What would you cut?

[Againsheila]

End the war on drugs and empty out our prisons of non violent drug offenders that will save a ton of money.

Yes and no, is welfare cheaper than prison? Lord knows we don't have jobs for them, which is probably why they went on the drugs in the first place.

 

[Michelle420]

End the war on drugs and empty out our prisons of non violent drug offenders that will save a ton of money.

Yes and no, is welfare cheaper than prison? Lord knows we don't have jobs for them, which is probably why they went on the drugs in the first place.

Yes welfare is cheaper then prison.

 

[jasonnfree]

Eliminate Air Force one and the entire white house travel agency. If the president and politicians want to travel, let them pay for it.

 

[Samson]

1. Cut waste in the military, no one can tell me there isn't any, I was in the military, I know. Also, we don't need as many bases as we have.

2. STOP giving money to other countries. We simply can't afford it.

3. Eliminate the Department of education, as mentioned in the OP.

4. The FairTax

5. Stop government waste.

How about combining all the military under one? No more Air Force, Marines, etc., just the military?

I like this idea.

Probably a reduce the costs of a bunch of silly redundencies, costs of inter service rivalries, and streamline tactical and strategic responsiveness.

Too bad we don't have a competant leader as CINC to make it happen.

 

[Michelle420]

End the war on drugs and empty out our prisons of non violent drug offenders that will save a ton of money.

Yes and no, is welfare cheaper than prison? Lord knows we don't have jobs for them, which is probably why they went on the drugs in the first place.

They can become pot and hemp farmers: for a living

 

[AmericanFirst]

To save our country money?

First off, completely end the Federal Education Department, they've only been around since Carter and our schools are getting worse not better.

For Congress and our President to invest in their own retirement plan and go on social security like the rest of us. Make them go on Medicare...

Get rid of the TSA, they've done nothing to prevent another 9/11. Violating people so they FEEL safer just doesn't work.

Stop federal student loans until the ones out there are paid back, it's not like you can get a job with a college education today anyway.

End street cleaners in neighborhoods, have the homeowners sweep the street in front of their places and fine them if they don't. Many European cities do this. It makes sense, or rather it saves cents. Every little bit helps.

Any one else have any ideas?

Obamacare would be the first thing to go.

 

[jasonnfree]

End the tax free money churches get. Tax them. States where religions are exempt from property taxes should take away that deduction also.

 

[Dugdale_Jukes]

To save our country money?

First off, completely end the Federal Education Department, they've only been around since Carter and our schools are getting worse not better.

For Congress and our President to invest in their own retirement plan and go on social security like the rest of us. Make them go on Medicare...

Get rid of the TSA, they've done nothing to prevent another 9/11. Violating people so they FEEL safer just doesn't work.

Stop federal student loans until the ones out there are paid back, it's not like you can get a job with a college education today anyway.

End street cleaners in neighborhoods, have the homeowners sweep the street in front of their places and fine them if they don't. Many European cities do this. It makes sense, or rather it saves cents. Every little bit helps.

Any one else have any ideas?

Make the minimum penalty 20yrs in prison - and forfeiture of 100% of personal assets including all gifts and transfers in the period of the fraud - for defrauding the federal government and make officers of corporations personally liable for damages if the corporations they run are found guilty.

Make all financial fraud (regardless of victim) above ten million dollars a mandatory life sentence crime - including for officers of corporations convicted of financial fraud - followed by seizure of 100% of personal assets including gifts to spouses and children and charities, etc., going back to the first day of the fraud.

Determine federal pay averages by US region, then cut the pay of every federal government worker earning more than the average by at least 20% (down to but no lower than the pre-established average) with maximum pay in all districts to be no higher than 2.5x the regional average pay for ALL indigenous workers in the district. End non-military federal pensions; put government people on 401ks. Ban public sector unions.

Means test every federal program. Re define program purpose as "for the national good" instead of "insurances" and "entitlements".

Eliminate the Depts of Education, Homeland Security and end the war on drugs.

Pass laws forcing the dismantling and sale of businesses with more than 50 employees convicted of hiring illegal aliens without proof of fraud on the part of each individual alien hired by these corporations.

Limit social security eligibility to people who paid something in and spouses of people who paid in. Put children and disabled people on programs outside social security.

Simplify the tax code to basic deductions. Require every individual to file (eliminate joint filing). Make it illegal for businesses to pay non-work related insurance and health costs of employees and families.

Make it illegal for national defense including the military to consume more than 7.5% of GDP unless a declared war is in process.

Give these things a few years, then see if more cuts are needed.

 

[tjvh]

What would you cut? Billion dollar aid packages to countries that really aren't our friends.

 

[Contumacious]

What would you cut? To save our country money?
?

Any expenditure not authorized by the Enumerated powers clause Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers,

.

 

[Againsheila]

End the tax free money churches get. Tax them. States where religions are exempt from property taxes should take away that deduction also.

Not unless you're going to spend a whole lot more money on the poor. Many of the churches around here give out free meals, open their doors for a few months during the winter for the homeless. Provide them with meals. Some church give out bus tickets, will fill gas tanks, take in people who are running from abuse, etc. Without those tax breaks, they may or may not be able to continue with their community outreach, especially those old churches on property that has since become very valuable.

 

[KissMy]

End the tax free money churches get. Tax them. States where religions are exempt from property taxes should take away that deduction also.

Not unless you're going to spend a whole lot more money on the poor. Many of the churches around here give out free meals, open their doors for a few months during the winter for the homeless. Provide them with meals. Some church give out bus tickets, will fill gas tanks, take in people who are running from abuse, etc. Without those tax breaks, they may or may not be able to continue with their community outreach, especially those old churches on property that has since become very valuable.

The church is not the problem. It is the Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) wealth hiding, protection, tax avoidance loophole that is the problem. They use the church as a tax shelter instead of donating to them for charity.

 

[Erand7899]

The big drivers of the debt are Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, The Department of Defense, and the interest on the national debt. We can carefully pare down the cost of the Department of Defense, by eliminating all non defense programs, tightening up controls on contracts and purchases, elimination of all non competitive contract requirements, and holding everyone in the financial chain responsible for accounting for the funds they are entrusted with.

We cannot cut Social Security or Medicare/Medicaid, because of the pain those cuts would inflict on innocent people who have come to rely on those programs. However, we can cut the growth of those programs by changing the rules for those who are not already on the programs, or for those who are not near retirement.

The interest on the debt is pretty well out of our control, until we start to reduce the debt by actually running surplusses.

There are thousands of government give aways to favored private parties that can be eliminated, and a heck of a lot of fraud, waste and abuse in the discretionary portion of the budget, that should be eliminated just for the sake of justice.

I wouldn't get so angry every April, if I knew my tax payments were not funding the study of democracy in gold fish schools, or the alcohol abuse of Chinese prostitutes.

 

[Desperado]

Quick and Simple - As far as the IRS, Get rid of the Earned tax credit and make it impossible to get back a refund larger than what you paid in taxes

 

[Desperado]

What would you cut? Billion dollar aid packages to countries that really aren't our friends.

Why limit it to "countries that really aren't our friends"? Time to put America first and cut Billion dollar aid packages to ALL countries

 

[P F Tinmore]

For starters.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPngqDZpVcw]Cynthia McKinney Economic planks - Green Party Presidential candidate - YouTube[/ame]