https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...udget-authorization-months-ahead-of-schedule/ 717 billion for the military budget https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/09/21/trump-signs-200-billion-va-budget-2019.html 200 for the veterans package. Equaling close to 25% of the total budget. In my opinion not what I think the tax dollars go to. I would rather it go to schools, infrastructure, and mass transit. But hey I suppose they are making the world a better place by being in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the several other countries U.S. military has killed people in the last 20 years (it's a lengthy list)
And all of that together is less than Social Security costs. It's also less than Medicare and Medicaid costs. When you talk about truly expensive programs, you have to understand that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment costs 2.5 trllion dollars a year just for those programs. If you factor in the rest of mandatory spending and interest on the debt you are already over 3 trillion dollars and that's before you've funded anything else.....and we have people wanting to make those things go from costing 3 trillion to 6 trillion. That's the current plan from the left. We need some politicians who are willing to be adults to take charge and fix this because there isn't currently anyone other than the more libertarian minded Republicans even suggesting that we act responsibly.
I thought Beto did very well. Cruz did what he needed to do, he avoided any major blunders. Beto is the far better candidate, but his positions to do align with the majority of people that vote in Texas.
I dont know what this really has to with what I posted. I just think the whole "rich don't pay their share" is flawed, when they're already paying the majority of the taxes. I think when speaking budget, its interesting that we only talk about bringing money IN, and never about the money OUT (I guess military people talk about). In my opinion, to balance the budget, you need to talk about both, to find a true balance. I'd include military spending in there.
Hell yes, you don't need to spend more than the next 10 countries combined....we don't need 19 aircraft carriers when Russia has 1....we need to reduce our military spending by more than half. DD
I thought Beto did great but lets face it. This state is too far gone and I shake my head every time I think about it. How any "christian" conservatives can still support those republicans who are farther and farther away from the teachings of Christ with every passing day. They walk in and vote R. Wouldn't matter if Lucifer himself was on the ticket... if he had an R by his name they'd line up to vote for him. And don't get me started on "entitlements" being the issue... sure SS is a big part of the budget... it should be. Not to mention millions of people have paid into it for decades and the government has used it like Trump uses his charity, as their own personal bank account.... but all that aside... We should be taking care of the old, the poor and those less fortunate than us. That's what people who really followed the teachings of Christ would do. It's WWJD not WWJH (who would jesus hate) but the conservatives are in bed with liars and cheats who put profits and corporations before people so sadly I fear its a lost cause.
That’s what happens when you have for profit medicine. Why does the US pay more for procedures, pharmaceuticals than other countries? Yet have worse results to show for it?
Thanks to Richard Nixon for aboloshing that law in '73....before that profitting was illegal in health care. DD
Is it weird that military spending and veteran benefits are separate? To me, it seems like they should belong in the same group?
Same reason why gun laws won't work in this country- "culture". Our "culture" is different than the UK or Australia. Gun laws won't work here, although they appear to be working in other countries. Bobby blames gun violence and frequent mass shootings on American culture. We also have a culture of fat asses, fast food, trailer parks, and Walmart. Healthcare won't work in this country because of "culture", so why even bother trying. Let the poor, unhealthy peasants die away. They're a drain on tax payers and society anyways.
The rest of the West better hope that the US doesn't go to not-for-profit medicine. A lot of the drugs and procedures were developed in the USA and based on the for profit model. There is a real free rider effect at this point, where Europe gets the benefits but not the costs.
Innovation happens all over the world not just here. There is a lot of procedures and drugs that are developed in other parts of the world aswell. So I don’t necessarily know what you are getting at. Or are you referring to the buying and reselling drug patents at higher prices. Then you are correct.
True, but the loss of deductions is a killer. If you pay high state taxes (property, sales or income (not TX obviously), the 1 or 2 percent was more than offset by the loss of deductions. I guess if you made a LOT of money, the 1 or 2 percent would add up, but you are likely paying a lot in state taxes that you can no longer deduct.
