Sharpen your red pencils.
- Thread starter Ishmael
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hummermania
Really Really Experienced
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Everything but police and fire services.
Ishmael
Literotica Guru
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Sugar is a no-brainer, oil gets more complicated in that what is called subsidies in political speak is nothing more than a different form of depreciation, ie. the oil depletion allowance which is not that different from what a rental property owner, or a purchaser of capital equipment gets in the form of depreciation.
Don't get me wrong, I think much of that part of the tax law has to be revisited, I just haven't formed a rational approach to that problem.
Ishmael
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Are you that familiar with the tax code that we would expect you to form a rational approach to its revision?
JustaSCOUNDREL
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Right off the top of my head.
1. Education. Every state I've lived in has its own. Why do we need mandates from the Feds?
2. Agriculture. Same story as above. Plus they give millions to huge Agribusinesses and fuck over the small farmer. We may need to keep the food stamp program or transfer it to another department but it needs a close eye kept on it.
3.Commerce!
4. Make each and every department justify why they could not live with a 10% budget reduction and a 10% cut in its work force. They get a maximum of 4 pages of arguments. Specify any more then 4 pages will be removed and shredded unread. All documentation will be made public.
Mike
1. Education. Every state I've lived in has its own. Why do we need mandates from the Feds?
2. Agriculture. Same story as above. Plus they give millions to huge Agribusinesses and fuck over the small farmer. We may need to keep the food stamp program or transfer it to another department but it needs a close eye kept on it.
3.Commerce!
4. Make each and every department justify why they could not live with a 10% budget reduction and a 10% cut in its work force. They get a maximum of 4 pages of arguments. Specify any more then 4 pages will be removed and shredded unread. All documentation will be made public.
Mike
Ham Murabi
Plumbing the Depths
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On the federal level, let's keep what is authorized in the Constitution - Defense, Treasury and State departments. Phase out the rest, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare.
One federal police force, the FBI, simply because criminals cross state lines. No DEA cops, no BATF cops, no FDA cops.
Let the state governments get as big, or as little, as they want.
One federal police force, the FBI, simply because criminals cross state lines. No DEA cops, no BATF cops, no FDA cops.
Let the state governments get as big, or as little, as they want.
Ishmael
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Are you? *chuckle*
It appears that even the IRS is conflicted on code interpretation. The current US tax code is over 1 million words in length, about 7 times the length of the Bible and people have been arguing over the Bible for centuries now.
As far as an opinion is concerned, yeah, I can do that. It would necessarily require the elimination of a great deal of the code.
Ishmael
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No, I can't, but no one expects me to come up with a revision that's rational. But I don't know your background, so I thought I'd ask.
As for Bible vs. tax code, that's merely a matter of word density and not necessarily one of clarity.
Ishmael
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Nah, I'm just not one of those people who sees a thick textbook and assumes it beyond my ability to comprehend.
mercury14
Pragmatic Metaphysician
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How come nobody holds up the Bible as being too long?
But this thread is absurd. None of us here have the knowledge or perspective about government agencies to make a sound recommendation about elimination. Maybe a couple of us live or work in a certain aspect of government and have knowledge about it, but not much beyond that.
Take Ham's post for example. Does anyone actually think he knows what he's talking about? Folks are going to march into this thread one by one and end up sounding as informed as Jen.
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sigh
chant mistress
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Frankly, I found Ham's vision frightening.
mercury14
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Like most anti-government folks here, he doesn't know what government does so he thinks he will not miss it.
J
JAMESBJOHNSON
Guest
The Post Office cuz its already doomed.
UN membership. Washington is already filled with embassies.
Demobilize the army and activate state militias with compulsory service for all males 18-35. Militias make it almost impossible for the government to conduct foreign aggression.
UN membership. Washington is already filled with embassies.
Demobilize the army and activate state militias with compulsory service for all males 18-35. Militias make it almost impossible for the government to conduct foreign aggression.
Ishmael
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Well, sometimes the determination has to be made as to whether it's worth taking the time to read at all.
Cuts, we're talking cuts, not revenue enhancers.
Ishmael
4est_4est_Gump
Run Forrest! RUN!
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Education
It seems to do everything but...
It seems to do everything but...
Ishmael
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Make it three votes for Dept. of Education.
Big chunks of Energy, Agriculture, Homeland Security, and HUD.
Go to zero based budgeting for all Dept. and agencies. (As opposed the the current 'baseline budgeting' process.)
Ishmael
mercury14
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U
unregistered
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mercury14
Pragmatic Metaphysician
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Ah yes, the Department of Education, hated by Republicans as a Jimmy Carter crock of shit.
Then in 2004 the all-Republican government turned around and increased it's budget by 50% with No Child Left Behind. The sucker was co-authored by your very own John Boehner who now spends his press time attacking his own legislation as wasteful big government. Only he forgets to mention that it's his very own legislation.
koalabear
~Armed and Fuzzy~
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Bill Clinton Blames Kennedy for No Child Left Behind Flaws
"The deal was supposed to be, we will give the schools more money and get rid of two programs that Bill Clinton actually started — hiring more teachers in the early grades which actually does help performance and help schools with construction needs if they are overcrowded," he said.
"And we will not put anymore money in the after school programs, which does help, and we will raise school performance by telling people their money depends on how their kids do on tests and we are going to give five tests five years in a row, and we will cut the states a check based on how they are doing. And then the law kind of winks at the state of Arkansas and says, ‘don’t worry about it too much because you get to pick the test and the passing score.’ Now think about that you get the worst of all worlds," Clinton said.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/02/bill-clinton-bl/
"The deal was supposed to be, we will give the schools more money and get rid of two programs that Bill Clinton actually started — hiring more teachers in the early grades which actually does help performance and help schools with construction needs if they are overcrowded," he said.
"And we will not put anymore money in the after school programs, which does help, and we will raise school performance by telling people their money depends on how their kids do on tests and we are going to give five tests five years in a row, and we will cut the states a check based on how they are doing. And then the law kind of winks at the state of Arkansas and says, ‘don’t worry about it too much because you get to pick the test and the passing score.’ Now think about that you get the worst of all worlds," Clinton said.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/02/bill-clinton-bl/
