How would YOU divide up our federal tax dollars? (Congress, salaries, soldiers)

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by Ellis Bell

Deplete the size of the military? That is what those who wish to change our world and how we live are hoping we will do. However, for now they will settle for scattering our military off around the world, there by weakening our defenses. It is a great strategy that the American people are more than willing to help them out with. All they are waiting for now is our guns to be taken off the streets and they're in...which at the present is a work in progress.

Not deplete. Just cut in half and quit fighting other people's wars. Half would be plenty to defend ourselves.

[texdav]

Just reducing it to 2007 level would be a good start.

[Ellis Bell]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

Not deplete. Just cut in half and quit fighting other people's wars. Half would be plenty to defend ourselves.

Yes, I'm all for shutting down bases and bringing people home. However, if we deplete the size or our military and they increase their's, well unless people really do believe in the David and Goliath story, that would pretty much show, we're screwed.

Also, I know they are not going to shut down the Fed. (their money maker) however, where are the jobs for the military being laid off. Do we start a new program call, 'adopt a veteran'?

Gangs developed out the 60's and the displaced veterans of the Vietnam era, can we begin to imagine what would happen today when even, with out that, there are many unemployed Veterans out there now, that live on the streets and what is being proposed just brings us more?

It seems our problems exist because we have no infrastructure, nor the intelligent people in play who know how to develop one.

[dsjj251]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

The OP asked how we would allocate the money. The federal government is at least twice as big as it should be. We don't need such a big military and should close all foreign bases and end all wars. We shouldn't be fighting the war on drugs, etc, etc.

Based on the OP's post, im guessing he/she wanted a little more than " i would cut this".

[T-310]

Defund the UN. Then defund welfare. To eat. You work.

[Stizzel]

Originally Posted by T-310

Defund the UN. Then defund welfare. To eat. You work.

You do realize most welfare recipients do work right?

[totsuka]

I would cut every budget by ten percent in spending an people, with the military being the exception in boots on the ground. Then bust up the vast federal government and scatter it around the country. Send HUD to Detroit, Dept. of Education to Newark NJ, Dept. of Labor to Cleveland Ohio, etc...along the way fire 50 percent of most federal workers being moved starting at the top levels of management. Sure, keep HUD but keep enough people employed there so they can answer the phone and that's about it.

[remoddahouse]

Originally Posted by sade693

I see a lot of people complaining about welfare recipients in these forums. The idea seems to be that the nonworking poor are a drain on this nation in a way that other government programs are not.

......

Are there any programs you think we should create that aren't listed? Are there any you would give ZERO funding? Do you think some of the categories should be split differently, like maybe including Medicaid and CHIP under "Safety net programs"?

The list you gave of departments is incomplete and thus useless. Also, only 28% of the budget is discretionary and can be easily cut. You didn't put in any qualifiers that people put forward ideas that are anything other than fairy tales.

I haven't read the responses to your original post, but I'm sure they're laden with stupid ideas like cut spending 50%, stop giving social security to old people, etc. These threads pop up fairly often and you get the same flawed ideas every time.

[sade693]

Originally Posted by remoddahouse

The list you gave of departments is incomplete and thus useless. Also, only 28% of the budget is discretionary and can be easily cut. You didn't put in any qualifiers that people put forward ideas that are anything other than fairy tales.

If you clicked the link, you would understand where the list came from. It's not a list of departments, it's a general division of the kinds of programs on which our government spends our taxes.

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

First, cut federal spending by 50% overall. Cut defense by 50%, eliminate corporate and individual welfare. Cut DEA by 90%. Eliminate the farm program. Cut ATF by 90%. Get the feds totally out of education. Those would be a good start.

As a long, long term plan, that's not terrible.

Education absolutely has to stay federal. In fact, I don't think that grade school through undergraduate programs get nearly enough funding in this country. You can already take a look at the difference in quality of education between states like Massachusetts and Alabama or New Jersey and Louisiana. We need a national standard supported by the federal government for elementary through secondary school, but I admit that I don't know how we could keep the standard from being depreciated by the poorest areas with the least resources and where teachers don't want to go.

Also, in a long term plan, I'd substantially cut Social Security if not scrap it completely.

[Tall Traveler]

For starters, the Federal Government needs its wings clipped as they have gone way past the constitutional intent. I would pass a law to force the Feds to balance their books like the states do. We need to drastically cut defense, welfare programs, education (which should be controlled by the individual states), and zero give aways to foreign countries (unless the government runs a surplus and there is a worthy recipient outside the USA and our own peoples needs are met.)