Campaign promised kept.
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/02/...g-on-defense-big-cuts-almost-everywhere-else/
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/02/...g-on-defense-big-cuts-almost-everywhere-else/
Trump's budget will increase defense spending and cut almost every other agency (e.g. EPA)
- Thread starter WVPATX
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Said he won't touch them. Personally, I think that is a mistake. We have to tackle entitlements if we want to get our deficit under control.
You see some amazingly stupid **** on this board. It's hard to comprehend there are actually people this stupid in the world.
I have no idea what you are getting at. I pay taxes and presumably you pay taxes. Obama spent money on things I hated, that is his right as President. Trump will no doubt do the same.
If by your language you mean SS and Medicare, Trump said he is not touching those.
Hold on Cowboy... the reason I'm "entitled" to SS and Medicare benefits is because I have paid for them for the last 40 years. You want to cut "entitlements", cut somewhere else.
Did you not READ my post? I posted that he said he won't touch them. What part of that do you not understand? Do you want me to repeat that statement?
Trump has said he will not touch Medicare or SS.
But a larger question for you. Since both are going bankrupt, what happens to our kids? Are you opposed to changes for the young so that they will have both medical and retirement protection when they age? After all, the money we pay in today won't pay for them.
I did READ your post and I was specifically responding to your assertion that not cutting entitlements is a mistake (see first quote). Perhaps I should have bolded that statement the first time but I thought a smart guy like you would figure that out on your own. So you don't have to repeat the statement (see second quote) I got you.
"According to the most recent Annual Report of the Board of the Social Security Trustees, the trust fund's assets are now $2.79 trillion. And the trustees estimate that the program's income -- made up mostly of payroll taxes, as well as interest on the reserves and taxes paid on benefits -- will exceed its expenses and should exceed Social Security obligations through 2019.
After 2019, Treasury will start spending down the fund; its reserves are estimated to be depleted by 2035. Even at that point, however, there will still be enough income coming into the program to pay 79% of the benefits owed.
These projections assume that no legislative changes are enacted -- but that seems unlikely, because Social Security is the major source of income for most of the elderly. To beef up Social Security, lawmakers could raise the limit on earnings subject to payroll tax, or increase the percentage of earnings that are taxed. There has also been talk of cutting or means-testing benefits -- that is, and of slowly raising the full retirement age.
So, bottom line: Social Security is not going broke entirely. And even where a shortfall is projected, a combination of policy adjustments could fix the funding issues that exist."
http://time.com/money/4452457/is-social-security-going-broke/
Obviously there will be legislative change for the future, but for right now there is no good reason to cut. The new programs will have to be grandfathered in over time to satisfy the folks like me who will take their benefits sometime in the next 5-10 years, but you may end up having to delay taking your benefits if your only in your 50s or 40s.
You do know that the SS money of which you speak is not locked away. The government has spent that money and replaced it with IOU's. We are nearly $20T in debt. And even if you are right, we have about 20 years of solvency. Isn't it better to begin to fix problems 20 years early rather than having to take much more drastic actions if we wait?
Yes, unfortunately Congress has broken a promise to the American people and placed funds that should be held in Trust, like Medicare, into General Funds. And yes, it would be better to do some restructuring now rather than later, should have actually started 20 years ago, but making cuts now is not the right approach, IMO.
I am not talking about making cuts (neither is Trump) is either Medicare or SS today. But why not start to change the laws for the kids now entering work? Help them get the benefits you and I enjoy. Restructure now rather than waiting. Given our debt load, I'm not sure the 40 year olds will be able to count on either.