pork the other white meat that keeps stealing money.

armchair_warrior

The Senate Tuesday rejected a GOP bid to ban the practice of larding spending bills with earmarks — those pet projects that lawmakers love to send home to their states.

Most Democrats and a handful of Republicans combined to defeat the effort, which would have effectively forbidden the Senate from considering legislation containing earmarks like road and bridge projects, community development funding, grants to local police departments and special-interest tax breaks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_senate_earmark_ban

whynot_31

I am all for reducing pork.

....but even if we eliminated it, it wouldn't touch the budget deficit.

The big cuts are going to need to come from Medicaid, defense, medicare and social security.

boygabriel

Pork represents 2.9% of the federal deficit.

The Afghanistan War alone is 1.0%, and at least pork creates jobs (usually) and improves infrastructure & industry (usually).

If you care about govt waste, think bigger.

whynot_31

Unless we increase taxes or grow our economy, we will need cut not just our "waste" but our SERVICES.

....no one wants to cut services, but it looks like it is going to have to happen.

boygabriel

For starters we need to increase taxes on the richest 1%. Their tax rates are a joke relative to US historical standards, and relative to other income groups (the other 99% of us)

Armchair, what are your preferences for cutting the deficit?

bohuma

The problem I have with pork is the lack of transparency. I have no problem with the government having a bucket of several billion dollars to finance local projects, however, the projects should be overseen by a cabinet department, which should make recommendations on the projects being proposed. For example, the proposal for the notorious Alaskan bridge to nowhere should have been submitted to the Department of Transportation, which would prepare a report for Congress, which could still go ahead even if the DoT said it was a waste of money. DoT should also monitor the project's progress and completion.

The problem with pork as it is, it enables corrupt people to siphon off public funds for private purposes. Most of the funds aren't misused, but the potential exists. I favor more transparency.

armchair_warrior

there is no ww3, the us doesn't need to fight 2 conventional ww2 style wars and win it and no need to spend as if there is. so cut most of the spending on these future weapons. the current weapons of the us arsenal will still be the best in the next 50 years.

its freaking redicuculous when us is spending billions of dollars on bombers, planes etc...

pull out of the all current wars immediately. and all overseas bases.

no immediate cut to troop levels , turn them into infrastructure workers and border patrol, no gi bill, hell learn to save money and pay for college like everyone else. nothing special about people fighting. tax payers are as important more so than some guy picking up a weapon to fight. i come from a Confucian background. soldiers are necessary evil but shouldn't be in use all the time only for defense.

only reason not to cut troop levels is you don't want any out of work troops causing trouble. they are train with deadly weapons.

almost all medical/social security. except to the very poor and disable. too bad for everyone else.

raise taxes and enact a national sales tax no more local sales taxes, problem with local sales tax is everyone can go to the state next door to buy stuff. i do it all the time via internet i avoid ny sales taxes as much as possible. simply because i can do it. if force to when there is no alternative yeah i'll buy local. i guess they call it the vat.

flatrate income tax no more loop holes and deductions on anything.

what is up with them giving freaking people with tons kids tax breaks hell it should be the opposite if you look at things logically. the fever kids you have the less of a burden you have on society/environment.

the government should be encouraging poor people to have fewer kids not more. give them money to have their nuts cut and tubes tied.

universal education including college but not a right but a privilege. if some asshole kids don't want to learn, they should be kick out. alot of people don't want it just a disturbance to the rest of the kids.

all prisons should be work camps, you pay for prison or you starve to death. tough too bad. it will keep them busy and tried out. reform is total bs nobody reforms.

if people believe in reform, send former prisoners to live in the neighborhoods of the rich who believes in them. have the halfway houses built in to rich areas. simply because the criminals generally go back to the poor areas where they come from. this way the rich will know how it is to live in poor area. by rich meaning anyone above the poverty line.

the nimby's will learn fast how their people idealistic dreams wont work and the criminals won't be plaguing the poor communities when they get out of prisons simply because the privileged classes believe in some social experiment.

