Assuming you had temporary control over the Federal budget, what programs would you cut in order to balance?

Question

The budget?

Ideally, what would you do to reduce the debt?

Answer 1

PBS - there is no reason to waste taxpayer money on that channel no one watches



NEA - there is no reason to waste taxpayer money paying "artists" to build crap



farm subsidies - there is no reason to pay farmers NOT to farm things; we do not have a food crisis



ACORN funding - there is no reason to pay people who have been proven to be fraudulent



GM and Chrysler - they should be allowed to go bankrupt, like every other company that fails

Answer 2

Right now I wouldn't. Any student that has had an economics class can tell you that when the economy is bad, a deficit is a good thing. Governments should have a surplus during good times, no matter what it takes to make that happen.



When the economy is good, then I would enact single payer health care and cut all other health care insurance programs. The government is already responsible for over 40% of all health care bills in the US. There is no reason not to put them all in one program.



I would raise the taxes on the rich to the levels they paid in 1985. Republicans have enacted one cut after another since then.

I would redefine the income tax. Income should be considered income no matter what the source. Currently some sources of income get far less taxes than other.



Have the census reworked. I would gladly go to a website an fill out a form before the census forms were mailed if the option was available. Advertise it on the tax forms and people could do them at the same time. I suspect most americans would. The paper forms could be turned into a last resort to get your info. That would save billions.

Answer 3

First and foremost would be OASDI reform. And I'm talking reform with an ax, across the board. It would pretty much entail suspending collections entirely while beginning a multi-tiered return of the money collected. We can't just tell people the program is broke and we can't afford it anymore, they've been paying into it their entire lives. But we need to wean them off it, and that is the single most destructive program in America. EVER. No more Medicare. No more social security. No more #%$% Ponzi schemes!



Farm subsidies would be next, paying people to grow nothing is absurd.

And, in no particular order:

SCHIP

The operating budget for the entire DEA

The Import/Export bank

NOAA

Any subsidization of private industry (corporate welfare)

Hell, any subsidization of anything



I would go through the budget like an avenging angel, cutting everything that wasn't expressly authorized by the Constitution. And even if it were authorized I would want to see proof that it couldn't be handled more efficiently by the private sector. When I was done people would be standing on street corners saying, "Where'd all the government go?"

Answer 4

2011 Budget, a budget freeze. All departments would have to make due with the monies they had in 2010. Also no new "pork" projects. All politicians know what pork is, and none would be allowed.

enact legislation to audit the fed, and remove their powers. Bring authority of monetary policy back to congress.



2012 Budget, 10% reduction in all budgets across the board. Force them to become more efficient. Take the money saved from the budget cuts and apply 20% to auditors to do full audits for strictly waste fraud and abuse. Take the other 80% and apply it to paying the national debt. Adjust taxes accordingly to fully fund the federal government (no deficit spending)



2013 budget. Implement all auditor recommendations. This should cut another 5-10 % from the budget (maybe more). Again take the same budget amount from previous budget for auditors and efficiency experts to analyze all departments. Eliminate any departments that are primarily duplicating services and combine under 1 department. Eliminate any departments that are not performing as legislated. Shrink the overall size of government (this includes military and social programs) Use remaining budget surplus to pay down national debt (big chunk for Social Security). Adjust taxes as necessary.



2014 budget. propose changes to federal government. Start allowing services that can be handled by the state, to return to state control, propose eliminating government positions, toward private sector. Again reduce the size of government. Use excess budget monies to pay down debt.



2015 National debt should now be under control, federal government should now be about 2/3 the size it was. Responsibility of many projects should be back in state control, and the federal government should now be only dealing with things of commonality with the states. The congress does not need the staff that was once needed,and there presence is not necessary in Washington 8 months a year. Enact legislation that congress will be in session from Feb 1 till Mar 31, unless needed for emergency or special session. Set up full video teleconferencing, so committees and special session do not necessarily need to be in Washington.



Also enact legislation to make senators 6 yr ambassadors to be selected by the state legislatures. This will eliminate the most expensive elections our nation sees, and would make them beholden to the state instead of national politics. The representatives are the direct representation of the people.



Just a few items that would happen.



EDIT- There would also be auditors to bring pay and benefits in government positions down to the level commensurate with the same position in the private sector. After all a Janitor is a Janitor etc...

Answer 5

First would be to roll spending back to 2007 levels.

Since 2007 spending is about equal to 2010 expected revenues the deficit almost would disappear overnight.

Next would be to eliminate most of the 1607 and rising federal funding programs.

http://funding-programs.idilogic.aidpage.com/funding-programs/



Next would be to finally correct the Social Security disaster.

