[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Great Post.
The problem now is that so many people have become attached to their federal benefit and reform would take away that benefit. Examples:

1) Farmers have an entire department of the government in which every farmer practically has his own DOA rep.
2) The Department of Commerce has corporate pork programs designed to help US businesses export to overseas markets. Many of these programs have little or no impact on those markets and are just corporate port.
3) Tax policies like the like deducting for charitable donations and home interest payments cause overall tax rates to be higher. Try to change those rules and charities and the Real Estate industry would be in revolt.
4) Procurement programs require Buy America, Minority Businesses and Union wage minimums (Davis-Bacon/Service Contract Act), that causes government purchases to be more costly.
5) Medicare and Medicaid are designed as benefits to the elderly and poor with disincentives to keep costs down. Better go to catastrophic protection and HSAs.

6) Social Security is in dire need to reform. Details too extensive to outline. Government dependency on these programs fosters an environment of dependency.

National Defense, Environmental protection, Airline safety, Nuke plant security and a few other areas are within the natural area of responsibility for the federal government. Many others can be eliminated.

[listenhillary]

The only fix I see is that the system has to reach critical mass and fail totally before anyone will face the issue.

We can see the bullet heading at us right now, no one wants to acknowledge the seriousness of what happens when that bullet hits.

It might take 5 years, it might take longer.

Pretty damned scary.

A little bit of socialism is like being a little bit pregnant. See where it has gotten us?