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Maybe It's Time To Cut The Federal Government In Half
Forbes ^ | May 9, 2019 | Nathan Lewis

Posted on 05/11/2019 7:44:51 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I think the time is coming for an idea that is so old that it is new again: cutting the Federal government in half.

The idea is: cancel all Federal welfare-type programs, including all means-tested welfare programs (apparently there are over 150 of them), all healthcare-related programs including Medicare and Medicaid, all education-related, arts-related and housing-related programs, and anything else of this sort -- in short, most everything except for the military, national parks, and maybe some public works. Social Security could eventually be reformed to a system of private retirement accounts, known as a "provident fund" system and in use today in over thirty countries.

No "block grants" or other such schemes. Just terminate the programs. This would make State governments responsible for all such welfare-type programs, to do as they see fit, and to impose taxes appropriately to pay for them. Give them twelve months to get ready. States like California and Massachusetts would be free to introduce the single-payer healthcare system of their dreams, while other states, like Utah or Texas, might have more private-sector-based solutions. States are active in all of these spheres already.

For a long time, such proposals have been on the outer fringe of political possibility. We have been in a period of political stasis, where things haven't changed much. Basically, today we have a spending structure that was built in the 1960s and 1970s, and a tax structure that was built in the late 1980s/early 1990s, with a few minor tweaks along the way. In the meantime, other governments have had huge changes. Some abandoned centrally-planned Communism and adopted free-market capitalism . . .

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: article1section8; debt; deficit; downsizing; entitlement; federalgovernment; funding; healthcare; limitedgovernment; socialsecurity; spending; states; taxcuts; taxcutsandjobsact; taxreform; tcja
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1 posted on 05/11/2019 7:44:51 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: 100American; 3D-JOY; abner; Abundy; AGreatPer; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; alisasny; ...

PING!


2 posted on 05/11/2019 7:45:46 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Modern feminism: ALL MEN BAD!!!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

It’s either massive change or bankruptcy.


3 posted on 05/11/2019 7:46:14 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Yes!


4 posted on 05/11/2019 7:47:12 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ( “Politicians are not born; they are excreted.” Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Charles Beard wrote a book titled An Economic Interpretation of the Consitution. It's a classic, and more-or-less states that the duties of the gov't are: 1) provide for the protection of property rights (e.g., a standing military, legal system) and 2) provision of social overhead capital (e.g., those things society deems necessary, but not provided by private markets, like public roads). One has to wonder why the gov't has a program to give deadbeats a cell phone, other than to buy votes.
5 posted on 05/11/2019 7:51:06 PM PDT by econjack
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

64.3% of the federal budget is mandatory spending... Social Security, Unemployment, Medicare, Veteran benefits, etc.

Good luck cutting any of it.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/


6 posted on 05/11/2019 7:56:34 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Capitalism produces EVERYTHING Socialists/Communists/Democratic-Socialists wish to "redistribute.")
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I used to love Forbes Magazine. It takes me about 60 seconds to read it now and I’m not renewing. Every issue is simply a list of the richest or the most famous or the most of this or the most of that. And the writer seemed to be liberal wackos + Steve Forbes is nothing but a chamber of commerce Croney. Actually Forbes used to be pretty darn conservative and he wrote good editorials near the introduction of each magazine. I wouldn’t trust them as far as I can throw them even if this editorial that you’ve put here is a good one. Yeah I’d love to cut the government in half. However everything that they featured in their magazine is about the opposite most of the companies they feature in their I have benefited from the Chamber of Commerce goodies or have made themselves rich off of everybody else or have gotten Venture Capital Money are nothing but a phony baloney Paper Company. Anyway that’s my two cents. I do agree however the government could be cut in half and we’ve never noticed.


7 posted on 05/11/2019 7:58:33 PM PDT by CincyRichieRich (But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand. Isaiah 32:8)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Yes, let’s run on getting rid of Medicare. That way we can insure no conservative is ever elected to office again.


8 posted on 05/11/2019 7:58:49 PM PDT by OIFVeteran
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I’ve been for that for decades.


