[KTM rider]

I believe the US government should get itself off welfare and raise its own revenue by means other than theft of personal income and business taxation;

Such as:

1. charge nations like Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq for security services. Aircraft Carriers and armies ain't cheap to operate (and heck why should the US citizen be the only ones to get forcibly charged for services they don't want or need)

2. Tariffs for imports and tax incentives for domestic production ( now thats a novel concept)

[allmendream]

I remember when Saudi Arabia offered to send bonus $ to our troops who served in the first Gulf war. George HW Bush said ‘our armed forces are not mercenaries’. I said “SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!” I was mad that I didn't get paid - but I saw the point about not having our troops beholden to and paid by foreign powers.

If you don't think we get our money's worth from our overseas commitments - that is one argument to make - that we should charge people.... well Germany and Japan and South Korea have a big bill to pay!!!

Having our Armed Forces set up to be a means of making money? Gee, what bad could happen from that? It worked so well when we set up our Police to make money rather than enforce the law and protect public safety!/s

As far as starting a tariff war with the rest of the world - making foreign products more expensive in the USA and our products more expensive in the rest of the world isn't going to replace a sensible trade policy based upon mutual advantage and weaning ourselves away from toxic products made by slave labor in Communist gulag nations (I am looking at YOU China!).