Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
The other thread has spun off into using nat gas for automobiles which is fine. These threads are usually a mix of thoughtful data based ideas and broad concepts (some with merit, some not at all). Now that congress has spent weeks bickering over trivial amounts that won't reduce the deficit in any meaningful way, it's time for us to take over. How SPECIFICALLY would you balance the budget or at least reduce the deficit to a reasonable, sustainable (?) level?
In 2010 revenues were $2,163B,
spending was $3,456B,
resulting in a deficit of $1,294B.
I have provided the broad data you need below, you can easily verify it online. And if you want any category broken down, I'll do it for you if you like. Some I've already heard that are relatively trivial by themselves are Transportation $92B (2.7% of spending), Foreign Military/Economic Aid $45B (1.3%) & Agriculture $28B (0.8%).
Oil subsidies are not spending, but lost revenue I believe. The highest estimate I found was $158B (4.6%), lower estimates were about half that amount (including Corp tax breaks and estimated associated military expense - which is reflected in spending BTW).
The only caveat I can't resist is the suggestion to just increase Corp taxes. Understand those taxes will simply be passed on to individuals for the most part, so you might as well just volunteer to increase your individual income taxes by proxy to make your point.
I'm just a guy trying to grapple with all this, I'm not an expert, and I welcome specific (preferably data based) input.
Best of luck, future generations are counting on you...
In 2010 revenues were $2,163B,
spending was $3,456B,
resulting in a deficit of $1,294B.
I have provided the broad data you need below, you can easily verify it online. And if you want any category broken down, I'll do it for you if you like. Some I've already heard that are relatively trivial by themselves are Transportation $92B (2.7% of spending), Foreign Military/Economic Aid $45B (1.3%) & Agriculture $28B (0.8%).
Oil subsidies are not spending, but lost revenue I believe. The highest estimate I found was $158B (4.6%), lower estimates were about half that amount (including Corp tax breaks and estimated associated military expense - which is reflected in spending BTW).
The only caveat I can't resist is the suggestion to just increase Corp taxes. Understand those taxes will simply be passed on to individuals for the most part, so you might as well just volunteer to increase your individual income taxes by proxy to make your point.
I'm just a guy trying to grapple with all this, I'm not an expert, and I welcome specific (preferably data based) input.
Best of luck, future generations are counting on you...