Cut entitlement programs, welfare, foreign aid.......too many to list.

Island Dog

What entitlement programs and by how much?

Cut what welfare and by how much?

To balance the budget it will take almost $600 Billion in cuts. Then to begin paying down the $9 trillion of the National Debt we will need another $100-150 Billion for the next 25 years.

I bet there are NO combination of cuts that will be acceptable to the majority of Americans that will total $700 plus Billion per year!

Most of them.




Cut welfare almost compeltely. 


What do you suggest be cut? It seems to me you are just looking for excuses to raise taxes.





Col, a great part of Americans are not intelligent enough to balance thier own checkbook, much less dictace how the U.S. economy should be run. 

IslandDog

“Col, a great part of Americans is not intelligent enough to balance their own checkbook, much less dictate how the U.S. economy should be run.”

I agree!! They include Congress and the President!

By Entitlement Programs do you mean Social Security and Medicare? If that is what you mean you have lost your mind! I guess welfare includes Medicaid. If that is your suggestion to balance the budget I suggest to “Bay at the Moon!”

I ask again.  What would you cut?  My guess is you would do what you can to increase entitlement programs and make the rich pay for it.

Island Dog

The current annual budget deficit, which was $574 Billion in FY 2006, does not have one cent of Social Security or Medicare expenditures in it. In fact both Social Security and Medicare are currently running a Surplus. Go back and look again you can not solve the deficit by cutting something that is not causing the deficit!

Virtually every government program can be cut. We cannot afford runaway government spending whatever they will. We should start by eliminating several government departments (really, Col Gene, I've already made this list...google is your friend, and I'm not going to do your homework for you), and we should cut every governmental department by a minimum of 10%, a maximum of 70%. Welfare, in my opinion, should receive the 70% cut, with the 30% reserve being used for "safety net" assistance in areas with disproportionately high continuing unemployment or other emergency situations. At the federal level, the Department of Education should be done away with entirely. This is just the beginning of a very long list.

Gideon

I guess you mean defense, Intelligence, Homeland security, Medicaid, interest etc. If you really believe these things can or will be cut as you suggest you too live in a dream world.

Gidion

I took a look at the budget go to http://www.federalbudget.com/

There are 24 categories of spending listed. If you were to cut 10% from the first 11 departments you would cut about $10 Billion

# 12 Homeland Security will need more money to secure the border and add the guards needed. That will most likely go up $5 Billion.

# 13 Energy 10% cut 4 Billion

#14 justice They will need more not less to deal with terrorist threats.

#15 Housing 10% cut 5 Billion

#17 Labor cut 10% 5 Billion

#18 Transportation cut 10% 7 billion

# 19 veterans That will go up to deal with tens of thousands of Iraq War Vets. That could go up $10 Billion


# 20 Pers Mgmt That is pensions and can not be cut.


# 21 Agricultural Cut 10% 9 Billion


# 22 DOD That will go up- Troop Surge, increase in active military by 90,000 and replace most of the equipment Up $50 Billion

# 23 Health Increasing population will require MORE not Less- No cut possible


# 24 Interest That will go up about $40 Billion over next two years due to higher debt and interest rates.


That is an increase of about $44 Billion. People who claim they will cut $600-700 Billion from the budget have not looked at what makes up the budget. Try again!

Col,

All complete and utter BS, and you know it, or you wouldn't spend article after article rehashing the same garbage. The government is one massive waste machine.

You really think over $9000 per man, woman and child is a cost effective government? WHO is in the dream world?

What I am sick of is classless losers spewing on about how Prs. Bush spends too much money, then challenges everyone else to come up with the cuts we would recommend. Gideon took up your challenge, you then showed him why there couldn't be cuts to those programs... then you defended increases in some of the programs.

ColGene, I challenge YOU to tell us what cuts YOU would make and where.  If all your recommendations are about increases, then my friend, you are no better at fiscal responsibility than Prs. Bush.

 

Already had a post on this:

http://draginol.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=139446

It is not hard to balance the budget by cutting some spending.  You don't even have to eliminate social security or touch defense.

that is his point...he doesn't want to cut anything, just raise taxes on everyone but himself.

Col is trying to create the illusion that the only way to solve this "problem" is to raise taxes.  I mean raise taxes on only one class of people that is.

Have any of you looked at WHAT makes up the federal Budget?

I have said I would cut all the Pork and I would look programs that are not effective in helping people. I believe we could cut $50 Billion from these things.

I also believe we could look at enforcement and try and make sure that the tax laws are being enforced. From what I have read and studies I looked at when writing my book I believe we could NET after increased enforcement costs another $100 Billion.

That however does not solve the problem. We need $600 plus Billion just to balance the budget and STOP the debt from growing any larger. Then we need added money to begin paying it down.

Most of the money is going for Defense, Interest on the debt and Health and human services (help for the very poor) and pensions that people have earned. Add Veterans, Homeland security and you have 90% of the Budget. NONE of these areas can be cut. How can you cut the almost $450 Billion in interest? How do you cut Defense and Homeland security? How do you cur veteran’s affairs? These areas will need MORE not LESS money. We have cut the budgets of National Health that protects us from disease. WE have cut money from food inspections and look at the results. We have cut grants to help find cures for disease. We had a $574 Billion dollar deficit in 2006 and Social Security and Medicare are still running a Surplus. What will happen when we need to provide funding for Social Security and Medicare with a $500 Billion dollar Interest cost every year?

You should all listen to the Comptroller General-- He has documented the irresponsible way Bush and the Congress have been managing the fiscal affairs of our country. We have NEVER fought a major war without providing a temporary tax increase to pay the added cost. Bush just added it to the debt! It is time you accept there is no combination of spending cuts that will produce anything like the $600-700 Billion dollars needed EACH year to solve our fiscal problems. We may be able to get $150 Billion as I have suggested above but that leaves a long way to go and that will require MORE tax Dollars.

I have still not scene one of you Bush Supporters explain WHY we have tax cuts to return the Surplus Bush said was the reason for the tax cuts, since like WMD, there was NO SURPLUS?