make prostitution and all drugs legal and tax them. also legalize suicide.

its peoples own bodies do what people want to do with them. as long as they don't harm other people directly. obviously can't use drugs and drive etc.. common sense stuff. if the industry is regulated, girls wouldn't be abuse and trafficked as bad as now. drugs war would be over no more large ass prisons for most people and killings etc... over drugs.

immigration reform, us should take in more skilled and investment related people. we'll have enough dumb poor people born here not willing to work, when they get off welfare and they'll work those cheap jobs.

also on guns either ban the whole thing or 1 fed license and fee. no more 50 different laws on it. doesn't make sense. half ass banning doesn't work criminals will get them simply by driving to the next state. you think criminals obey laws. on noo nyc is a no gun zone!! omg we can't bring illegal guns from the next state etc... or hell even upstate ny or li. nyc gun laws is just asinine.

same goes for alcohol and smokes. no point in having 50 different tax rates and legalities of the damn thing. the whole dry places are stupid!! if you don't want to work in a freaking bar that everyone smokes well don't work there! there should be smoking and no smoking bars. work places should have smoking and no smoking zones etc....

some sort of universal car tax, some sort of universal single home tax.

buildings with many units is much less of a burden on resources. too bad the nimby moving to brooklyn love their low rises. people can't build them higher taller buildings etc...because they always get together and destroy any reform of zoning to have higher and taller and bigger buildings etc...

car tax is simple the up keep for roads are expensive as hell. they should pay more of their share of that upkeep. once its a universal expensive car tax. people will be force to build more public transport otpions etc...

towns and cities will be more viable once again when the suburbs get destroy from the single home taxes/ car tax etc... higher taller buildings will be much more useful etc... economies of scale would work much better for every thing. the environment be much better off.

boygabriel

That's a much better post. I agree with a lot of that.

armchair_warrior

forgot about religious joints and ngo's pay taxes like everyone else.

they are in it to make money like everyone else for their cause.

whynot_31

my head hurts

whynot_31

Those who believe we should continue to have an interventionist government respond:

NEWS ALERT

Fiscal Commission 'Ignores Real Needs of American Families; Would Ensure Our Greatest Days Are Behind Us'

Joint Press Conference LIVE Today at 1PM Responding to Proposal and Outlining Steps to Put Nation's Finances on Sustainable Path

Webcast Available at www.ourfiscalsecurity.org

Washington, DC--The need for our nation to rebuild the middle class--the real engine of our economy--was completely overlooked in the new job-killing recommendations from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Tamara Draut, Vice President of Policy and Programs at Demos, responded with the following statement:

"The final recommendations released today illustrate how out of touch many on the Fiscal Commission, and many of those wielding influence in the Beltway, are with the everyday economic concerns and fears of Americans everywhere. This plan ignores the need for immediate public investments to spur job creation, relies too heavily on discretionary spending cuts, and slashes Social Security at a time when fewer Americans can count on a secure retirement.

"Outrageously, it embarks on a job-killing austerity path next fall (fiscal year 2012), when unemployment is still projected to be near 10 percent. In addition to imperiling the recovery in the short-term, the arbitrarily low debt target also hamstrings our ability to invest in our own economy--as our global competitors are doing.

"Are the $4 trillion Bush tax cuts (the same amount saved by the Commission's proposals) worth sacrificing America's place in the world? The Our Fiscal Security blueprint shows that we can rebuild the middle class, invest in our own economy, and put our nation's finances on a sustainable path. The Commission's recommendations would guarantee that America's greatest days our behind us."

Our Fiscal Security project partners, along with The American Prospect magazine and the Roosevelt Institution, will respond to the fiscal commission report and further discuss the plans outlined in the Blueprint at The National Press Club in Washington, DC. Featured panelists include Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, with Dean Baker, Nancy Altman, John Irons, and Robert Kuttner. There will be a webcast available at www.ourfiscalsecurity.org.

