand for workers in the private sector.

for example:
excluding Iraq and Afghanistan - there are approx. 125,000 service men and women abroad. this eliminates all of those jobs.
well done, great idea for the economy to add another 125,000 people to the unemployed list. and you idea of "harbor enemies and screw with our citizens, we turn your country to a giant glass doorstop". great idea, lets threaten to nuke the whole world all the time. thats great foreign policy.
Ibid.

if you simply eliminate medicare you leave approx 43 million people without any form of health care. thats a great way to overburden the system immediately.

They'll have all the health care they want...They'll merely have to pay for it like they do everything else.

if you eliminate SS, you take money away from approx 40 million people, and even if only half depend solely on that payment, you just put 20 million people into poverty. how to deal with 20 million people unable to support themselves who are over the age of 65?

I said phase it out, not end it tomorrow. Moreover, people living solely on SS are already in poverty right now.

And why don't you seem to care a wit about the young and productive, who are being bilked to pay for this Ponzi scheme?...Is throwing away their productivity on a collapsing vestige of seven decades ago of no consequence to you?

if you eliminate the income tax, the government has a $915 billion shortfall. how do you suggest that revenue be replaced?

Too fucking bad....I don't propose to replace it at all.

Let politicians live within their means like everyone else.

if you eliminate the FDA, all legal drugs can will no longer have testing and trial standards, thus leading to more unsafe drugs hitting the market, which would in turn lead to more accidental deaths.

Those "testing and trial standards" are the biggest crony capitalism scam ever devised by mankind. Only the hugest of the huge pharm companies can afford the $500+ billion it takes to bring a new medication or device to market...BTW, when has the FDA ever taken responsibility for the drugs that they've approved (Vioxx, Phen-fen, etcetera) that have ended up killing people?

if you eliminate the DEA and ATF, who will be responsible for overseeing and regulating drug policies (for things like narcotics and barbituates) as well as alcohol, tobacco and firearms? or does none of that matter anymore?

The states...Please try reading for comprehension.

if you privitaze the DOT, you thus make it a for profit enterprise. the companies that then own the interstate system can charge you at will for use of their roads. congratulations, you just made every road in essence a toll road.

Pure bull...The states can build and maintain their roads via fuel taxes, just as they are doing today.

if you eliminate the FED, who is in charge of printing and monitoring our currency? also by doing this we lose the FDIC, which mean that banks who hold our money would not have to guarantee that if they went insolvent, our money was still accessible. yet another great idea.

You need to get up to speed on the history of banking, fiat money and the Fed...Start here:

Creature from Jekyll Island (softbound book)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auQEXTWomA[/ame]


if you eliminate the FCC, who then regulate the airwaves. (im not talking about what is said or done on the airwaves) but how to you protect the bandwith from becoming overburdened and congested? how do you prevent radio from not using the same frequencies as air traffic or television, or internet?

The FCC is little more than another crony capitalist venture like the FDA...Bring big money or they don't want to talk to you.



i could go on and on, but i dont see a point. hence why in the original post i put "viable" solutions.



the essence of your argument really isnt to eliminate many of these programs, but to shift the burden from the Federal level to the state or local level. the civil war was won by the north, whom supported the idea of a strong federal government as opposed to the south who wanted states to be more powerful. your plan sounds a like more like a confederacy than a federal system.

Then your opinion of "viability" is extremely arrested. Hence, I'd posit that you really aren't interested in any serious cutbacks, and have merely started this thread as a left-handed way of saying that an immense, bloated, expensive, overbearing and grossly invasive federal gubmint is truly indispensable.

...

 

[QUENTIN]

Before we cut anthing that affects American households we should cut off ALL foreign welfare, all foreign wars, and all foreign occupation. It that doesn't do it go to the next thing on the list. Cut congressional pay and benefits, cut off their ability to exempt themselves to any law they pass.

I don't know that I've ever agreed with you on anything on the boards before. I agree with every word of this.

Here's a good approach from Reason:

The CBO, the non-partisan agency charged with estimating the effects of legislation on government costs, has produced a long-term budget outlook in which Bush-era tax rates remain unchanged. Their conclusion is that over the next decade, "government revenues would remain at about 19 percent of GDP, near their historical averages." That's actually a bit higher than the historical average, but is within the bounds of reason.