9 posted on 05/11/2019 7:59:02 PM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Bravo!


10 posted on 05/11/2019 7:59:39 PM PDT by MV=PY (The Magic Question: Who's paying for it?)
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To: econjack

Thanks, I just added this book to my Kindle.


11 posted on 05/11/2019 7:59:50 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (Isn't it funny that the very people who scream "My body, my choice" wants a say in your healthcare?)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I see your point but the premise you have make is wrong. Just because that comprises 64% does not mean that items within that 64% also need to be cut in half. I would submit half the people on Social Security don’t need it half the people on Medicare don’t need it and shouldn’t get it because many of them are either dead scamming the system or probably from Mexico. You see my point?


12 posted on 05/11/2019 8:00:40 PM PDT by CincyRichieRich (But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand. Isaiah 32:8)
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To: Paladin2; Tolerance Sucks Rocks
It’s either massive change or bankruptcy.

Partner, I could not have said this any better.

We have way too much government and I am pretty sure our founding fathers never expected a government to run like a Banana Republic like it is right now.

Thank God we have President Trump and he has the energy to get D.C. straightened out.

13 posted on 05/11/2019 8:01:23 PM PDT by TheConservativeTejano (God Bless Texas...)
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To: OIFVeteran
Yes, let’s run on getting rid of Medicare.

We have state governments, no? Why can't states have their own Medicare-type plans?

That way we can insure no conservative is ever elected to office again.

Well the crap is going to hit the fan anyway, so I'd rather have Republicans tell the truth about Medicare/Medicaid and lose than to sugarcoat it and kick the can down the road some more.

14 posted on 05/11/2019 8:07:39 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (Isn't it funny that the very people who scream "My body, my choice" wants a say in your healthcare?)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

To the list of entities that should be broken up such as Facebook, Google, etc, the federal government should be at the top of that list.


15 posted on 05/11/2019 8:08:18 PM PDT by aquila48
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

If 50% is good, 75% is even better.


16 posted on 05/11/2019 8:09:35 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: CincyRichieRich

Partner, we were told last year that there is 200 Billion a year that are missing. Where is this going you frauds in D.C.???

Partner, there is way too much fraud in D.C. right this minute. Social Security for Illegal Aliens and please do not give us that "America Hating Piece of Work Obama Health Care", since we know Government Health Care does not work!!!

We know the U.S. Postal Service loses 5 Billion or more a year. They are really running a deficit right now.

The DemonRats are not giving President Trump the chance to clean up the swamp in D.C. since all they want to talk about is Collusion with Russians and there was no Collusion with the Russians. Miss Pelousy we hope is only there for one 2 year term. She is terrible as Speaker.

The Benefits for Illegal Aliens is a total fraud since aliens are not entitled to any U.S. benefits since they are aliens. They obviously do not read the U.S. Constitution in D.C.

17 posted on 05/11/2019 8:13:43 PM PDT by TheConservativeTejano (God Bless Texas...)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Two ways to go about it: 1) Implement the changes in the article or 2) a short CWII will eliminate the need.


18 posted on 05/11/2019 8:14:53 PM PDT by NTHockey (Rules of engagement #1: Take no prisoners. And to the NSA trolls, FU)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

My guess is that more than half of the folks on FR are getting Social Security and Medicare. And we are not going to agree to losing our benefits. So this can be argued. And debated. But it’s dead on arrival.


19 posted on 05/11/2019 8:15:33 PM PDT by rexthecat
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“64.3% of the federal budget is mandatory spending... Social Security, Unemployment, Medicare, Veteran benefits, etc.”

Yep. The whole premise of this article is rather academic I am sorry to say. Trump was unable to get Congress to simply give back money that was not going to be spent in a budget year and Congress said no. This is with Trump and even with Trump there are Obama sized annual deficits.

I’m afraid the country will have to go through real suffering aka Greece before anything is done.


20 posted on 05/11/2019 8:22:37 PM PDT by plain talk
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