Medicare, Defense or Social Security?

[Autumnlicious]

There are many colossal hemorrhages of resources in the United States, including Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security and Department of Defense.

So in this thread, I ask, what and why you'd cut it.

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I'd cut DoD funding to half of what it is now, but leave other things intact.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

War.

Calling it defence is an obscene euphemism. The US has not been under direct attack by another nation since Pearl Harbour, yet has been involved in approximately FIFTY armed conflicts.

There is no excuse for a county as wealthy as the US to have second rate systems of health,education and welfare. Traditional US jingoism gives the lunar right the appearance of an excuse not have world class systems of social justice. Instead, TRILLIONS have been spent on avoidable wars.

There is a large group of powerful and not-so-powerful people in the US who can only be described as callous and/or ignorant arseholes. These people are too callous, too ignorant or too stupid to grasp that high taxes are needed for an affluent society. [from which everyone benefits]

[reverendjeremiah]

Cutting medicare and social security will cause many deaths. Cutting deffense (or as I would rather put it, cutting OFFENSE and keeping DEFENSE) will save lives..here and abroad.

Or look at it this way: Which is malevolent and which is benevolent?

Medicare: Benevolent
Social Security: Benevolent
Defense: Benevolent
Offense: Malevolent

How about we stop the malevolence and save money and lives in the process.

The US has not been under direct attack by another nation since Pearl Harbour...

Lets not forget 9/11.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Lets not forget 9/11.

I was wondering if anyone would mention that. So far I've seen no evidence that 9/11 was an attack on the US by another nation.

9/11 was a terrorist attack by extremist Islamists,not an act of war by a sovereign nation. Pearl Harbour was an act of war by the nation of Japan.

[reverendjeremiah]

Lets not forget 9/11.

I was wondering if anyone would mention that. So far I've seen no evidence that 9/11 was an attack on the US by another nation.

9/11 was a terrorist attack by extremist Islamists,not an act of war by a sovereign nation. Pearl Harbour was an act of war by the nation of Japan.

Good point. I consider it an attack, but where is the nation that attacked us? Well, we go after the group that attacked us. Its so grey area that it pisses me off and makes me feel conflicted over this middle east war we are having. Flip a quarter, at any moment I oppose it or support it. I cant tell what is heads or tails about it. Am I the only one conflicted over this mess we have had for the last ten years? And arent we changing the topic?

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

And aren't we changing the topic?

You did that mate,not me. I said "The US has not been attacked directly by another country since Pear Harbour" .That is a bald statement of fact.

The nation of origin only becomes relevant if it can be proved the attack was made with at least the knowledge and tacit approval of the state.

The collective US nervous breakdown and howls for blood after 9/11 were cynically used by the Bush administration to justify the illegal aggressive war against Iraq.

[Shell B]

I would cut defense, but not because I do not think we need it. I would cut the funding because I think it is being spent poorly. I am not a fan of social security, though.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

. I am not a fan of social security, though.

You may change your mind if you need it.

Conservative; a liberal who has just been mugged
Liberal; a conservative who has just been arrested (anon)

[orogenicman]

War.

Calling it defence is an obscene euphemism. The US has not been under direct attack by another nation since Pearl Harbour, yet has been involved in approximately FIFTY armed conflicts.

There is no excuse for a county as wealthy as the US to have second rate systems of health,education and welfare. Traditional US jingoism gives the lunar right the appearance of an excuse not have world class systems of social justice. Instead, TRILLIONS have been spent on avoidable wars.

There is a large group of powerful and not-so-powerful people in the US who can only be described as callous and/or ignorant arseholes. These people are too callous, too ignorant or too stupid to grasp that high taxes are needed for an affluent society. [from which everyone benefits]

9/11 was not an attack by another nation, which I believe was the original point. It really is simple. Our defense budget is on the order of over 600 billion dollars per year, far larger than most of the other industrializaed nations combined. Not to mention that there are some 80 million well armed Americans thanks to the 2nd amendment. How much defense do we actually need? And how much of this spending is nothing but corporate welfare for the military-industrial complex? Cut the defense budget by 20%. That would give us a savings of 120 billon per year, and I contend, would not make us less safe. A smaller military would also give our leaders pause to reconsider using it in such pointless wars as the invasion of Iraq. And the much needed social programs wouldn't need cutting, though I have no problem whatsoever with looking into how it can be done more efficiently.

[Ashendant]

I'm not american, but i voted defence because this poll is directed towards america...