OK, I admit I only watched 10% of the State of the Union address last night. Well make that maybe 5%. I got a phone call from a friend which was much more important than listening to politicians. I listened to some of the rebuttal and read a couple of articles, but with a $1.5 trillion annual deficit and all the talk of raising the debt limit, I have not heard of how much dough anybody wants to cut from the budget nor from where. Have you?
Our federal budget expired on September 30, 2010, and since then we've been running on bandaids to pay bills. We have not had a budget for four months. This has been accepted without complaint. Our representatives went home and into the election without even providing a budget. And now that they sit together and hold hands everything will be alright? We allow a reckless, wild-spending government to operate without a budget without as much as even a whimper.
The thing that I have not heard anybody on the planet mention is how much spending has gone up. As recently as 2005 our federal budget was $2.4 trillion. The budget Obama has recommended is $3.8 trillion for 2011. That is a 58% increase in six years, yet we talk about taxes. How can we raise spending by $1.4 trillion and nobody can find anything to cut? Obviously, we do not have a taxing problem, we have a spending problem.
Here is a comparison of the two years, in billions: (from www.usgovernmentdebt.us)
2005: pensions, 584; healthcare, 549; education, 106; defense, 600; welfare, 245; protection, 40; transportation, 68; general government, 20; other spending, 94; interest, 184.
2011: pensions, 787; healthcare, 898; education, 141; defense, 928; welfare, 464 ; protection, 57; transportation, 104; general government, 29; other spending, 151; interest, 250.
So what do you cut? While most everything was up 50%, the big winners were pensions, healthcare, defense, and welfare, since they are the big ticket items.
As far as revenue goes, in 2005 we took in $2.153 trillion, and in 2010 we took in $2.165 trillion. (http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=200) So we are spending massively more while taking in the same amount. This is why all talk of raising taxes is a distraction and has nothing to do with the real problem. If you think raising taxes will fix this mess, you must believe that congress would then be responsible. If you think that, then all I can say is you need to start sharing. I want some of that.
So if the new batch of public servants are serious about cutting, these are the numbers. We are looking at a $1.7 trillion deficit. The only arguments for not cutting are that deficits don't matter, or that tax increases and/or a massive surge in economic growth will bring in more revenue. I would like to hear your reasoning for those arguments.
If we must cut, these are the areas. If it were up to me, I could easily cut half of the federal budget. Looking at the list above, I get little to nothing in benefits from the federal budget. I get zero handouts from the government. I am one of the tax PAYERS. If it were really up to me, I would go back to 1900 levels of the federal government being 1.3% of GDP instead of the current 25%. But then again entitlement RECEIVERS are a large number, and they vote. That is why I think anybody who gets a check from the government shouldn't be allowed to vote. Of 43 million Americans who get food stamps, how many do you think would prefer spending cuts? Those people vote. What a scam that is.
As long as people get unemployment and food stamps, why should anyone care? The coming show in the next couple of months will be posturing about raising the debt limit and "cuts." I have yet to hear a serious proposal. I expect the majority of R's to roll over and raise the debt limit. "Put us in charge in two years and we will make everything right." All talks of cuts so far have been a joke. Can you just imagine the crying that would ensue if the public were pulled away from the government tit for only a minute? Just look at what is happening in Europe.
We have turned into a nation of Wal-Mart employees and sign throwers who think the Federal Reserve, welfare, food stamps, regulations, eternal foreign wars, and government run health care are a good thing. Don't eat a steady diet of junk food and expect vibrant health.
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