Monday, November 14, 2011

Want To Cut Spending...


 Start here.  Below is a list of items that are from a comment by #37927 on Contra O'Reilly.
OK immediate 50% cut to the bloated Pentagon budget, so we can bring the brigade home the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team from Vicenza, Italy. After all nobody has attacked them since 1944-45, nor do they look endangered.

We can also bring all the troops occupying Germany home since their reason for being there "the USSR" ended in 1991.

Ditto for Japan, Bulgaria, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Romania.

We also could downsize from an 11 carrier fleet to a more reasonable 7-8 carrier fleet given how much the right wing wants budget cuts. we could also take off line half the nuclear attack and boomer subs, since both the Russians and US all are downsizing our ability to nuke the world 3-5 times over.

Downsize the air Force in a similar manner, MUCHO money saved.

Total federal spending on a safety net for the poor costs the average taxpayer about $400 a year, while spending on corporate welfare programs costs the same taxpayer about $1400 a year. (source: Congressional Budget Office figures)

The largest direct subsidy program in the federal budget is for crop and farm subsidies. Most farmers don’t receive direct subsidies from the federal government,” the report states. “The taxpayer-financed handouts go to only about one-third of the nation’s farmers and ranchers. So, where does all the taxpayer money spent on farmers actually go? Mainly to large corporate agribusinesses and the richest farmers.


Make the farmers getting welfare start paying for all their expenses, NO government money at all.

Cut all subsidies to oil corps, and any other for profit industries'

Give the airlines the full bill for all airport construction and traffic control and accident investigations costs.

Allow the SS admin to bargain for drug costs like the VA can, so less government money is wasted.

End the $70 + billion in public airwave channel rights free of charge...make them PAY for the public airwaves, so they stop getting a free ride,.

Individuals and families must demonstrate need to receive benefits, while corporations with billions of dollars in annual income remain on the federal dole.

Take away Wal-Mart's $37 million from Uncle Sam in the transportation bill.

Stop handing money to Egypt and Israel so they can buy weapons, make their citizens cough up the money, not US tax payers.

Make BP pay the FULL costs of all the response to their oil spill in the gulf.

Charge market costs for Resource leases for mineral rights.

Let Boeing, GE, Conoco Phillips among others finance their foreign sales instead of the US government doing it for them.

Why should American taxpayers subsidize the foreign advertising budgets of McDonalds, General Mills, Campbell’s Soup, Pillsbury, Miller’s beer and Gallo wines, as has been the case in the past?

The Cato Institute defined corporate welfare as “any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries.” Stephen Slivinski, director of budget studies of the think tank, conducted a detailed policy analysis of the issue in 2007 titled, “The corporate Welfare State: How the Federal Government Subsidizes U.S. Businesses.

The report shows that despite all of the public pleas for the federal government to play a reduced role in private businesses, many Fortune 500 companies are using the federal government as their personal ATMs and have made no moves to get off of the dole.

Thats seems like a good start.
Seems like a good start to me too.

4 comments:

  1. There he goes again, wanting to abandon Vicenza, Italy in the post time of need!

    As soon as we leave, the fascist will descend. They have been hiding in the bushes for quite some time now, feeding off each other, and they are ready to move in.

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  2. Works for me. Get the scissors, or the cleaver.

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  3. Great blog entry..!!

    I was back at OWS yesterday. I've been going into the inner circle talking and listening.

    There are a lot of young intelligent articulate folks in there.. trying to make a difference (there are derelicts and nuts people in there too of course).

    I'm slowly getting more of a Wake-Up call to what is going on; in my own little world things are going well... but there really is getting to be a widen Gap between the Have and Have Not.. luckily the young folks are not fear-based and willing to be HEARD; just like in the 60s.

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  4. Yes, I'm sure no one could fault President Obama for the BP Gulf Spill or put into the Congressional Record "I apologize" to BP.

    Oh wait! Fox, the Rightwingers and Joe Barton did exactly that!

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