US Politics |OT|

[BFR]

zorg1000 said:

This is what I find funny about the “fiscal responsibility” people, the federal government had about $6.8 trillion in outlays for fiscal year 2024 and their solution is to nickel and dime on a handful of projects that combined make up less than a percent of the budget.

Sure, you can find examples of overspending on specific things or spending on dumb things but about 65% of federal outlays come from defense, healthcare, social security & interest. Add in things like infrastructure, education, housing, environment, disaster relief, nutrition assistance, etc. and you’re now close to the entire budget with none of those categories being a popular thing to make cuts to.

You can nickel and dime all these small projects but the end result is outlays go from something like $6.8t to $6.75t, mission accomplished!

1. The biggest amount of money goes to entitlements like Social Security - so, raise the retirement age and increase the SS payroll tax, it's been stuck at 6.2% for years.

2. Cut defense spending - kill the LCS, V-22 Osprey, and V-280 Valor for starters.

     Do we really need 11 aircraft carriers? Do we really need 60 nuclear powered attack submarines?

3. Raise the federal gasoline tax - to help pay for infrastructure - it's been stuck at 18.4 cents per gallon, since 1993.