What Congress Should Cut

[AZhitman]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj

Certainly not "middle-of-the-road", but no one else is offering up suggestions... Thoughts?

[jbracy7]

pubic transportion is needed,we just dont need new trains built or techno savy busses, but every thing else i agree with 100%

[bigbadberry3]

The defense budget, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security need to be addressed right meow. I wouldn't cut the "unproven energy technologies" because giving up that field will be detrimental IMO.

[jbracy7]

but wasteing money on something that is a gamble at best,new tech is exciting easy to sell to peaple,we have had tech that could have pulled us out of this decades ago, but greed, good ol american greed, stoped the development of a bunch of technogly, so they wont lose profits, just look at the bail outs of 2009 - 2010. i belive that the peaple should had a vote on that, i say remove the house of reps power,and let the peaple vote for what they want.its not gonna happen but i can dream

[bigbadberry3]

So investing money=wasting money?

[IBCoupe]

Well, BBB, that's something we'd have to weigh. Right now, maybe we should be cutting things like that. On the other hand, if we stop research on future energy, what might a two-year lapse do to us when competing countries don't?

And I'm in favor of taking a hatchet to the Big 3, even defense cuts means I lose my job.

[AZhitman]

^ This.

One is an investment in our future. The other is throwing money at something that should be left in the past.

[heliochrome85]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0[/youtube]

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Why we still give subsidies to corn ethanol despite two years of people confirming that it's the opposite of "green" energy is beyond me.
NASA should be kept. Besides our military, it's the only thing our country can proudly say "Yeah, we are pretty much better than everyone else at this".

[IBCoupe]

'Cause it keeps a few dozen thousand farmers employed, Scorched. And being that we need farmers because wheat's our number-one export, it's complicated to start undermining them, as much as you and I would like to.

[heliochrome85]

Why we still give subsidies to corn ethanol despite two years of people confirming that it's the opposite of "green" energy is beyond me.
NASA should be kept. Besides our military, it's the only thing our country can proudly say "Yeah, we are pretty much better than everyone else at this".

for its benefits, nasa is an easy target because ultimately, it is, like all other branches of science, under attack by the christian conservatives. they want appreciable results for their tax dollars that dont in any way conflict with their view of the world. funny, science doesnt work that way. so its just easier to claim that the cents we spend per person on science, is more a threat to the deficit than the dollars we spend on unneeded carriers, fighters, and TGI Fridays in Kabul.

[stebo0728]

I say cut NASA, let space exploration happen in the private sector if its gonna happen. For all Im concerned we can just leave all R&D funding to the private sector. Let individuals or corporations make the investments, take the risks, BUT lets be sure to not demonize them when the reap the rewards. Our tax money shouldnt be paying to find out whether hamsters are gay, or whether field mice favor purple or red kool aid. Any R&D should be filtered through the supply demand machine; if its necessary, a demand will surface, and a supply will follow. If its pointless it goes no where. Government cant function in the supply demand machine, at least we havent figured out how to allow it to. If we cut all R&D out of the budget we should save a good bit no?

[heliochrome85]

I say cut NASA, let space exploration happen in the private sector if its gonna happen. For all Im concerned we can just leave all R&D funding to the private sector. Let individuals or corporations make the investments, take the risks, BUT lets be sure to not demonize them when the reap the rewards. Our tax money shouldnt be paying to find out whether hamsters are gay, or whether field mice favor purple or red kool aid. Any R&D should be filtered through the supply demand machine; if its necessary, a demand will surface, and a supply will follow. If its pointless it goes no where. Government cant function in the supply demand machine, at least we havent figured out how to allow it to. If we cut all R&D out of the budget we should save a good bit no?

keep skirting the real problems with the deficit. tax breaks and off shore tax loopholes remain open thanks to republican fiscal fraudulence. defense spending is the biggest reason why we are in a deficit. sure the recession didnt help, but lets not forget that bill clinton left the white house with a surplus.

