Wow. Now I understand why liberals have such a hard time grasping basic economics. They use flat dollars instead of percent of GDP or budget. Here’s the problem with using flat dollars instead of comparisons (aka percentages) of GDP and Budget. When you use dollars, it is subjective to the current inflation rate, showing much more fluctuation in the dollars spent. But what we are looking for is the impact of those dollars on the country’s finances. Another way to look at it is it’s an easier way to take subjectivity out of the equation to use percentages. If you use % of GDP, it’s lockstep with all other economic factors, thus they are removed from the equation as immaterial. 10% of our budget is 10% of our budget, no matter how much the value of our currency fluctuates. It’s more stable of a comparison. When you guys like to look at dollars spent, you yell and scream about how much our costs have gone up, but when you look at how big of a piece of the pie we are taking (and by we, I mean the US Military), it’s actually gotten smaller as a percent of the economic output of the country. And there is where the impact comes in. You need to recognize that because the dollar fluctuates, each dollar’s impact on the overall economic activity of this country fluctuates with it. But if you look at the percent of economic activity, the fluctuations impact both sides of the equation equally.The reason we also are pushing for domestic cuts is a very simple one: Because we can’t afford the unfunded liabilities that are coming down the pipe. Let’s look at what we’re asking for.- Repeal of Obamacare, a program that will add hundreds of billions (or more) of costs to the bottom line of the federal government’s expense sheet. And it being added in the middle of a recession is not the proper time to have that discussion, nor is having an individual mandate that punishes people for not purchasing insurance.- Pushing back the retirement age for qualification for SS for those who are still in the pipeline. They aren’t talking about taking away current retirees benefits, nor are they talking about affecting those that are (I think) within 10 years of collection age. Why? Because as a percent of GDP, SS is going to soon dwarf defense spending, and is going to be the largest albatross around the neck of the American People. - Reforming the tax code to eliminate loopholes, but to make sure people are helping paddle this big boat of ours. By making half the population immune to federal taxation builds resentment amongst those who are not immune.- Defense spending should be addressed, but gutting troop sizes (that are already being drawn down) by another 10% is reprehensible and irresponsible. The Marine Corps is shrinking back to 180k troop strength before the 10% reduction. So you’re saying that 162,000 troops are enough to fight two wars and maintain appropriate rotations? I call BS. Yes, we spend more than any other government in the world, but we also have responsibilities thrust upon us by the rest of the world to help other people out. And if we don’t help them, they scream and yell about us not helping them. Can’t have it both ways.- And your falacy of “more spending on education and infrastructure will cure the nation’s ailments” is a load of garbage. Why do I say that? Infrastructure projects are temporary at best, thus not contributing to the long-term employment situation in this country. I do agree we have roads that need work, but don’t treat infrastrcture as a magic bullet that will lift our economy up. As for education? We have doubled the spending on education with no performance increase, so where has that money gone? I know… the pockets of Unions and lush teacher benefits. At least that’s how it is here in WI. And that is a verifiable fact, because we have not had any test score improvements in the past decade, despite a doubling of our education budgett. So more money is not the solution. So cutting back in this area makes sense, because we’re not getting any more for the increased cost, so I want a freaking refund for the wasted money. They made due with the money they had 10 years ago, they can make due with that money again and get the exact same result. We need to find out why the scores haven’t gone up and address those problems. Ok, enough for me. I’m sure you’re sick of reading this by now. But my point stands. The Magic Bullets you guys are pushing won’t fix our economic problems. Only lasting, private-sector jobs will. So how do we make those?
Wow. Now I understand why liberals have such a hard time grasping basic economics. They use flat dollars instead of percent of GDP or budget. Here’s the problem with using flat dollars instead of comparisons (aka percentages) of GDP and Budget. When you use dollars, it is subjective to the current inflation rate, showing much more fluctuation in the dollars spent. But what we are looking for is the impact of those dollars on the country’s finances. Another way to look at it is it’s an easier way to take subjectivity out of the equation to use percentages. If you use % of GDP, it’s lockstep with all other economic factors, thus they are removed from the equation as immaterial. 10% of our budget is 10% of our budget, no matter how much the value of our currency fluctuates. It’s more stable of a comparison. When you guys like to look at dollars spent, you yell and scream about how much our costs have gone up, but when you look at how big of a piece of the pie we are taking (and by we, I mean the US Military), it’s actually gotten smaller as a percent of the economic output of the country. And there is where the impact comes in. You need to recognize that because the dollar fluctuates, each dollar’s impact on the overall economic activity of this country fluctuates with it. But if you look at the percent of economic activity, the fluctuations impact both sides of the equation equally.The reason we also are pushing for domestic cuts is a very simple one: Because we can’t afford the unfunded liabilities that are coming down the pipe. Let’s look at what we’re asking for.- Repeal of Obamacare, a program that will add hundreds of billions (or more) of costs to the bottom line of the federal government’s expense sheet. And it being added in the middle of a recession is not the proper time to have that discussion, nor is having an individual mandate that punishes people for not purchasing insurance.- Pushing back the retirement age for qualification for SS for those who are still in the pipeline. They aren’t talking about taking away current retirees benefits, nor are they talking about affecting those that are (I think) within 10 years of collection age. Why? Because as a percent of GDP, SS is going to soon dwarf defense spending, and is going to be the largest albatross around the neck of the American People. - Reforming the tax code to eliminate loopholes, but to make sure people are helping paddle this big boat of ours. By making half the population immune to federal taxation builds resentment amongst those who are not immune.- Defense spending should be addressed, but gutting troop sizes (that are already being drawn down) by another 10% is reprehensible and irresponsible. The Marine Corps is shrinking back to 180k troop strength before the 10% reduction. So you’re saying that 162,000 troops are enough to fight two wars and maintain appropriate rotations? I call BS. Yes, we spend more than any other government in the world, but we also have responsibilities thrust upon us by the rest of the world to help other people out. And if we don’t help them, they scream and yell about us not helping them. Can’t have it both ways.- And your falacy of “more spending on education and infrastructure will cure the nation’s ailments” is a load of garbage. Why do I say that? Infrastructure projects are temporary at best, thus not contributing to the long-term employment situation in this country. I do agree we have roads that need work, but don’t treat infrastrcture as a magic bullet that will lift our economy up. As for education? We have doubled the spending on education with no performance increase, so where has that money gone? I know… the pockets of Unions and lush teacher benefits. At least that’s how it is here in WI. And that is a verifiable fact, because we have not had any test score improvements in the past decade, despite a doubling of our education budgett. So more money is not the solution. So cutting back in this area makes sense, because we’re not getting any more for the increased cost, so I want a freaking refund for the wasted money. They made due with the money they had 10 years ago, they can make due with that money again and get the exact same result. We need to find out why the scores haven’t gone up and address those problems. Ok, enough for me. I’m sure you’re sick of reading this by now. But my point stands. The Magic Bullets you guys are pushing won’t fix our economic problems. Only lasting, private-sector jobs will. So how do we make those?