I don't see China attacking the U.S. More likely, I see the two countries becoming allies after a while. I see it working out like the relationship between the early U.S. and the British Empire. After China has enough money to be a superpower, America will destroy itself on its own.

It is a giveback for Chinese financial backing of a country that is going down the shitter. When China pulls out we have 2 options: print more fiat money and become Zimbabwe via hyperinflation or monetize the debt and become extremely poor anyway. This is a gesture of "goodwill" by an administration who can't understand that in order to create jobs you cut taxes on businesses, esp small businesses which provide 75% US employment and create smaller govt by cutting wasteful programs and depts (DoEd; DoE; etc, etc) This is a clear violation of US security as well as the Chinese, when they do back out (they are starting to now) will be at war with other PACCOM nations and the US. China can afford to wait. It is in their psychology and culture. It is ultimate venture capitalism. Know your enemy, work with him, then crush him. Then China will the Red Dragon hyperpower it has always longed to be.

Well you are right on one thing, last I cheched the government sector is the only thing that is "growing" in this economy. Cutting back on those jobs would temporarily hurt, but the government has grown FAR too large and needs to be axed in several places. Gotta cut the dead wood, the branches that are entangling and compromising our "fence" and/or "house", and the branches that are stealing the "nutrients" from other healthy and needed places. Pruning is necessary for plants, activities, and organizations, in such times as these. Government is no exception.

...Hrmm? Your metaphor doesn't really make much sense. The government and the jobs it provides are a lot different from a tree of all things. I mean, what's the Judicial Branch? An owl? A hole in the tree dug by a woodpecker? People who work for the government are often just regular middle class citizens. They spend their money like anyone else. They're not "dead wood" at all, even if their jobs are unneeded. The thing about the branches just makes no sense. And people who work for the governments aren't stealing nutrients (or money) from anyone else. People seem to get angry when the government spends money to stimulate the economy, but then they want the government to shrink. Well, what's the government going to spend money on? The military? Not exactly trickling down.

The country has always managed to be fine with wasteful spending, a bloated government, and excessive spending. The only problem now is that we can't afford to do it anymore. Really, the only way this country will be able to save itself is to find some way to make some freakin' money, not cherry pick after last piece of fiscal policy.

Well I must say, my metaphor wasn't the clearist piece of work but it hold true. Let me clear it up a bit.

Constitution is the tree seed.
The  Judicial Branch is the DNA and tells teh tree what it can and cannot do according to the original seed.
The Executive Branch and the the Legislative Branch share the rest of the tree: roots, trunk, branches, leaves.

The tree is on property "I" own and live on and protects my home on the property from certain elements.

When a tree on your property starts to invade your windows, or span across a fence, you need to start pruning it before it crosses into someone else's yard. When a tree starts growing in a direction you don't want it to you need to cut it back. When a tree starts to die in certain areas, you need to clear the dead wood.

That is the crux of my analogy, poor as it may be, I think it fits.

The tree of government in America has not been pruned meaningfully since the "Voter Revolution of 1994" and Welfare reform. Before that it Reagan. Before that... etc. It has grown so large in recent years under the "ever so viligant eye" of both Republicans and Democrats.

Why sell old technology when countries can just get new technology like the F-35s?

Eh, montana, as someone who works for Government. I can safely say that jobs should be cut. Tax dollars are being wasted on useless positions and employees who really don't do very much at all.

Luinil: I see your point, sorry if I seemed rude earlier.

Outlaw: These people may not care, and their jobs may be useless, but these tax dollars are going into people who will actually spend it. I agree that government should probably be made smaller, but it's not nearly as big of a problem as most people make it out to be, and we have far bigger issues to face. Like the fact that this country doesn't know how to make money anymore.

Sure enough, but even I feel kinda bad at some moments. Without my tax dollars, I would have never finished Final Fantasy IV DS.

I'd be less bothered by this if we didn't stop funding all of our kickass jet technology.

Really though... it's not like China having stealth bombers could effect us that badly... I mean the only countries who could have stealth bombers that could bother us are countries in the EU... and they probably have stealth technology already? And we're not likely to go to war with the EU anytime soon anyway?

Is 50 billion really anything though considering the trillions in debt we're running up?  Reminds me of the old scene of a guy ordering 15 things off a fast food menu but getting a diet soda.