A balanced budget in 2020 based on 19 percent of GDP would mean $1.3 trillion in cuts over the next decade, or about $129 billion annually out of ever-increasing budgets averaging around $4.1 trillion. Note that these are not even absolute cuts, but trims from expected increases in spending.

To get a more concrete sense of what getting to 19 percent means, here is a table of projected major budget expenditures in total dollars, followed by the amount that needs to be cut each year from the expected budget to get an annual 3.6 percent decrease across the board.

Looking at the chart below, the question becomes: Could you, say, find $129 billion dollars of cuts in a 2016 budget that squeezes through the door at $4.3 trillion?

How to Balance the Budget Without Raising Taxes - Reason Magazine


All it takes is $129B per year, without piling on new programs.

If this is an accurate analysis (I'm skeptical it's that low), we could shave $129 billion with ease out of the budget for foreign occupation and offensive war no problem.

It makes no sense, none, to start by cutting programs and agencies that provide a service for American citizens.

That doesn't mean there aren't ample government programs and agencies that could or should be cut, it means starting by say slashing 15% across the board as though all programs are equal or by reducing Medicaid or Social Security or unemployment during a recession that the working man did nothing to cause - is bassackwards.

Let's start by cutting things that provide no benefit to American citizens or in fact are detrimental.

The wars have already cost us over a trillion dollars. Let's extricate ourselves from our occupations tomorrow, save ourselves the money, the lives, and the increasing and inevitable threat that comes from killing civilians overseas and radicalizing more of the civilian population of those countries into people intent on doing us harm in retribution.

Reduce the bloated defense budget, not by 95%, but 50% could go without losing a single solder (only 21% of the military budget goes to salary, training, homes, healthcare, etc. for soldiers). We spend 50 billion a year to maintain a nuclear weapons arsenal that can blow up the entire world 11 times over. No rational argument can be made for needing more nukes than it takes to blow up the globe once over, so we can dismantle and disarm the rest and save 45 billion a year right there while also reducing the risk one of them makes it into the wrong hands. Stop hiring mercenaries and contracting military services out to private companies who charge exorbitant rates and employ people at 3 and 4 times the pay a solider gets. We could use that money to train our soldiers to provide every service they need (as we had in the past) and give them the equipment to do so, even include a pay raise for them, with several billion left over in savings.

While we're at it, let's stop privatizing prisons. They cost more and only incentivize sending more people to prison when our prison population is bloated enough as it is (the world's largest) thanks to counterproductive draconian drug laws. Invest in treatment and rehab for drug users at a tenth the cost of housing them in jail.

If we're going to give foreign aid let it be humanitarian aid that provides a good. There's no reason we need to give billions to Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or any other country for them to buy weapons so they can engage in wars and make the world a more dangerous, unstable place. Let them take care of themselves. We're in dire financial straits and need to take care of ourselves.

We can reduce foreign bases by 70% or more. The Cold War is over and they were a bad, inherently imperialistic, idea in the first place.

No more no-bid contracts for anyone for anything, I mean how ludicrous and obviously wasteful an example of back-scratching are those.

Reduce or stop corporate welfare and industry subsidies, let businesses succeed or fail on their own.

Then there are cuts that not only shouldn't be made but would be counterproductive. Cutting something like the Department of Education is a terrible idea. It's things like the Department of Education (which we only spend 50 billion on) that have the potential to turn the economy around. Half the reason we can't effectively operate a participatory democracy and unemployment is so high (we can't compete with the global workforce) is because education in this country is terrible. Abolishing the Department would only make things worse and exacerbate inequality. It makes no sense that the quality of your school is determined by your local taxes, that only leads to poor communities getting poor education. Reduce local taxes, shift that to federal, and pay for the costs of each community's education based on the number of students taking into account any special needs. Standardize the system, with raised expectations, pay teachers a competitive wage incumbent on higher qualifications to attract well-educated people who are passionate about teaching, emphasize new technology, and the next generation might just be able to find jobs they're prepared for besides Wal Mart.

Invest in new energy technologies so we can get away from the gun to our head that is oil dependence, particularly given that oil production will only fall until we're out before the end of the century.

The money is there to be saved based on what we already have. The problem is that our priorities are out of whack. Fund what actually helps us, cut all that doesn't.

Then and only then, if and only if, that isn't enough then we can start looking at ways the American people need to sacrifice the things government is actually intended to do for them, but starting there while we continue to throw barrels of cash into a bloody bottomless pit in the Middle East and prop up private industries that suckle from our teat and only do us harm is just insanity.