(01-31-2019, 09:43 AM)B2hibry Wrote: TheO-LineMatters

(01-30-2019, 05:28 PM)B2hibry Wrote: Our whole monetary system is based on spending money we don’t have! Stop believing everything you hear by the chicken littles. China holds a very small portion of our overall debt. Heck, Japan holds more of our debt than China. Most debt is some form of securities, not foreign. Ultimately, I do agree the spending needs to slow but that is not how a Dem controlled House works or our goverment in general unfortunately.

You do realize the Republicans controlled the House up until the very recent midterms? Blaming it on the Democrats isn't gonna fly this time. This most recent round of "out of control spending" occurred with the Republicans controlling the House, the Senate and the White House. We had a surplus of money when Bill Clinton left office and every president since then, has been spending like crazy. It has to stop. 

Here is the article stating when we last had a balanced budget. 
https://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-bu...r-clinton/

On top of that, in 2016 we spent more on military funding,, than the next 8 countries combined. That is crazy! We need to take a serious look at cutting back on spending, particularly in these areas. I'm not talking about anything that puts soldiers in danger or effects their pay. I'm talking about completely wasted money for things we don't need or completely overspend on, due to certain military contracts which were given out in pretty shady ways. I truly believe we could cut the military budget significantly and still be the most funded and powerful military in the world and military personnel themselves, would not even notice a difference. As long as we have corrupt lobbyist and politicians connected to military contractors though, this will never happen.

It was a far different economy back then. The geopolitical climate was different. Times change. In any case, a balanced budget is not a true representation of a healthy economy. It’s a fiat system with strong global ties that quite frankly, rely on debt for its health. 

Not going to argue that there is or isn’t waste in the military. It suffers the same bloat at times as major corporations. What I will argue is that putting the military at the top of the list in any budget discussion is lazy. It’s always the low hanging fruit because of its size and misunderstanding of broad roles. When you are top dog, everyone is gunning for you. On your list of defense spending, how many of those countries fall under our defense umbrella? Willing to bet all but two. Most people would be amazed at how to spread out we are throughout the world conducting humanitarian missions and the like. Contrary to what many believe, we don’t sit around waiting for conflict.

Wonder why nobody bats an eye at the out of control Medicare/Medicaid spending instead of a constitutional entity? No doubt there is government fat to trim but it is not solely on our defense spending.