I'd cut spending immediately.

Cut the Homeland Security Dept entirely. Nobody understands what they do anyway. Plus, somebody forgot to tell President Dumbass that we already have the FBI, the CIA, the National Guard, and FEMA. Homeland Security is worth billions already. Get rid of it.

I'd cut money going overseas by at least half.

I'd drastically reduce things like the Dept of Education and other departments.

It's still not going to be for another good two years that we can start saving money on Iraq, but we can raise taxes and cut spending in the meantime in order to start to bet the books in order and get our credit rating in order. Common sense. We've been living beyond our means, and before we can just cut people's taxes, we have to pay down all the other shit first.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

OK. Those are the cuts you like. What about government health care? Cutting some things while creating new expenditures seems odd. Please clarify.

Why don't you enlighten me with what you would do for a change.

Universal healthcare costs less than the brokendown system America currently has. America spends more per citizen on healthcare than any other country on earth. There is a better and cheaper way.

Obama's healthcare plan costs just over $100 billion a year. Small change considering the cuts I'd implement. Meanwhile, McCain's healthcare plan of offering $5,000 tax credits costs nearly twice as much as Obama's plan.

But what would you do? I'm not holding my breath.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

I'm astounded that you are crying so much when asked a simple and civil question. Could one consider your response to a simple and polite question "bloody antagonistic"? Here's a tissue, Marcel. You have such issues with women posters asking you questions, but given your established misogyny, we are not surprised.

I think it would be a neat exercise for a few of you folks to spend a few minutes surfing the OMB web site to take look at where our tax dollars are now going. I'm disturbed listening to the pontificating about how we can save hundreds of gazillions of dollars if only we would just ______________ (fill in the blank). The sad fact of the matter is that now a little over 60% of our Federal Expenditures go for statutory entitlements--- 'Care, 'Caid, Social Security, welfare etc. and it ain't getting better.
For those of the Liberal persuasion your chickens are coming home to roost. For 40 years now the lying bastards like the Barney Frank (do I hear high risk mortgages anyone?), Nancy P. and Harry Reid types have been and are feeding us crap and we're been sucking it down and cursing any one who dares suggest that maybe we should take a look at these and other nanny state programs about what we can afford and how they should be managed. And to be completely fair I think the implementation of Medicare Part D (that's Subscription Drugs for folks in Rio Linda and the BHO Supporters) under Bush has been terrible also, although it's getting better.
A little less than 20% of expenditures are for defense-- that is DOWN from around 50% during the years of the Liberal's Saint --John Kennedy and Lying Lyndon who gave us the "Great?" Society.
There aint a lot left folks-- What should we do? Maybe close the Washington Monument? Iraq and the periodic hysteria over earmarks while important are really chicken feed.
If you want to know where we are headed take a look at the damage the Welfare State has done to Great Britain. Canada'a much vaunted Universal Health Care Program is consuming ever increasing proportions of their GNP. Economic growth in Europe is stagnant. Individual taxation is strangling the people.
Currently the top 10% of wage earners in this country pay almost 65% of the income taxes. The bottom 50% pay less than 4% and Our Dear Leader days says he is going to give most working Americans a tax break by increasing taxes on the "Rich." The alleged "Fat Cats" on Wall Street and CEO's of major Corporations who have managed to drive their firms in to the ground, while I agree should be strung up by their gonads (for the Fat Cat girls I have something else in mind), are a minuscule number of this 10%. The bulk are folks in Oskosh, and Ft Worth, and Denver, and Gulfport who own small business (and create most the new jobs), are masters and some journeyman level trades people, or middle level employees and managers of big companies.
It's going to take more than just making Grandiose statements about cutting this or that program to address these issues. There will have to be a fundamental reassessment of who we are as a people, how much we value our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy. It aint gonna be pretty and as long as we as a people continue keep our heads in the sand and listen to charlatans such as (I fear) Our Dear Leader BHO the day when it arrives will make the current "crisis" a stroll in the park-- and I haven't even mentioned the additional gazillions of dollars in welfare expenditures "Our Dear Leader" has planned or the damaging effect of economic progress forgone because of the farce we call "man-made global warming".

It philosophicalyl logical, it earned with blood, and its proven to be good and successful. It is the basis for the entire country, what keeps everything working. We have to have a basic set of laws which are almost untouchable.

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

He doesnt pay for it, why bother?

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

Well said. Liberal pet projects already take up most of the budget. NOw they want to add universal health care. Whats next, free energy?

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

It isn't archaic, IMO. The late eighteenth century was not really that long ago, and though things have definitely changed since then, the basic tenets of the Constitution--federalism, separation of powers, Bill of Rights--are just as relevant today as they were then. Another reason it holds sway is simply because it is the supreme law of the land, no matter its age.

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No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

Wouldn't an easier and shorter list be the one with government programs that do work?

I'd say the most important are law enforcement and defense, since those are the primary purposes of our government in the first place. However, even though I have a hard time justifying government entitlements like health care and unemployment insurance, it's important IMO to keep these benefits going, especially education. White Rabbit's numbers suggest that this is best for the economy anyway.

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

Couldnt the states handle those benefits if they choose to?

__________________
"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

Yeah, that's a possibility. Is that preferable to federal benefits, you think?

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne

Definetly. This way the states could decide the best method for their citizens, instead of the fed imposing a generic template. But then that would take power away from federal politicians, so we cant have that.

__________________
"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

This logic assumes that the more local the government, the better the system of entitlements. Is there any historical evidence that backs it up though, or that local governments are capable of these programs without federal funding?

__________________
No man is an island...
Each man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in Mankind.
And therefore, never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
—John Donne