Want to cut Fed spending? Here are the programs you have to choose from

[Little-Acorn]

The above chart shows all the things the Federal govt spends money on, and the debt they created. If you're going to reduce spending, these are the programs you have available to you, to cut.

So, which of these budget items should we reduce or eliminate, to get to the balanced budget we'll need to prevent the National Debt from going any higher?

My suggestion: Start by reducing or eliminating the programs that are not authorized by the Constitution. Devolve them to the states if you like, or privatize them, or simply get rid of them, mix and match as you like.

If there is still excessive spending after you've done that, then move on to cutting the programs that ARE authorized to the Fed by the U.S. Constitution.

 

[Rick]

Get rid of the federal department of education. It was created as Jimmy Carter's gift to the government education lobby for supporting him in 1976. It's basically failed, after wasting uncounted billions of dollars.

 

[Little-Acorn]

Get rid of the federal department of education. It was created as Jimmy Carter's gift to the government education lobby for supporting him in 1976. It's basically failed, after wasting uncounted billions of dollars.

That's 6% of the deficit. 94% left to go.

Anyone else?

 

[dogtowner]

That's 6% of the deficit. 94% left to go.

Anyone else?

10% across the board for starters. Can't cut the interest on the debt of course but everything else has at least that much fat. What the heck is Income Security ?

Where does that take us ?

 

[Stalin]

Get rid of the Department of Offence and you will save money and the world will stop hating you because you stop interfering in other countries and killing their citizens.

Comrade Stalin

 

[Rick]

That's 6% of the deficit. 94% left to go.

Anyone else?

Next, there's the department of homeland security, which is infamous for wasting billions of dollars, and its legions of incompetent "affirmative action:" employees.

 

[Little-Acorn]

Get rid of the Department of Offence and you will save money and the world will stop hating you

Hilarious!

 

[dogtowner]

Get rid of the Department of Offence and you will save money and the world will stop hating you because you stop interfering in other countries and killing their citizens.

Comrade Stalin

I thought electing Obama was to make the world strop hating us. Y'all want to settle on something ?

 

[pocketfullofshells]

yay no Dep of Education..now the poor states can get worse, and the states in the red already can pay more!

Ok cut Defense 50%...

 

[PLC1]

Interest on the national debt: Can't do much about that, can we?

Social Security: Raise the retirement age and the income cap. Savings? Hard to tell, but maybe income from payroll taxes will equal outgo at least. SS is not going to be a cash cow for the big spenders any more, though. Too many old people for that.

Income security, $431 billion? What is that? Sounds like welfare state funding to me. Cut that one, at least by half.

Medicare: That one can't be controlled until we have health care reform that will actually cut costs.

Health care services etc.? What is that? Cut it! $281 B
department of Education? That's a function of the states. Save 91.3 B

Defense: We do need to be able to defend our nation, but do we have to spend seven times as much as second place spender China? I say we cut that by at least 25%. Saving: a little more than $150 B

There. That is around $650 billion, or about half of the deficit. The rest is going to have to be made up for by higher taxes.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

congrats to us all...none of us are elected or reelected with our ideas

 

[GenSeneca]

Income Security is the new name for Welfare and it's related programs. It's the same thing that happened with hunger, which is no longer referred to as hunger, it's now "Food Insecurity". Fitting since so many are eager to trade freedom for one form of security or another.

 

[pocketfullofshells]

Income Security is the new name for Welfare and it's related programs. It's the same thing that happened with hunger, which is no longer referred to as hunger, it's now "Food Insecurity". Fitting since so many are eager to trade freedom for one form of security or another.

also would it not include that horrible Unemployment? its such a horrible thing to know if you lose your job your not just going to have to live on the street right away.

 

[Apathy]

yay no Dep of Education..now the poor states can get worse, and the states in the red already can pay more!

Ok cut Defense 50%...

Ill match your 50% and raise you another 25% ...


How about social security we got to make a plan the phase that out of existence... As for the DOE let education decisions be made by local and state governments. The federal government has no business with education.

 

[Apathy]

also would it not include that horrible Unemployment? its such a horrible thing to know if you lose your job your not just going to have to live on the street right away.

That would be the place of state/local governments or private charity to help them out.