[stebo0728]

I say cut NASA, let space exploration happen in the private sector if its gonna happen. For all Im concerned we can just leave all R&D funding to the private sector. Let individuals or corporations make the investments, take the risks, BUT lets be sure to not demonize them when the reap the rewards. Our tax money shouldnt be paying to find out whether hamsters are gay, or whether field mice favor purple or red kool aid. Any R&D should be filtered through the supply demand machine; if its necessary, a demand will surface, and a supply will follow. If its pointless it goes no where. Government cant function in the supply demand machine, at least we havent figured out how to allow it to. If we cut all R&D out of the budget we should save a good bit no?

keep skirting the real problems with the deficit. tax breaks and off shore tax loopholes remain open thanks to republican fiscal fraudulence. defense spending is the biggest reason why we are in a deficit. sure the recession didnt help, but lets not forget that bill clinton left the white house with a surplus.

Oh i dont mean to say R&D is all we should cut, but I seem to not hear much call for it at all besides the NASA bit, all the other gorged grants for God knows what goes uncensored.

But your right, other cuts need to happen other places as well.

And please leave the Clinton surplus BS under the skank corpse you found it under, thats old hat.

[heliochrome85]

show me a list of targets of excess that the republicans have put forward as a plan to tackle the deficit, and ill show you a list that doesnt include anything that actually affects the deficit.

the US govermnent spends more on two ply toilet paper per year than they do on these projects you are talking about. pick real targets, then come talk to me about cutting them. NPR, NASA, R&D, the National Science Foundation, all account to one US Government shopping spree at the Boeing factory outlet.

[AZhitman]

Are you saying that the list I reposted as the OP "doesnt include anything that actually affects the deficit"?

That's what I'm reading.

Don't be silly - neither party has done what you're proposing. Period. And this looks like an elementary-school rant:

....it is, like all other branches of science, under attack by the christian conservatives. they want appreciable results for their tax dollars that dont in any way conflict with their view of the world.

The reality is, it's under attack by sensible people who DO want appreciable results for their tax dollars. Who wouldn't?

Why's it gotta be Christians? I know TONS of liberals and non-Christians who are fed the hell up with funding stupid crap that won't get our kids and eventual grandkids out of an economic morass. It has nothing to do with faith or conservatism. It has to do with rational thought. I think you've forgotten that Christian conservatives STARTED and BUILT NASA (before Obama decided it needed to be a Muslim program ).

Stop being Glenn Beck and go back to being Tariq.... because to say that "all branches of science are under attack by Christian conservatives" is perilously close to lunacy.

EDIT - The more I read that WSJ article, and the more I research its claims, the more I realize that it's not totally out of the realm of possibilities, and is certainly a step in the right direction.

[heliochrome85]

that list is beyond retarded. how about this, instead of privatizing air traffic control, or ending farm subsidies which all in all, lead to 400 billion, in savings, why dont we let the bust tax cuts expire? thats 700 billion right there. how about not ordering the f-35 or a new generation of carriers? what about us not setting up KFCs and TGI Friday's in Kabul? thanks for proving my point.


Last I checked, the democrats tried to let the bush tax cuts expire, but the republicans did what they do best.


as for science and christianity, yeah, it is underattack despite whatever you believe. global warming is real. evolution is real. science doesnt fit into your preconceieved notions of how the world works. but yeah, go ahead and keep thinking that its a waste of money. afghanistan has a similar policy, and lets see how far they have gotten in this world.

this is really no longer fun for me. you refuse to even debate facts, but rather retreat to GOP talking points. i honestly dont give a s*** what the democrats do or say, because they are a party of cowards, but to sit and actually extoll the virtues of the GOP platform? you must be crazy. id take a coward over a liar anyday, and i do.

[stebo0728]

T...U humor me

Record snowfall across the country, lowest temperatures ever in some places this year, not to mention anytime Al Gore and the gang get together to have a environment pity party it ends up being that city's coldest day on record. The planets trying to tell you something man, its saying "I got this!" Global warming, now commonly known as Climate change (since warming isnt credible anymore) is just a bunker for the new age of communism, get used to it, drop the dead horse.

As for evolution, micro-evolution all day long, show me some evidence of MACRO evolution and ill be impressed.

[stebo0728]

And whens the last time you topped off the blinker fluid in your car?

[dusred]

this is really no longer fun for me. you refuse to even debate facts, but rather retreat to GOP talking points.

Calling something a talking point doesn't diminish it's relevancy, as you've reminded us several times (I think it was you but I could be wrong).

[bigbadberry3]

I want to argue about evolution and global warming but I think that would be besides the point of this article. R&D is critical to any nation. At the very least, the US will have to import new advances other countries make.

