(02-12-2020, 12:00 PM)Kane Wrote:

(02-11-2020, 10:31 AM)mikesez Wrote: There's no need to build a wall. (Well I'd agree here if we could get local governments to stop being sanctuary cities, allowed ICE to do their jobs, and could get Congress to pass real immigration reform, also in another post you claim illegals can not get welfare benefits and that is just not true. There are ways of getting a fake, unused, or dead person's SSN and claiming benefits which isn't properly checked by the state and federal government. My work has employed illegals before, they get fake paperwork and slide through the system, gaining 100% of their taxes back in returns, thus paying out almost no taxes while many of them, especially those with children get food stamp and/or WIC assistance and most of them with children also getting medicaid. The majority of illegals I've met aren't buying homes, they are renting apartments, trailers, or houses usually under the assistance of an American getting some sort of payment, and they house up a bunch of them together and send the majority of their money back to Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador. You believe that many illegals are here to try to make a better life for themselves here, but that isn't true, they are trying to give a better life to those they left back at home or at best they are trying to have anchor babies who are automatically citizens. And no matter how you slice it, illegal is illegal, no matter the intent. And it is a problem that people like you won't admit to. They DO get welfare, they do take jobs, depress wages, and don't add to tax revenue for the country. It's too easy to get a SSN, ID, DL, and somehow even get past the I-9/E-verify system checks.)
We could be spending a lot less on new ships. (Hmm.. agree.)
We could be spending a lot less on foreign aid. (Definitely behind you here, we spend way too much in foreign aid to way too many countries, personally I say cut it all, world building shouldn't be our thing)
We could roll back purchases of the F35, because we know it will never do all it was promised to do. (This point could be made with the one on new ships, we just don't need to spend so much militarily, there is no threat to the US that deems it necessary)
We could have Medicare demand lower prescription drug prices, and lower prices for hardware like joint replacements.  The UK recently got like. 75% discount on joint replacements from a company that makes them here. (Or we could get Medicare to stop doling out improper amounts - from the article: Medicare & Medicaid improperly paid $85 billion in benefits with over-payments amounting to $67 billion. Administered by HHS, Medicaid admits to overpaying recipients $36 billion. Medicare admits to $31 billion in over-payments.)
We could be making it easier to transition off of SSI disability and into part time work. (How?)
We could be making states with high section 8 costs actually build more modestly sized housing as a condition of continuing to get a high level of funds. (Or we could get rid of Section 8)
We could be demanding that teaching hospitals hire more residents, rather than less. (You can not demand that people hire x amount of people)

So many ways we could put long term spending on a more sustainable path.  Use welfare spending to boost the supply of things, rather than just the demand for them.

1) regardless, a wall fixes none of the problems you mentioned, and actually makes the border more difficult to patrol in some cases.

2) agree, overpayments are inevitable, but I think with more effort they could be reduced.  But we need Medicare bargaining for better prices too.

3) social security disability is an "all or nothing" system.  It can take years of doctor's appointments to document that you have a disability that prevents you from having a job, and you can lose it completely and forever if they ever find out you got any kind of job. It should be more incentivized for your disability status to change from full to partial if you ever improve yourself a bit and find a little work.

4) section 8 is a really small piece of the pie compared to defense, Medicare, and social security. 

5) the medical schools rely on Federal loans to their students, and the teaching hospitals rely on Medicare.  States (with their licensing boards) rely on the feds for medicaid..  If Congress wanted to, it would be very simple to take money away from schools and hospitals and states that refuse to train and license more doctors, and give it and more to those that do not refuse. I'm not saying that the Feds should be so involved in funding medical care, but they are already. They should leverage this to get medical prices down not just for themselves but for all of us.

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