Budget Priorities Reminder: You Get What You Voted For

With the Republican-controlled Congress working (?) to write a budget that slashes services to people who need them and gives tax breaks to people who don't need them, I offer today's post. It is a Facebook conversation I had with my friend, Craig yesterday.

It started when I commented and shared the chart below, which another friend had posted to his page:

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Open your eyes! Open your minds! Recognize that America is - and YOU are - being screwed by "fiscal conservatives" who believe that every penny spent to help people costs them profits they could reap from peddling war.

I'm not against security or making money, but the greed that drives Republican economic policy is unconscionable and indefensible.

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    Craig: Your pie chart is NOT a representation of the entire budget for the year. It presents a view to support a political case. Our challenge is BOTH parties spend like "drunken sailors" ....http://www.usfederalbudget.us/budget_pie_gs.php

    3 hrs · Edited · Like · Remove Previe
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    US Federal Budget FY16 Estimated Spending Breakdown - Pie Chart

    Tables 3.2, 5.1, 7.1 Data Sources for 2020: Federal: Fed.

    USFEDERALBUDGET.US
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    George A. Denino You are correct, Craig. The line at the top of the chart should say "look closely at this chart of DISCRETIONARY federal spending". In fact, it should have been this chart:
    https://static.nationalpriorities.org/.../presidents...
    

    
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    George A. Denino Even ceding your point about the chart, however, my comment about Republican economic policy is accurate in light of where they propose to make cuts to the discretionary spending portion of the budget. Thus, the chart I posted essentially represents the yellow portion of the chart seen below. Note also that your chart says nothing about mandatory and discretionary spending, nor does it address my claim about the impact of the GOP's proposed cuts on the lives of people. Except to continue to push the failed policies of supply-side economics, the GOP has nothing to offer Americans.
    http://images.dailykos.com/.../large/FederalSpending.jpg...
    

    

  
  

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    George A. Denino In summary of all of the above:..
    http://assets.amuniversal.com/e1b90540b1580132d0d0005056a...
    

    
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    Craig: The assumption is that military spending is discretionary. According to the preamble to the US Constitution ... "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." A mandatory part of the governments duties are to provide for the common defense. I agree there are things we should do to reduce the overall size of the budget not just snipe at the outliers.

    2 hrs · Edited · Like
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    George A. Denino That comment, my friend, is semantic chicanery. You, who likes to use raw data to support an argument, should recognize that "provide for the common defence" does not mandate that "We the People" spend every last penny of our wealth on the military at the expense of policies to "promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."
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