The Fiscal Blueprint received widespread media coverage, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Reuters, The New Republic and many others.

booklaw

Armchair, I agree with a number of your suggestions. One I particularly disagree with is cutting out the GI Bill. I was a draft dodger... I did not serve in the army.

But I think that anyone who is willing to risk his (or her) life, limbs and sanity by serving in the armed forces, is entitled to both health care and education at public expense.

I very much agree with you that our politicians should wean themselves from throwing our soldiers at every possible problem around the world. Let the world take care of itself, absent another WW II scenario.

armchair_warrior

the problem is with both parties, refuse to cut and refuse to tax.

whynot_31

AW, the problem also stems from our nation's belief in states rights.

....the governors and other elected representatives would never be re-elected if they ceded their states' rights to tax, regulate, etc to the federal government.

As they presently do, they would cry "socialism".

I continue to believe:

1. The US will never sincerely address its debt.

2. If the US somehow scales back the size of its federal government, those who presently claim this is what they want will then want to sucede on the basis that they believe they are not getting their fair share. It's all a paradox.....

boygabriel

the problem is with both parties, refuse to cut and refuse to tax.

You have to blame the American people too. It's precisely what they demand of their leaders.

You try raising taxes and see how feasible it is.

armchair_warrior

that's why politicians always say the American people knows better LOL. biggest joke is on the American people cause they keep saying the same lies/jokes.

whynot_31

We are all convinced:

1. Everything should be free.

2. Some other group or person is getting more than "we" are, therefore the government should do more for "my group", or "me".

It is a vicious circle.

booklaw

It's really very simple: there should be less for all of you... And MORE for me!

armchair_warrior

old people will have more than young working people. steal from the future and give to the old.

whynot_31

If we inceased the estate tax, the wealth could again be redistributed to the masses that paid SS. ...but we just cut the "death tax"

cool the kid

Tax reform + deficit solution discussion: "We should raise everyone's taxes but mine; I should not get a tax hike because of X, Y and Z. Also we should get rid of program X, but keep program Y because I use it/plan to use program Y one day"

Lol.

armchair_warrior

the joke isn't just on the future tax payers but also on foreigners investing all their money here thinking the us would do something about their debt LOL.

cool the kid

As long as we can keep the shell game going we're good. More entitlement, lower taxes, a deficit nobody wants to talk about.

whynot_31

....those of us who are smart and able to do so, will save for our retirments in the Yuan.

cool the kid

IDK about that, from what I remember the yuan is tied to the dollar.

China's position is pretty precarious, currency wise. Them detatching the yuan from the dollar = gesture of bad faith = fear of the US future = devaluation of their holdings of our debt. Ppl feel like they have us by the balls, but I don't know if that's the case.

Not to mention, while this is less of a concern for China, it's still big... the environmental destruction being done by developing countries to get a spot on the world stage is unsustainable, and the effects of said damage will definitely come to light sooner than later. People hate the EPA, and I think the EPA oversteps its boundaries a bit, but that's the organization separating us from complete environmental annihilation

whynot_31

I kinda like the EPA.

....I am ok with the average wage/salary in America falling in order to compete, but I would really dislike it if we increased our polution for this end.

cool the kid

Prices would have to drop with wages. IDK, wage slides would be pretty ugly for America, at least during the transitory stages

whynot_31

this will be ugly.

boygabriel

As long as we can keep the shell game going we're good. More entitlement, lower taxes, a deficit nobody wants to talk about.

Don't forget endless war!

cool the kid

Numerically, the wars are pretty insignificant

whynot_31

True.

...but returning to wages, this recently released paper shows that the wages are continuing to fall for the college educated, and on a median middle basis.

Page 6, items 5 and 8 are not huge drops, but drops nonetheless.

ah, how nice it would be to work on wall street.

http://www.fiscalpolicy.org/FPI_GrowTogetherOrPullFurtherApart_20101213.pdf