Things that you have taken seriously today (Political version)

[~Rocktar~]

20 years after 9/11 and I'm still angry and sad. Watching it on TV again and having lived in Dulles when it happened, I just want to kill all the fucking terrorists that are whooping it up again in Afghanistan. Forgiving and forgetting is for fucking losers. Kill them all.

I am not running for office and I approve this message.

Alternately, fence off the whole region and don't let anyone in or out. Let them suffer with their own creation.

[Alfster]

We need to cut spending and use it for infrastructure alright, but not military spending. Last breakdown I saw put military spending at less than 1/6th of the budget and this was years ago, entitlement spending is over 3/5ths. Stop paying people not to work and shift funding to paying for real jobs and improvements.

Oh dear ignorance.

[Neveragain]

We need to cut spending and use it for infrastructure alright, but not military spending. Last breakdown I saw put military spending at less than 1/6th of the budget and this was years ago, entitlement spending is over 3/5ths. Stop paying people not to work and shift funding to paying for real jobs and improvements.

We spend 778 billion a year on military. That's up 130 billion since 2013. We could cut our military by 1/3 and still spend more on military than the rest of the world combined. Our national infrastructure is a part of our national security.

[~Rocktar~]

Oh dear ignorance.

Yes, we know you display it on every post.

[~Rocktar~]

We spend 778 billion a year on military. That's up 130 billion since 2013. We could cut our military by 1/3 and still spend more on military than the rest of the world combined. Our national infrastructure is a part of our national security.

So we spend more than everyone else. So what? We could cut a lot more from entitlements and improve things even more. Our spending in proportion to the rest of the world means absolutely nothing, it is not a meaningful comparison.

[drauz]

entitlement spending is over 3/5ths.

It's not.

[Tgo01]

It's not.

I mean....isn't 60% also known as 3/5ths?

[Shaps]

This is an interesting topic actually.. but it's more convoluted than just the Federal spending that occurs.

My opinion Federal spending should be for the majority of external/international affairs, national highways, federal parks, etc. Large projects that a single State is not able to manage on it's own.. hence.. the "United States" of America... Federal funding should handle the "united" part.. not the individual part. That's in general, a full breakdown of course is up for debate.

What's left out is what the States do, and how they manage their taxes and apply them for the people that choose to live in those States. One of the worst concepts I currently hate about the direction of national politics is this idea that each State should be the same. The beauty of our system is that there are a multitude of States that all manage themselves differently based upon their populous. That is a good thing. It gives us all the freedom to choose our everyday living conditions, taxes, school systems, etc. based upon what we want/believe is best for ourselves and our families. That is being lost with the constant push for the Federal Government to run everything in my opinion.

So fundamentally, I already think the Federal Government spends to much (and please realize...what they spend... is what you earn for them - I'd rather you keep what you earn and spend it in your community)... but what they do spend should be on such things as the Military (National Defense), Interstates/train/planes/etc. (National Transportation Systems), National Parks/Wildlife (National coverage to ensure natural resource conservation), International Affairs, etc.... and not much else.

Without doing a true deep dive on State taxes/expenditures.. the Federal Government argument is a false picture I believe.

Fun conversation though. Interested in more insight for sure.

[drauz]

I mean....isn't 60% also known as 3/5ths?

While people call social security and medicare "entitlements" they aren't the kind he was talking about. It is 23% of the budget in 2019 so I can guess it's fairly similar in 2016. That takes the total percentage way down.

He specifically said to stop paying people not to work and that would pay for infrastructure.

[Parkbandit]

I mean....isn't 60% also known as 3/5ths?

It's probably more than that once you pull out all the giveaways from Education, Housing, Transportation, Food and Ag, etc...