U.S. war tab zeroes in on half-trillion dollars

[Ayla]

The Pentagon is drafting a wartime request to the U.S. Congress for another $80 billion to $100 billion (U.S.) early next year, members of both parties say, in addition to the $50 billion Congress will hand over in supplemental funding before it leaves on its Christmas break.

That would put the military outlay to $450 billion and counting, pocket change from the half a trillion mark.

The Iraq war alone is costing U.S. taxpayers $5 billion per month and even if today's elections are successful and American troops start returning home in 2006, the money will still be needed to bring back personnel and equipment.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=968793972154

This is ridiculous.

They are only going to put 3 billion into the Levy's of New Orleans and that's only get them up to where they can withstand a Catagory 4. If a Catagory 5 hits they're still ferked. Yet we've put 450 billion into the Iraq war?

An estimated 13 million US children go to bed hungry each night.

Thousands of senior citizens go hungry each day because they have to choose between meds and food.

Why are we sending so much money overseas when we can't even keep our own people fed?

[darkangelism]

i would not expect this post out of you, this is a very liberal viewpoint. It is not the fedreal governments job to protect NO, it is the state's job. Besides they were stupid enough to build a city BELOW sealevel. As for hungry children, if we give the family's money the dont spend it on food. Its not my job to pay for some crack addict's life because they are too lazy to work. We spend Billions on welfare. The money would be better spent stimulating the economy or paying off national debt.

[Ayla]

It may be a liberal post but it just blew my mind when I read that story on the amount the war is costing us. I honestly had no idea it hot gotten that high. Children cannot help what their parents do. I don't say give them money, give them food. And elderly cannot help they have limited income and have to buy meds. I am not saying that we should never fight wars but we need to take care of our own people to. We're pushing all this money overseas and our own children and seniors are going hungry. It breaks my heart.

[darkangelism]

Well healthcare reform was huge under Bush. I dont think its the governments job to give everybody medicine, cause meds are a privledge not a right, my tax dollars shouldnt help people that i dont care about. My view on this is ultra conservative and somewhat mean to old people.

As for the kids, its hard to give them food, most people dont want charity, its a pride thing.

Food for old people(aka the elderly) meals on wheels

[Ayla]

Well healthcare reform was huge under Bush. I dont think its the governments job to give everybody medicine, cause meds are a privledge not a right, my tax dollars shouldnt help people that i dont care about. My view on this is ultra conservative and somewhat mean to old people.

How can you be mean to old people. Your tax dollars go to people you don't care about every day. Education, roads, the war in Iraq. I dont see why our government can't bring some of those billions home and help those in need in our own country.

As for the kids, its hard to give them food, most people dont want charity, its a pride thing.

Actually DA poverty is a vicious cycle. I'm going to use the rural Appalachian area as an example because that is where I came from and what I know. Towns aren't large there for the most part and most everyone lives on land that has been in there families for years and years. They used to be farmers but it's no longer profitable to be a farmer unless you have hundres of acres and large machines. You ask, why don't they get out of that life then? It's not always as simple as that.

My own Grandmother for example. She was married at 15 and gave birth to her first baby that year. All she ever did was raise babies and keep her house and grow her garden.. When my grandfather died, 20 years ago, she didn't even know how to write a check or even where her bank was located. She has since learned but still only has limited knowledge of such things. She lives off $800 a month that she recieves from my Grandfather's railroad pension. $800 a month. My car payments are more than that a month. She has a small mortgage that she took out a few years ago to do house repairs. So that leaves around $550 a month for medicine, utilities, and food. Now is it her fault she cannot afford them all? I'm not saying to the government...give her money...I'm saying...why does the government not have something in place like WIC that they have for preganent mothers, babies and small children? They have vouchers for certain kinds of foods that can only be redeemed by that person. (That avoids the fraud that goes along with Food Stamps.) My Grandma is only one of thousands in her area that just do not get enough to eat. She wouldn't tell anyone and after she had lost way to much weight did anyone realize she wasn't eating but once a day because that's all she has. Since then we've all made sure that doesn't happen ever again. But what about those that have no family?

Food for old people(aka the elderly) meals on wheels

Most rural areas don't have meals on wheels.

[darkangelism]

The money wouldnt go to those things anyway, it would go to slowing the increase of the national debt.

[Vautrin]

But that raises the question, where will the government get the money from to reduce national debt / the deficit? You cannot do that by raising taxes (that is blasphemy, one would think).

[darkangelism]

cutting expenses.

[Vautrin]

Cutting expenses on?

[darkangelism]

well in this dicussion it would be the war...400B less going there.

here is a game where we can set the budget for the US Budget game

[Ayla]

WONDERFUL

*************

Budget Totals
Old budget was $3747.36 billion
($2672.527 billion in spending, $1074.833 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).
New budget is $3737.23 billion
($2713.85 billion in spending, $1023.38 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).

You have cut the deficit by $10.13 billion.
Your new deficit is $390.87 billion.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Viola!

[Vautrin]

Old budget was $3747.36 billion
($2672.527 billion in spending, $1074.833 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).

New budget is $3255.62 billion
($2510.84 billion in spending, $744.78 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).
You have cut the deficit by $491.74 billion.
Your new deficit is $-90.73 billion.

Voila.

[darkangelism]

Old budget was $3748.1268 billion
($2673 billion in spending, $1075.1268 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).

New budget is $3445.24 billion
($2361.05 billion in spending, $1084.19 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).
You have cut the deficit by $302.89 billion.
Your new deficit is $98.11 billion.

My plan was to cut social secirity and raise 401K and IRA plans so people can pay for their own retirement.

I showed my friend this and he cut the military budget by 70% and had a surplus of 200B

[Ayla]

DA...you forgot...Voila!

You guys make my 10 B look skimpy. However, do you realistically think you cut cut the budget that much that fast?