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Started By
Message
I think it might be impossible for us to balance our budget
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:11 am
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:11 am
For FY15
Total Budget - $3.6T
Medicare - $512B
SS (just old ppl) - $697B
Defense - $575B
Interest - $223B
Total of those programs - $2T
% of the Overall budget - 55%
Budget Deficit - $514B
Let me ask you a few questions
* Do you see SS spending going down in the future?
* Do you see medicare spending going down?
* Do you see defense spending going down?
* Are our interest costs going to remain the same?
Obviously the answers to all those questions are no. Those costs are not going to go down. You could argue we could cut the military budget, but the reality is I will believe it when I see it.
And this is what scares me. These expenditures account for 55% of our 3.6T spend in FY15. If we are going to get our budget fixed, we are going to have to do that from the remaining 1.6T in spend. I just don't see this as being politically feasible.
While our deficit is too high, we could find $500B in savings if we were to look at the entire budget, trim in a few spots. Cut everything by 14% and boom we are pretty close. That just isn't possible. That is what terrifies me.
And I know what many will say is cut welfare! The reality is there isn't enough welfare to cover this difference. We only spend $212B on TANF, Food stamps, housing and other traditional welfare programs. Cutting this to zero (no politically possible) is only going to get us a little less than half way there. And people starving in the streets isn't going to play well with the public.
Medicaid is a lot bigger at $228B but we are going to pay for the poor's healthcare either through medicaid or higher healthcare costs.
In the end, we could raise taxes to cover this but I don't see that as politically doable either. Where are we going to raise taxes? The middle class is tapped out. The rich control congress, and that just isn't going to happen. And the poor don't have any money.
Total Budget - $3.6T
Medicare - $512B
SS (just old ppl) - $697B
Defense - $575B
Interest - $223B
Total of those programs - $2T
% of the Overall budget - 55%
Budget Deficit - $514B
Let me ask you a few questions
* Do you see SS spending going down in the future?
* Do you see medicare spending going down?
* Do you see defense spending going down?
* Are our interest costs going to remain the same?
Obviously the answers to all those questions are no. Those costs are not going to go down. You could argue we could cut the military budget, but the reality is I will believe it when I see it.
And this is what scares me. These expenditures account for 55% of our 3.6T spend in FY15. If we are going to get our budget fixed, we are going to have to do that from the remaining 1.6T in spend. I just don't see this as being politically feasible.
While our deficit is too high, we could find $500B in savings if we were to look at the entire budget, trim in a few spots. Cut everything by 14% and boom we are pretty close. That just isn't possible. That is what terrifies me.
And I know what many will say is cut welfare! The reality is there isn't enough welfare to cover this difference. We only spend $212B on TANF, Food stamps, housing and other traditional welfare programs. Cutting this to zero (no politically possible) is only going to get us a little less than half way there. And people starving in the streets isn't going to play well with the public.
Medicaid is a lot bigger at $228B but we are going to pay for the poor's healthcare either through medicaid or higher healthcare costs.
In the end, we could raise taxes to cover this but I don't see that as politically doable either. Where are we going to raise taxes? The middle class is tapped out. The rich control congress, and that just isn't going to happen. And the poor don't have any money.
17
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:13 am to Hawkeye95
It is impossible.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:14 am to Hawkeye95
You have to grow the pie, not take more from the pie.
Stop the hate on corporations and profit, set up a flat tax, remove the automatic baseline budget increases, reduce red tape on businesses and let the country flourish.
Stop the hate on corporations and profit, set up a flat tax, remove the automatic baseline budget increases, reduce red tape on businesses and let the country flourish.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:19 am to wickowick
quote:
You have to grow the pie, not take more from the pie.
Stop the hate on corporations and profit, set up a flat tax, remove the automatic baseline budget increases, reduce red tape on businesses and let the country flourish.
See what you did there, you fricked around and made sense. YOU CAN'T DO THAT!
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:21 am to wickowick
quote:
Stop the hate on corporations and profit, set up a flat tax, remove the automatic baseline budget increases, reduce red tape on businesses and let the country flourish.
have you ever seen the federal gov't do any of that?
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:23 am to Hawkeye95
quote:
have you ever seen the federal gov't do any of that?
No, and that's the problem.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:23 am to Hawkeye95
Then you predict economic collapse.
Let me ask, where are you putting your money?
Let me ask, where are you putting your money?
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:24 am to Stingray
quote:
Let me ask, where are you putting your money?
Bitcoins mother fricker
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:29 am to Scruffy
quote:Hope on it really hard, and it will Change. At least that was the message swallowed by voters the last 2 elections.
I think it might be impossible for us to balance our budget
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:30 am to Stingray
quote:
Let me ask, where are you putting your money?