This would be done by raising the benefit age, to 69 for those born 1980-1989, to 72 for those born 1990- 1999, to 75 for those born 2000- 2009, and 78 for those born 2010 and later with the age liked to actuary tables of life expectancy every ten years and adjusted accordingly. Social Security was never designed to be a retirement program but insurance for the aged. (life expectancy when it was instituted was only 58 with a benefit age of 62).

Answer 6

To start with would take back the raise Congress gave themselves at the beginning of 2009. And the raise the House received.



I would then look at every agency to see if they were necessary or could we combine them with another agency and do away with unnecessary agency's.



I would investigate the Fed. I imagine this in it self wold save billions.



Then I would take the money used to bailout billion dollar profitable businesses that drove themselves to the ground. And use it to infuse America with cash.



America would have saved herself.



We would have all bought new cars. Saved jobs and the auto industry.



We would have paid our mortgages. This would have saved Banks, Lenders, Wall Street,

Saved hundreds of thousand of jobs.



We would have bought new homes and created hundreds of thousands of jobs.



We would have shopped.



Americans would have infused America with spending into the economy there fore saving the economy and creating and saving jobs by the millions.





This is just the tip of what I would do.



If these measures were used the budget would be fine.

Answer 7

it quite is extra suitable than in basic terms a declare, it quite is a actuality that the deficit has especially larger below Obama, and what's worse, Obama and the Democrats have no thought how plenty the wellness care bill will actually value, besides. And in case you haven't any longer heard conservatives' recommendations for budget cuts, then you certainly have not had to hearken to them -- endless cuts have been proposed. yet to respond to your question, there is a lot of room around the board for reducing the fee variety. yet please be conscious that i'm no longer talking for the Republican party, in basic terms my own opinion. For one factor, shall we make Social secure practices voluntary. I for one be attentive to that if I had invested the money i've got paid to SS over the years, i could even have earned a extra robust return. So, suitable there, it quite is a ton of money that the gov won't could pay out interior the long term. for sure, they could have a one-time pay out interior the fast term. yet another factor could be to as we talk enforce a flat tax fee this is honest to easily everyone. it quite is not any longer honest that the perfect 5% of earners pay approximately 50% of the earnings taxes in this u . s . a .. i be attentive to Democrats like to punish extreme-functioning human beings, however the terrific thank you to strengthen economic intake is to widen the pool. extra, if easily everyone had to pay taxes there could as we talk be a plenty enhanced be certain to decrease government spending and exceptionally all the beef spending. it quite is uncomplicated. we'd could repeal the unconstitutional wellness care bill. easily everyone doesn’t choose it, and people who do choose it could already get it. we are in a place to discover the thank you to decrease welfare. There desires to be extra accountability required from recipients, too. One uncomplicated way could be to require in a place bodied recipients to artwork, and steadily wean them off welfare, which became into in no way meant to be an enduring life type. we are in a place to downsize the government, basically like all business corporation could do if it had an excess of non-efficient and /or redundant workers. get rid of the ineffective timber. yet in any different case is to have an modification which states that Congress could make no regulation that doesn't additionally word to themselves. That modification on my own could supply up various the stupidity and waste. The link below has some different sturdy recommendations.

Answer 8

I would fire all politicians first of all. Then I would cut out welfare to illegals, and stop foreign aid for 5 years. We would, after 2 years, vote on anything that needs to be voted on ourselves. This could be done by telephone. We DO NOT need politicians, they are all crooks anyway.

Answer 9

I'd FIRST put a ban on any new spending programs that do not yet exist.



Then I would go through the budget, line by line, and kill any spending that was enacted purely as a vote getter.



That would be a start, at least.

Answer 10

I would start with a particular swamp mouse getting more money that I could spend in a lifetime. I would seal the boarders.

Answer 11

Affirmative Action.

Answer 12

The Federal Reserve, Medicare, Medicaid, the wars, social security.... many more. I'd cut the salaries of every career politician in office.

Answer 13

About 90% of these:



http://funding-programs.idilogic.aidpage.com/funding-programs/

Answer 14

Welfare programs paying able bodied, Social Security to those who dont deserve it, I would bill Mexico for ileagle alien care.

Answer 15

Balancing the budget would be economic suicide right now. We'd double-dip back into the recession (or a depression!) immediately.



I'd wait at least 2 years.

Answer 16

unless you wrestle control of the monetary powers away from the federal reserve it won't matter how much you cut or save.

Answer 17

Go back to following the constitution for one thing......

Answer 18

the IRS



XD



ah what else. subsidies



and id put in a flat tax =)

Answer 19

Stop funding 'the arts',affirmative action education handouts,pre school funding.and foreign aid handouts

Answer 20

suspend all politicians pay and send them home for a year and nothing but good could happen.

Answer 21

Politicians would be paid as much as teachers.

Answer 22

Cut military to a reasonable level. Tax churches. Cut corporate welfare.

Answer 23

I'd tax churches, and cut tax credits.



Tax credits are such lies.