Obama Unveils 2011 Budget With $3.83T In Spending

• cbus4life

  Belly35 wrote: Qualified Public Servant he's not
  
  

  So original.
  
  And idiotic.
• queencitybuckeye

  The reality is to balance the books in the long run will require cuts in both social programs and the military.
• BoatShoes

  Writerbuckeye wrote:
  Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste would give it a very good run for the money.

  But C'moooooon....though...when the democrats even propose trying to eliminate fraud and waste in medicare and make it more efficient with the bill they tried to "ram down our throats in the middle of the night"....Every Republican in Concert was complaining about how this would be harmful for the elderly and reduce care and increase rationing etc...C'mmooooon!
  
  Every Conservative I know wants to reform the entitlements so they say but when it was on the table it was crucified by conservatives! You were among them man.
  
  I don't care if it's a republican, or a democrat or a whig or a damn communist who proposes cutting medicare...it has to be done if you're serious about the deficit.
• Footwedge

  IggyPride00 wrote:

  Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste would give it a very good run for the money.

  The biggest fraud with Medicare and Medicaid is that our government allows Big Pharma to charge the American public (by way of the government) ten, twenty, thirty times what they charge other countries for the same medication because we have to supplement the profits they aren't making elsewhere because we are the only government dumb enough to give them a blank check for what they want to charge.

  Yes, price fixing in pharma has been running rampant for a long time. The pharma lobbyists got what they paid for so to speak. If there's any consolation, the US pharma industry has slashed about 20% of their sales forces nationwide. Have the prices dipped to reflect the hatcheting? Nope.
  

  Over the past 2 decades, we have undertaken the role as underwriter of all drug and medical technology where we pick up the world's tab and they get the by product on the cheap.

  In fairness here, the US does most of the resaerch on new drugs. But yes, the US citizen pays more than Canada or the European countries do for meds. But Big Pharma is just one part of the problem.
  

  Price controls stifle innovation, but on the other hand how long is it realistic for our citizens to be stuck paying exponentially higher prices on all medical care/products because we are the only system (insurance companies and the government through medicare/medicaid) in the world that basically says to name your price no questions asked and then just pass along the cost increases down to us.

  I think you're referring specifically to Medicare part D. And yes, that was a collusive effort between the pharma companies and the legislature. That's the way the game is played. And thanks to the SC ruling a week ago, be prepared for a lot more of the same. We don't have a free enterprise system in place today. I'm amazed that people on the right don't understand how corporate cronyism and corporate welfarism "trcickles down" in hurting all Americans.
  

  That is the big elephant in the room no one wants to talk about for Medicare/Medicaid and health care spending in the future. Death panels aren't our big problem as much as reaching the breaking point at which we can no longer afford to underwrite all of the medical advances in the world because of our blank check policy to pay for innovation with no regard for cost.

  Not the only elephant in the room. One of many elephants. As for the government budget...I quit worrying about it awhile ago. Nothing is going to change the direction of this runaway train. The only logical approach in turning around our dead ended economy, is in finding ways to incentivise American businesses to operate here in our country. Only the expansion of the private sector would allow our economy healthy growth. Without the growth of the private sector in GDP, there is absolutely no chance that budgets will be balanced, debt reduced, and unempmloyment levels down to a respectable 5%.

• Footwedge

  Writerbuckeye wrote:

  eersandbeers wrote: Everyone on the right always whines about the budget but when we talk about cutting where it needs to be done (military spending) then they cry and say you can't cut the military budget. The military is by far the biggest waster of tax dollars in this country.

  Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste would give it a very good run for the money.

  I would say that Medicare is for the most part, a very good program. Medicaid...ehhhh...not so much.
• Footwedge

  I Wear Pants wrote:

  QuakerOats wrote: Massive Tax Increase --- an additional 2 trillion to be exacted from the private sector... incredible.
  
  Just what we need ------------- the radical leftist continues the assault on business and freedom.
  
  http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0qjTENMi9lY&pos=1

  If you don't support tax increases then I take it you don't support the current wars because one cannot logically support increasing expenditures like wars at the same time as tax cuts without being insane.

  The US hasn't passed the hat around since WWII in funding wars. Obama is just like the last guy in power....in bowing to the generals.
  
  The "limp wristed leftist commie", just broke the record in the expansion of the military industrial complex.
• jmog

  BoatShoes wrote:

  Writerbuckeye wrote:
  Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste would give it a very good run for the money.

  But C'moooooon....though...when the democrats even propose trying to eliminate fraud and waste in medicare and make it more efficient with the bill they tried to "ram down our throats in the middle of the night"....Every Republican in Concert was complaining about how this would be harmful for the elderly and reduce care and increase rationing etc...C'mmooooon!
  
  Every Conservative I know wants to reform the entitlements so they say but when it was on the table it was crucified by conservatives! You were among them man.
  
  I don't care if it's a republican, or a democrat or a whig or a damn communist who proposes cutting medicare...it has to be done if you're serious about the deficit.

  The biggest part that was complained about by conservatives was the public "option" that in the end wouldn't have been an option.
• believer

  

  BoatShoes wrote:But C'moooooon....though...when the democrats even propose trying to eliminate fraud and waste in medicare and make it more efficient with the bill they tried to "ram down our throats in the middle of the night"....Every Republican in Concert was complaining about how this would be harmful for the elderly and reduce care and increase rationing etc...C'mmooooon!

  That's bullshit. Republicans are opposed to Medicare spending cuts but NOT opposed to the elimination of FRAUD and ABUSE. Two entirely different things.
  
  Nice try though.
• eersandbeers

  jmog wrote:

  eersandbeers wrote: Everyone on the right always whines about the budget but when we talk about cutting where it needs to be done (military spending) then they cry and say you can't cut the military budget. The military is by far the biggest waster of tax dollars in this country.

  Correction-2nd biggest, the biggest by far is entitlement programs.

  Is the entitlement programs more than 580 billion?
  
  I agree both need to be cut, but if I have a choice, I'd rather spend money at home than occupying a foreign country.
  
  Not to mention that is just the budget. It is almost guaranteed the DOD will ask for a supplement.
  
  The Navy and Air Force need to face major cuts. We aren't going to be engaging in naval or air wars anytime soon. Enough with the billion dollar battleships and useless technology like the Raptor.