Hookers and blow
Italy to Include Prostitution and Cocaine Sales in Its GDP
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:31 am to NC_Tigah
quote:
Hope on it really hard, and it will Change. At least that was the message swallowed by voters the last 2 elections.
and the previous two it was "deficits don't matter"
ha ha
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:33 am to Hawkeye95
Yes, well they were both disasters fiscally.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:36 am to Hawkeye95
Balancing the budget will never be "politically possible" as long as Hands Off My Medicare Syndrome is a thing. Boomers (and establishment types of all stripes) view SS and Medicare as somehow "not-welfare" because of the bookkeeping fiction of the FICA tax and the popular view of SS as a pension program (when it isn't, legally, and works nothing like it economically, it is just a wealth transfer).
Defense could easily be cut by large amounts, but given all the squealing from Congress who saw their pork getting trimmed and went HAM on "OBUMMER HATES THE ARMY" it's probably not politically possible either. Hell, we're ready to restart one of our dumbest wars ever because two American photographers got murdered in Syria. (Of course, American journalist Marie Colvin was killed by a regime RPG in 2012, but Assad doesn't have a Youtube channel so we didn't care about that.)
Defense could easily be cut by large amounts, but given all the squealing from Congress who saw their pork getting trimmed and went HAM on "OBUMMER HATES THE ARMY" it's probably not politically possible either. Hell, we're ready to restart one of our dumbest wars ever because two American photographers got murdered in Syria. (Of course, American journalist Marie Colvin was killed by a regime RPG in 2012, but Assad doesn't have a Youtube channel so we didn't care about that.)
This post was edited on 9/19/14 at 11:44 am
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:38 am to Iosh
quote:
Balancing the budget will never be "politically possible" as long as Hands Off My Medicare Syndrome is a thing. Boomers (and establishment types of all stripes) view SS and Medicare as somehow "not-welfare" because of the bookkeeping fiction of the FICA tax and the popular view of SS as a pension program (when it isn't, legally, and works nothing like it economically, it is just a wealth transfer).
exactly this. People love welfare when it flows to them. They firmly believe that its not welfare when they get it, instead they deserve it or they paid for it.
this is a symptom across all classes, age ranges and types of people. ITS MY MONEY BITCHES.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:51 am to Hawkeye95
It's not rocket science. Set a flat tax for EVERYONE and stop giving away free shite to people that are able to work.
When I say stop free shite I mean all the way from Shenequa to GE. Our tax code is so damn stupid even my 13 y/o can see it doesn't add up.
How in God's name does a company as large as GE, Apple, or Facebook pay absolutely ZERO in income tax???
And, how in the hell does Shenequa only earn $12,000/year but gets back a $9000 "refund."
It don't math brah.
When I say stop free shite I mean all the way from Shenequa to GE. Our tax code is so damn stupid even my 13 y/o can see it doesn't add up.
How in God's name does a company as large as GE, Apple, or Facebook pay absolutely ZERO in income tax???
And, how in the hell does Shenequa only earn $12,000/year but gets back a $9000 "refund."
It don't math brah.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 11:55 am to bamarep
quote:
And, how in the hell does Shenequa only earn $12,000/year but gets back a $9000 "refund."
quote:
The direct cost of the EITC to the U.S. federal government was about $56 billion in 2012. The IRS has estimated that between 21% and 25% of this cost ($11.6 to $13.6 billion) is due to EITC payments that were issued improperly to recipients who did not qualify for the EITC benefit that they received.[31] For the 2013 tax year the IRS paid $13.6 billion in bogus claims. In total the IRS has overpaid as much as $132.6 billion in EITC over the last ten years.[32]
Posted on 9/19/14 at 12:04 pm to Hawkeye95
Too much logic and facts up in this thread. 
Posted on 9/19/14 at 12:06 pm to Hawkeye95
quote:
I think it might be impossible for us to balance our budget
Not impossible, will just take level headed individuals who look at the whole picture instead of their special interests.
quote:
Do you see SS spending going down in the future?
No, not with this crowd in charge. SS should be tapered back. I have given my plan multiple times, but it will likely never happen
Slowly push retirement age back to 70... If you are
<3yrs from retirement = Not affected
3-5 yrs from retirement = Age 66
5-8yrs from retirement = Age 67
8-12yrs from retirement = Age 68
12-15yrs from retirement = Age 69
>15yrs from retirement = Age 70
I believe that is a little less aggressive than my original posting, but you get the gist.
quote:
Do you see medicare spending going down?
Nope
quote:
Do you see defense spending going down?
Not with this group, but a cut of 1% a year for the next 10yrs would be substantial.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 12:21 pm to Lsut81
quote:
Not impossible, will just take level headed individuals who look at the whole picture instead of their special interests.
i just dont see that happening.
Posted on 9/19/14 at 12:26 pm to Hawkeye95
Do you know that the baseline budget increase takes the previous years budget and adds ~5-7% automatically?
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