Freshmen Lawmakers Make the Case for Government Spending Cuts
[DIGG THIS: http://digg.com/d55Ozdf] As Congress begins to debate spending cuts, freshman lawmakers have been very vocal in their support for strong leadership and smart cuts on the path back to fiscal sanity in Washington. We sat down with several freshmen in Congress to get their opinion of the proposed cuts.
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@iGotUrSwineola I principally agree however, over half the budget is things that cannot be justified by the Constitution. namely welfare programs. note however that the constitution does not justify the military size we currently have either. Where is the philosophy of authority to have the bases we have all over the world?
@geargemartin I am indeed a libertarian! You respond with gusto that "we have always had a standing Army" and you go back to the ancient year of 1940! I'm referring to the fact that armies were raised ad hoc to fight the individual wars up until WW2. WW1 was fought with state militias that were pulled together from the various states under a central command.
Since WW2 we have seen a dramatic change in how we regard the military. That much is clear.
@iGotUrSwineola You're absolutely right it's not military spending that's the problem, it's all the seniors collecting social security and medicare.
I say if you're over 65 and have no retirement savings and can't afford your own health insurance, you should be executed – problem solved.
God bless America!
All republican representatives hmmm? I think the representatives and senators all should cut their salaries and benefits. Seeing how they all get to vote on their own salaries/benefits.
@octopibingo It is scary. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for an intelligent response to the protests. The line that the national debt is our number one security problem is deeper than most know.
@HeritageFoundation I don't deny that there is a problem with entitlements, but taking the big gov that republicans like off the chopping block simply isn't fair. The SS problem isn't insurmountable, for example, we could exempt people who don't need it from getting it, raise the retirement age and have some reform in Medicaid. For example, there is a conflict of interest when a doctor orders an expensive test at a facility that they have a financial stake in (this is rampant)
@christo930 Thanks for the question, Christo930. I wish I could give you links in the comments, but unfortunately we're not able. The simple answer is that entitlements are far and away the biggest driver of federal spending. These programs are on autopilot and set to only get bigger. For some interesting stats, google "Defense Spending Has Declined While Entitlement Spending Has Increased" and "Entitlements Will Consume All Tax Revenues by 2052". Or visit heritage[dot]org[slash]budgetchartbook
@HeritageFoundation Why is it always entitlement programs on the chopping block? What about the military? There is absolutely NO justification for the level of spending we do on the military. The federal gov doubled under George Bush and a republican controlled house and senate!
@mcap52 But its not. You are bankrupt when you are insolvent, we aren't insolvent. We CAN make our payments. We could eliminate the debt in a few years if we eliminated many social welfare programs.
@Treefrogs2 [Brandon] Thanks @Treefrogs2. And as far as your comment above, consider the harm caused to current and future generations by punting on this important issue. We absolutely cannot sustain this level of spending and debt and the consequences of waiting only get worse the longer we put off real reform. If you take a look at heritage[dot]org[slash]spending, we have a number of proposals aimed at addressing entitlement programs in ways that may address your concerns.
@Treefrogs2 [Brandon] Your previous comment was removed because you referred to your ideological opponents as Nazis. You're welcome to disagree with us or anyone else, but we're hoping to encourage a civil conversation (as much as is possible in YouTube comments!)
The ship West refers to has over 65 trillion in total debt. Pretty soon we will not be able to afford our interest payments. I would like our "leaders",the ones who are responsible for this mess, to step up to the plate and declare that America is bankrupt.
@Reckless3057 Yes we need to address military spending as well, but the absolute biggest budget killers are entitlements such as Social security and medicare medical etc. So I would say that if we don't address those we WILL be spinning our wheels
I'll believe it when I see it!
@geargemartin It is learn with an a by the way. I think his point is that if we never address the military industrial complex along with all the other domestic programs, then we will be spinning our wheels. The reality is that we are a country with a 14 Trillion GDP, 14 trillion immediate debt and over 112 Trillion in unfunded liabilities. I agree, lets cut domestic programs first but we cannot maintain this level of military expenditure either if we hope to make progress on the 112 Trillion.
@geargemartin Not sure I'd consider the corporatist giveaway that is the defense appropriations process "muscle." We spend more money on our military than every country in the world combined, that's not realistic. We didn't have a standing army until WW2. Cut cut cut!
Thank God for the freshmen members of Congress.
@bertly71 thumbs up…..so sick of tax increase WITHOUT a spending cut. How about tax cut, AND spending cut? But then again, I don't have an economics degree like Pete Stark from Kalifornia.