Quote:
Originally Posted by Rekna
Military budget is under 700 billion. The deficit is around 400 billion in 2015. At 40% you are still over 150 billion short.
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There's the published military budget and the real military budget.
For example (and correct me if I'm wrong) the following are not included in the Pentagon's budget
1. Cost of operating all ICBM silos (That's the Department of the Interior - yep, really)
2. Cost of the War in Iraq and Afghanistan.
3. Cost of all the "free money" that is given to the Military Industrial complex in the name of Research and Development. (Corporate Welfare)
4. Cost of Vetran's Hospitals.
---------- Post added at 06:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:10 PM ----------
It's very simple how to balance the US Federal Budget.
1. Cut spending
2. Increase taxes
Or better yet, a bit of both.
The one thing I've noticed about Americans is that they truly believe in the concept of the Free Lunch. You want to have all the government goodies - but you don't want to pay for them and you figure that someone else should pay for them. I laugh when I hear all sort of people talking about reforming income tax, or flat tax - everyone seems to have an agenda. It would seem that everyone believes that they pay too much and the other guy pays too little tax and if they just rejigged it this way or that way, I could pay less - you could pay more, and all would be right in the world.
I watch CNN and people keep talking about keeping the "Bush Tax Cuts". Fuck, you couldn't afford them under W for crying out loud, in supposed good times. He just went out and borrowed 500 billion a year in order to finance a tax cut and look like a hero to the population who must be fucking on glue or something. I mean, really, if I was you I'd be saying, "Don't borrow money to finance a tax cut - keep the fucking taxes where they are and balance the budget"
But you NEVER EVER hear ANY American say that. Instead, they just keep crossing their fingers and praying for another tax cut so they can go out and buy more shit that they don't need. Of all the Industrialized Countries, America already pays the least in taxes.
I contrast that to Canada where people were UPSET when they cut the national sales tax (G.S. T. from 7% to 5%) because it would mean that the gov't would have less money for social programs, or that the gov't would have to go into debt and people (myself included) were saying, keep the fucking GST at 7% thanks very much and balance the damn budget.
Americans would sooner eat glass and die than ever think that way.