Quote:
Originally Posted by WTF
truth is...we need to start cutting where the real spending is (the military) you Tea Pots squeal like hogs!
We need to adjust SS and Medicare ( and you babies need to quit screaming "Death Panels"I) when we cut Medicare and we need to cut Defense and we need to increase taxes. In other words we need to do a balanced long term approach to this. But I doubt most of you Tea Wacks understand that
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Defense spending is not the primary contributor to out debt trajectory -- entitlement and health care spending is.
However, I do agree with you that we need to look at reductions everywhere. I'm in the camp that believes there should be no sacred cows
anywhere. The military-industrial-congressional complex is alive and well to an extent that would horrify Ike if he were alive to see it. It's no accident that contractors are spread across dozens of congressional districts in so many states. We spend untold billions on systems that are not needed, and which in many cases don't even work. And even Democrats do no more than pay lip service to the issue, although they obviously restrain the growth of spending in the sector to a greater extent than Republicans.
Yes, we need to make adjustments in the Social Security program to put in on a sustainable basis, but Medicare is a
far larger problem. I my view, we need to means-test it or see a steady progression toward a serious bust. Baby boomers nearing retirement expect to receive benefits exceeding three times the net present value of taxes paid into the system. But a party willing to deal honestly with this issue would risk being landslided out of office. Free lunches have become increasingly popular with voters.
And, yes, we need a tax increase (and I don't mean just on the "wealthy") if we're going to continue to support these programs, even with reform and adjustments.
Republicans are on record as being opposed to any tax increase on anyone at any time for any reason. But for their part, Obama and other Democrats have essentially pledged to protect everyone earning less than $250K from tax increases of any kind. In terms of how much revenue would be raised by the Treasury, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the positions of the two parties. Everyone with any understanding of the issue realizes that tax increases only on the top two percent of the income distribution won't cover more than a very small percentage of the deficit.
In other words, neither party is even remotely honest or serious about what every informed person knows must be done.
now about that Keystone Pipeline that you numbnuts think will lower our gas prices, won't steal any land owners private land, and are not costing the taxpayers a dime....
Sympton
