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You know, on some issues I'm conservative and on others I'm a liberal, so I think I can see both sides of this issue.
As far as welfare programs and entitlements are concerned, I'm glad there are some safety nets available for those who find themselves in dire straits, but I believe there has to be some serious reforms if these programs are to be sustainable.
We all would like to have access to various services, but the money to pay for them has to come from somewhere.
As for what cuts could be made in other areas of the federal budget to free up money, here are a few that come to mind.
We need to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq. I understand we're still after Bin Laden, but seriously, how long have we been over there? Iraq? Didn't they capture, try, and execute Hussein already? Now what? These military adventures can't be cheap. Enough is enough......
Do we really need all the various separate federal agencies, or could their functions be consolidated somewhat? We have the FBI, the DHS, the BATF, Treasury, US Marshals, Secret Service, etc. Couldn't these areas of concern be brought under the umbrella of the FBI for example?
Furthermore, is it necessary for the United States to be the world's policeman? Do we need so many military bases spread across the globe? This is also hugely expensive to maintain.
On the conservative side, we really do need to address border security. While I do believe that the majority of immigrants, legal or otherwise, come here for better opportunities than they have in their native countries, there is a significant number of illegals who are burdening these social programs which are intended for Americans. If folks want to immigrate, that's great, but do it legally. That way they can work "on the books" and make the same contributions which fund these programs that the rest of us do.
Finally, though not specifically part of the OP's question, we need to address off shoring and out sourcing. More than anything else, these practices have to stop. IMHO, this removal of industry of all kinds from our soil is the root cause of the economic conditions we're seeing today.
What entitlements are you talking about? If you are calling medicare and SS entitlements, yes, these people do vote, but I see entitlements as government assistance and those recieving assistance do not vote or not in huge lumps anyway.
NIta
Medicare and SS are government assistance welfare programs.
Voters as a group tend to be awfully stupid. They want services and programs but don't want to pay for them or don't realize that funding them will be entirely impossible.
At the very least, Medicare spending needs to be capped fairly soon. The time to pass entitlement reform is NOW while the majority of boomers still haven't retired.
And the liberals are more than happy to strip away SS and Medcare from Americans who worked hard all their lives and keep bringing in fast reproducing illegals and reward them with Medicaid, food stamps, WIC and all the rest.
Welfare is destroying this nation very fast because it's entices that third world to get here to get in on it.
And it's shameful how your side will cut Americans who aren't the problem as far as the huge growth rates in these programs.
You assume I'm a lefty, I'm not. I'm not blind either. I agree with you 100%. I'm referring to money's paid by working Americans not illegals who bore their kids here and then collect. I'm quite aware of that and have seen it first hand. Make no mistake there is a connection between our open borders and the outsourcing of Americans jobs. That is where my gripe lies. The middle class in this nation is being, has been manipulated for sometime now. To me it all lies at the feet of Wall Street. There is no doubt in my mind this powerful bunch is the ones pulling the strings. It is quite transparent and in reality should not be a democrat-republican issue, it should be a national security issue.
Medicare and SS are government assistance welfare programs.
Medicare and Social Security maybe government assistant but I take serious offense that you call it welfare. It's not welfare and it is not a handout. You maybe one of the few who've opted out of SS but millions pay plenty into the system and have paid multi-trillions in the last 70 years. There are some faults in the system that should be addressed, but make no mistake those faults will never be steered to common hustlers in suits on wall street, period.
Cut the federal workforce by a third and consolidate all redudancy. Cut military spending in half. End military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan and send all of those troops to the US/Mexico border that they would patrol as strictly as a prison wall. .
You could cut 100% of the defense budget including the wars and not close the budget gap.
There is no way to close the gap without huge entitlement cuts, or huge tax increases.
But both workers and employers contribute to these programs so they are not 100% government funded like welfare and medicaid.
I agree. There is a HUGE difference between programs that tax people their whole lives in return for a small benefit later, and those that tax one group to give it to another group. Then of course we have the programs that tax the hell out of the American public, and give nothing to anyone but make the corrupt parasites exceedingly rich (like Defense/Offense).
I say cut the last 2 groups of programs, and make the first type something we can privatize to ensure that government mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption don't make the deals a huge loss to the taxpayer (Social Security).
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