I have just read that Congress is having a very difficult time finding ways to cut $30 billion dollars from the latest budget request from President Obama which totals over $4 trillion dollars! If that's true, and I don't doubt that it is, I would like to hear comments and suggestions on what we might do to help them adjust to reality, since the CBO projects our interest payments on our current debt of $19 trillion dollars alone will require interest payments in the neighborhood of $450 billion dollars annually by 2020!
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Is $30 billion in cuts too much or too little to make a difference?
I have just read that Congress is having a very difficult time finding ways to cut $30 billion dollars from the latest budget request from President Obama which totals over $4 trillion dollars! If that's true, and I don't doubt that it is, I would like to hear comments and suggestions on what we might do to help them adjust to reality, since the CBO projects our interest payments on our current debt of $19 trillion dollars alone will require interest payments in the neighborhood of $450 billion dollars annually by 2020!
Is $30 billion in cuts too much or too little to make a difference?
I'd start with the F-35 program, then cut all of the Congressional salaries in half too while they're at it.It is always the same question... so what gets cut?
Here is the link to the budget of the United States
US Federal Budget Spending Estimate vs. Actual for FY2015 - Charts
There seems to be many areas that could be reduced but most importantly with the exception of SS and Medicare, ALL social engineering at the Federal level needs to stop and all social programs returned to the states and local communities where they belong. It isn't the role of the Federal Govt. one size fits all problem for states that have different cost of living and different social problems.
Pulling SS and Medicare along with the revenue to fund those programs off budget would be a good start
In the budget is 1 trillion dollars for healthcare, 149 trillion for education, 92 billion for transportation. Those are three areas where we could start
I have just read that Congress is having a very difficult time finding ways to cut $30 billion dollars from the latest budget request from President Obama which totals over $4 trillion dollars! If that's true, and I don't doubt that it is, I would like to hear comments and suggestions on what we might do to help them adjust to reality, since the CBO projects our interest payments on our current debt of $19 trillion dollars alone will require interest payments in the neighborhood of $450 billion dollars annually by 2020!
Is $30 billion in cuts too much or too little to make a difference?
It is always the same question... so what gets cut?
I would be looking at several things if it were up to me.
Primarily the Department of Defense. There is no logical reason for the US to engage in spending that is greater than the next 8-10 nations combined, just to run around the globe causing problem after problem wondering why we have to spend such a large amount to be the de facto world's police department (a.k.a do things our way or else.)
Secondary, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security. Assuming we are talking about overhead and not policy impact, there must be room to streamline operations. Especially when we have some Federal Departments that overlap State Departments and use their funding to carrot and stick the States to the will of the Federal level.
In order for 2015 (and pretty much the same story going back to 2010 with a few adjustments here and there) those Departments listed are #2, #8, #9, #12, #13, and #14 in ranking of spending.
But that is exclusively looking at spending. Which means without looking at taxation, or GDP, or deficits to GDP, or direction of Total Debt to GDP, or a dozen other benchmarks to know which direction we are headed in.
If you want to cut government fat, I am on board with that thinking. The consequence is nothing is off-limits, which in the long run may have other consequences we have to absorb in order to cut the size and scope of government.
I have just read that Congress is having a very difficult time finding ways to cut $30 billion dollars from the latest budget request from President Obama which totals over $4 trillion dollars! If that's true, and I don't doubt that it is, I would like to hear comments and suggestions on what we might do to help them adjust to reality, since the CBO projects our interest payments on our current debt of $19 trillion dollars alone will require interest payments in the neighborhood of $450 billion dollars annually by 2020!
Is $30 billion in cuts too much or too little to make a difference?
149 trillion?
So that's why my god-daughter's school schedule listed "field trip Alpha Centauri"...
Too little. It would be so inconsequential. I'd like to see them target cuts that really matter. I'd suggest starting with anything that's part of HUD.
Too little. It would be so inconsequential. I'd like to see them target cuts that really matter. I'd suggest starting with anything that's part of HUD.