[szh]

Last I checked, the democrats tried to let the bush tax cuts expire, but the republicans did what they do best.

Good!

I am tired of the Democrats wanting to take more of my money and give it away elsewhere.

Z

[stebo0728]

I want to argue about evolution and global warming but I think that would be besides the point of this article. R&D is critical to any nation. At the very least, the US will have to import new advances other countries make.

Sure R&D is important, does that mean that its the governments responsibility to foster? The private sector does these things such much better, and again, supply and demand can function in the private sector, it absolutely DOESNT function in the public sector (maybe thats a good thing I dont know). Let the private sector decide what to R&D, the governement will create a demand of its own upon the private sector, for defense items, for technological items, and the those demands will be met.

[bigbadberry3]

I want to argue about evolution and global warming but I think that would be besides the point of this article. R&D is critical to any nation. At the very least, the US will have to import new advances other countries make.

Sure R&D is important, does that mean that its the governments responsibility to foster? The private sector does these things such much better, and again, supply and demand can function in the private sector, it absolutely DOESNT function in the public sector (maybe thats a good thing I dont know). Let the private sector decide what to R&D, the governement will create a demand of its own upon the private sector, for defense items, for technological items, and the those demands will be met.

If the US doesn't foster business, business will move else where which is why the government funds a lot of research (therefore staking a claim with any results) and provides other incentives for businesses to stay here.

[stebo0728]

If the US doesn't foster business, business will move else where which is why the government funds a lot of research (therefore staking a claim with any results) and provides other incentives for businesses to stay here.

So theres the super secret reason why business stay here even though our tax climate is completely against them? Bah ... make our tax environment more suitable and dump the frivalous grants, investments should be of a private nature not public.

[PalmerWMD]

What an awesome article!!.
Support every single suggestion 100%

[PalmerWMD]

Ethanol costs money. and uses up MORE fossil fuel equvalents than it creates.

The only reason Brasil was able tot make it work is because their climate measn they cna do it wiht sugarcane which is much more efficent than corn. and they can ahve 2 or more harvests of sugarcane a year.

Ethanol is one of the worst scams the american taxpayer is suffering.

[PalmerWMD]

Sorry yet an additonal posts from reading others:

Since we cut the F22 at only 187 we need the F35 to have a modern plane .
We already cut the rates for F18, F16 and even ended F15 produton in expectation that the F35 will come.
The cost for F35 is in line with what such modern sytems cost and is actually less per unit than say the Eurofighter which is vbeing afforded by countreis with smaller budgets thna us.

Also the F35 is a multinationla collbarative efforts and other goverments have spent money and committed resources based on our contractual obligations ot go through with this modernization.

Cutting the F35 would mean :
alienating allies and getting them to buy thier stuff from France of Russia.
Losing trust by our partners
incurring contractual penalties
and relgating ourslevs to second power status becuase thats what you call a country that does not have its own fighter production line which is exactly where we will be in a few years if we dont get the F35.

[IBCoupe]

Record snowfall across the country,

Increased water vapor in the atmosphere equals increased precipitation. Global warming will never eliminate winter, so when it's cold outside, that precipitation is white and fluffy. This is not even an argument against the reality global warming.

lowest temperatures ever in some places this year,

Weather. This is not an argument based in good science.

not to mention anytime Al Gore and the gang get together to have a environment pity party it ends up being that city's coldest day on record.

Irony. This is not an argument based in science at all.

The planets trying to tell you something man, its saying "I got this!" Global warming, now commonly known as Climate change (since warming isnt credible anymore) is just a bunker for the new age of communism, get used to it, drop the dead horse.

No, Stebo, that's what Republicans are trying to tell you. And they have absolutely no history of lying about anything to further a political agenda.

As for evolution, micro-evolution all day long, show me some evidence of MACRO evolution and ill be impressed.

Look in a mirror? Micro-evolution, given enough time (say, 200 billion years, which is to a million what 200,000 is to 1), becomes "macro-evolution."

[IBCoupe]

So theres the super secret reason why business stay here even though our tax climate is completely against them? Bah ... make our tax environment more suitable and dump the frivalous grants, investments should be of a private nature not public.

The reason businesses stay here is because our tax climate isn't completely against them. Did you forget everything I explained to you in the other thread?

Yes, we have high rates, but we have an unmatched system of deductions and exemptions. STOP LYING.