Thread: I got an idea...

I can assure you my eyes are fully open. If you read up on this issue, you will find the overwhelming factors contributing to the federal budget numbers we are, and have been, dealing with are entitlements. Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security. In fact Social Security represents the largest percentage of federal spending compared to all other categories, including military. Here's a link to the 2009 "pie chart" as to how federal spending is apportioned: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ycategory2.png.
The third largest category of spending, behind only military, is Medicare.
The various departments (EPA, Dept of Labor, etc) are miniscule in comparison.
So I'll say it one more time: Your suggestions about "eliminating all pork", buying the UN building, taken together won't amount to a hill of beans in terms of reigning in the federal budget. They are nothing more than "feel good" ideas. Plus, from a political perspective, there is no practical way you'll ever get a consensus about "eliminating all pork". Remember, for all the recent bellyaching by the Republicans about ear marks, fully 40% of the ear marks in the most recent budget were Republican sponsored. Republicans and Democrats will never agree to forgo all spending that funnels money into their home districts. Ain't never going to happen. So if you want to continue to vent about the small stuff, be my guest. But all that small stuff will never add up to anything of true financial significance, because when you're talking about multiple trillions in spending, millions and even billions of dollars aren't going to make a palpable impact.

So I'll throw it back to you: if we are seriously going to attempt to reduce spending, aside from going after the military, how would you propose we reduce entitlement spending? Means-testing for social security? Cuts in Medicaid/Medicare? Roll back of the prescription benefit program to the poor and elderly? Elimination of the S-CHIP health program for needy children? Do away with the recent tax reductions for the middle class? Increase taxes on wealthy Americans?
I'm open to your suggestions...