Greetings, OrphanSlug. :2wave:
:agree: In the business world, as you probably know, every Department is required to cut their budget by a set percentage, with no exceptions made for anyone! Whether it involves cutting personnel, or travel, or planned salary increases, or a myriad of other possibilities, those choices are made by those who will have to live with them, which was deemed to be the fairest way to handle things. I don't know why government agencies shouldn't be expected to do the same, since it is taxpayer money that funds them all!
Simply cutting spending addresses half of the problem.
To be fair, yes, we NEED to cut spending. I would look first at our "defense" budget. And then I would look into ways of reducing social safety nets by reducing their needs, IE, address the corporate welfare issue we have in this country. Why should tax dollars be used to enable corporations to underpay their help, thereby creating a need and a culture of welfare living?
I would also look into the salaries of people working within our government. A buddy of mine was looking into the personal net worth of well known political figures, and they are almost ALL worth in the mid to high millions. Many of these people are CAREER politicians, so, no, their fortunes were not made in the private sector, so the question begs to be asked...where did that money come from?
HUD, Dept of Energy, Dept. of Education could all be cut to about 15% of their current size.
Consolidate the Forest Service into the BLM to eliminate massive redundancy.
Consolidate all 5 branches of the military to eliminate the massive redundancy there (no more Navy pilots, Marine pilots, Air Force pilots, etc. just pilots approach.
Simplify the tax code and cut about 75% of the IRS.
At the risk of nit picking, the US government is neither a business or a household. It does not mean your analogy is entirely wrong, just means we have to be careful with application of these similarities (for lack of a better word.)
Technically, if a business orders a department to cut their budget by some percentage that means it more or less becomes so based on the decision else someone in a department leadership role has some explaining to do.
The US government on the other hand tends to sets a budget by department every single year, even if there is some default continuation of the previous year because the Senate and House cannot get along (think the 112th Congress and the back and forth as an example.) In some cases we did not even bother passing an actual budget but through clever terminology continued the previous budget with here and there changes.
Again, only thinking about spending levels devoid of any other context it is possible however unlikely that Congress can set a budget for a given department that is less than the previous year's budget for that department.
Across the board, department specific, or otherwise does not really matter for the purpose of this discussion. But it does tell us what most tend to ignore, these numbers across all departments are something that is the responsibility of Congress no matter how divided along party lines. If Congress is willing to make cuts along these lines then it becomes so, and the various Departments have to live with that determination. They can complain, they can tell Congress they cannot fulfill their obligations (think the IRS when they were asked to take on insurance verification,) or something similar. But in the end the departmental budgets lesser or more than the previous year start and end with Congress and a Presidential signature (well, it should be working that way... does not always happen though.)
I have just read that Congress is having a very difficult time finding ways to cut $30 billion dollars from the latest budget request from President Obama which totals over $4 trillion dollars! If that's true, and I don't doubt that it is, I would like to hear comments and suggestions on what we might do to help them adjust to reality, since the CBO projects our interest payments on our current debt of $19 trillion dollars alone will require interest payments in the neighborhood of $450 billion dollars annually by 2020!
Is $30 billion in cuts too much or too little to make a difference?
Actaully, most of their money did come the private sector. Congress is excluded from "insider trading" laws, so they get all kinds of tips to keep their portfolios fat and happy.
I have just read that Congress is having a very difficult time finding ways to cut $30 billion dollars from the latest budget request from President Obama which totals over $4 trillion dollars! If that's true, and I don't doubt that it is, I would like to hear comments and suggestions on what we might do to help them adjust to reality, since the CBO projects our interest payments on our current debt of $19 trillion dollars alone will require interest payments in the neighborhood of $450 billion dollars annually by 2020!
Is $30 billion in cuts too much or too little to make a difference?
I could come up with about 80 Billion right off the bat by eliminating refundable EITC and ACTC.
I say we split the bill. $100. from the taxpayers and the other half taken from the salaries of every federally elected and appointed worker. This excludes all workers considered poverty of less.
HUD, Dept of Energy, Dept. of Education could all be cut to about 15% of their current size.
Many of these people are CAREER politicians, so, no, their fortunes were not made in the private sector, so the question begs to be asked...where did that money come from?
I'd suggest starting with anything that's part of HUD.
Cut direct foreign aid.
Cut 30 billion dollars from the salaries and perks pool of Congress and the President until both get a handle on reality.
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