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	<title>Comments on: The &#8220;lower taxes and smaller government&#8221; meme.</title>
	<atom:link href="http://habitablezone.com/2012/08/03/the-lower-taxes-and-smaller-government-meme/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/03/the-lower-taxes-and-smaller-government-meme/</link>
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		<title>By: bowser</title>
		<link>https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/03/the-lower-taxes-and-smaller-government-meme/#comment-16983</link>
		<dc:creator>bowser</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Aug 2012 02:12:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19378#comment-16983</guid>
		<description>Leave the &quot;Defense Department&quot; 8.5% the first year, and then a percentage less until it&#039;s down to, say, 4%.

Saving 10% would be meaningful, wouldn&#039;t you say?  Especially since it&#039;s unnecessary, accrues no good to the average taxpaying citizen.

We&#039;re onto something here, TB, working together for a smaller, less expensive government.  Let&#039;s stay with it.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Leave the &#8220;Defense Department&#8221; 8.5% the first year, and then a percentage less until it&#8217;s down to, say, 4%.</p>
<p>Saving 10% would be meaningful, wouldn&#8217;t you say?  Especially since it&#8217;s unnecessary, accrues no good to the average taxpaying citizen.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re onto something here, TB, working together for a smaller, less expensive government.  Let&#8217;s stay with it.</p>
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		<title>By: TB</title>
		<link>https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/03/the-lower-taxes-and-smaller-government-meme/#comment-16976</link>
		<dc:creator>TB</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:53:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19378#comment-16976</guid>
		<description>&lt;p&gt;The numbers are what they are.&lt;/p&gt;

Right now, national defense is 18.5 percent of the budget.  Human resources (social spending of various kinds) is 67.4 percent.  Everything else--energy, national resources and environment, commerce, transportation, science and space, agriculture, justice, and all the rest--is around 10 percent.

In the 1980s, defense was 26 to 28 percent of the budget, and human resources was about 50 percent.

In the 1960s, defense was about 45 percent of the budget, and human resources was just breaking 30 percent.

See the trends?  It ain&#039;t the military breaking the bank.

Defense spending also does not have between 40 and 60 &lt;em&gt;trillion&lt;/em&gt; dollars in unfunded liabilities hanging over it.

I have no doubt there&#039;s a lot of fat that can be cut off military spending, but the massive wealth redistribution culture has to be dealt with eventually.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The numbers are what they are.</p>
<p>Right now, national defense is 18.5 percent of the budget.  Human resources (social spending of various kinds) is 67.4 percent.  Everything else&#8211;energy, national resources and environment, commerce, transportation, science and space, agriculture, justice, and all the rest&#8211;is around 10 percent.</p>
<p>In the 1980s, defense was 26 to 28 percent of the budget, and human resources was about 50 percent.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, defense was about 45 percent of the budget, and human resources was just breaking 30 percent.</p>
<p>See the trends?  It ain&#8217;t the military breaking the bank.</p>
<p>Defense spending also does not have between 40 and 60 <em>trillion</em> dollars in unfunded liabilities hanging over it.</p>
<p>I have no doubt there&#8217;s a lot of fat that can be cut off military spending, but the massive wealth redistribution culture has to be dealt with eventually.</p>
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		<title>By: bowser</title>
		<link>https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/03/the-lower-taxes-and-smaller-government-meme/#comment-16973</link>
		<dc:creator>bowser</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:04:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19378#comment-16973</guid>
		<description>Or is smaller government and lower taxes simply a smoke screen?  It&#039;s not really smaller government and lower taxes.

Wouldn&#039;t it be easier to start with a bloated &quot;defense&quot; department than with kids lunches?  Why not start with &quot;defense&quot;?  Wouldn&#039;t solve the entire problem, but then neither does cutting school lunches.

Tell me - why not start with the defense department?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Or is smaller government and lower taxes simply a smoke screen?  It&#8217;s not really smaller government and lower taxes.</p>
<p>Wouldn&#8217;t it be easier to start with a bloated &#8220;defense&#8221; department than with kids lunches?  Why not start with &#8220;defense&#8221;?  Wouldn&#8217;t solve the entire problem, but then neither does cutting school lunches.</p>
<p>Tell me &#8211; why not start with the defense department?</p>
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		<title>By: TB</title>
		<link>https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/03/the-lower-taxes-and-smaller-government-meme/#comment-16971</link>
		<dc:creator>TB</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Aug 2012 22:35:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19378#comment-16971</guid>
		<description>Go ahead and cut defense spending by 80 percent.  The budget deficit next year would still be about 740 billion dollars.

Defense is not where most Federal money goes.  I&#039;ve explained this to you multiple times, using several approaches, including large colorful diagrams.

Eliminate the cumulative cost of both wars since 2001, eleven years of war, and you would pay off the current Federal deficit for one year.  &lt;em&gt;One.&lt;/em&gt;  I&#039;ve explained that multiple times, too.

You still won&#039;t get it, but I&#039;m posting this again for the benefit of others who might.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Go ahead and cut defense spending by 80 percent.  The budget deficit next year would still be about 740 billion dollars.</p>
<p>Defense is not where most Federal money goes.  I&#8217;ve explained this to you multiple times, using several approaches, including large colorful diagrams.</p>
<p>Eliminate the cumulative cost of both wars since 2001, eleven years of war, and you would pay off the current Federal deficit for one year.  <em>One.</em>  I&#8217;ve explained that multiple times, too.</p>
<p>You still won&#8217;t get it, but I&#8217;m posting this again for the benefit of others who might.</p>
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