[paraclete]

What to cut? Everything. Start with 15% across the board.

If you cut 50% you might be ahead after 10 years, meanwhile, the nation would fall apart around you, you are addicted to pork and welfare. You have fallen for the debt trap, human nature to want what you don't have. Where would you cut 15%, the military? medicare? welfare? foreign aid? economics says instant recession

[jlisenbe]

50% is ridiculous. 15% is do-able. Wouldn't be fun, and it would need to be done over two or three years, but we really have no other choices. We can have unpleasant surgery now, or face death later. I think it would boost our economy when business leaders see that we are now being run by grown-ups.

"Across the board" means everything. We cannot continue to borrow hundreds of billions every year. At some point sources will dry up, and then what? I'm not willing to put off the unpleasant and end up some day down the road in disaster.

The military would be a good place to start, and it will necessitate telling countries like Australia that we can no longer defend the entire world, so other nations (like yours) will have to start doing what they should have been doing 30 years ago and spend enough to be able to defend themselves. We spend 3.4% of GDP on defense. You guys spend less than 2% which is also true of the European nations. It would cheer my heart to see other nations have to man up and pick up the slack.

[paraclete]

The military would be a good place to start, and it will necessitate telling countries like Australia that we can no longer defend the entire world, so other nations (like yours) will have to start doing what they should have been doing 30 years ago and spend enough to be able to defend themselves. We spend 3.4% of GDP on defense. You guys spend less than 2% which is also true of the European nations. It would cheer my heart to see other nations have to man up and pick up the slack.

What you spend on "defence" is ridiculous and fuels an arms race from which you profit, You say we should spend more but spending is 2% with expensive acquisition programs for aircraft, ships, submarines and we have no enemies, and we host american bases which you need to defend because we don't need to. You are very one eyed, but we are not Europe, we don't have Russians on our doorstep, so how about you spend 2% like the rest of us, but that sort of reduction is only a few billion, you need many more cuts and you can't afford them. Whole industries would collapse. By the way, we have a mutual defence treaty with the US and so far it has cost us much more than it has cost you with our participation in every US war so, as we say here, up your nose with a rubber hose

[talaniman]

Having trouble distinguishing between our friend here from the dufus sometimes Clete? Me too.

Cutting 15% across the board means cutting PEOPLE who provide the goods and services those cuts represent, so it's not just a matter of money, which won't yield that balanced budget or tackle the debt in a few years. Especially not in the midst of a budget busting pandemic, where health and financial security of it's citizens is severely threatened already. I mean 15% of the folks are already unemployed so adding to that number doesn't solve the problem, just makes it worse both short term and long term.

We need investment to grow our way out of this crisis while half the country languishes in poverty not contributing to the well being of the country, so say conservatives, as we enrich the rich, and keep the poor poorer, and watch sickness and death rise even further.

I think we do better voting JL and the dufus out and get better managers to begin with. Keeping half the country on the bench during the big game and blaming the water boy for being down at halftime, is not the makings of a good coach. Fire the coach!

[jlisenbe]

Tal, complain all you want, but we either have to increase taxes ENORMOUSLY, decrease spending considerably, do some combination of those two, or keep driving towards the edge of the cliff at an ever faster speed. Take your pick.

Clete, I would close our bases in Australia. I would reduce our number of foreign commitments and make it very clear who our true allies are. One wonderful effect of this would be the nations who treat us with disdain would have to start paying their own way.

so how about you spend 2% like the rest of us, but that sort of reduction is only a few billion,

Not very good at math, are you? If we went to 2%, it would be a reduction of about 40%, or more than 200 billion dollars.

[Athos]

I would close our bases in Australia. I would reduce our number of foreign commitments and make it very clear who our true allies are.

Does that consider the 80,000+ Australians who supported the US forces by fighting along side them from Korea to Afghanistan with 5,000 casualties and 1,000 killed?

[talaniman]

Tal, complain all you want, but we either have to increase taxes ENORMOUSLY, decrease spending considerably, do some combination of those two, or keep driving towards the edge of the cliff at an ever faster speed. Take your pick.

I still like my idea better and that starts with voting out you and the dufus and your tired old ideas of divide and conquer, and invest in some home improvements that unites the country, and restructures the debts to palatable levels, and doesn't make more enemies from our friends, because you want to dictate, dominate and assimilate, rather than negotiate, cooperate, and execute a plan that works for all, like it says in the founding documents.

I would go along with your raising taxes enormously, since it would be amusing to watch the ones that could afford such a strategy to go along with it. Or the jobs lost from cutting spending that adds to the poor folks. The dufus has already insulted and disdained our allies and smoozed our enemies, so yeah let me know how withdrawing troops and closing bases works for you after all them soldiers get redeployed to the soup lines.

I think I may well have the votes to get what I want dude, and you can finally get some fresh air from your current position shoulder deep, and can finally let your nose go, AFTER you vote for Biden!

Then we can have an honest discussion about REAL solutions to the problems and issues that are growing steadily. Or should I just grab your conservative ankles and drag you into this century!

Take your pick!*

*Nothing personal so don't get your drawers in a bunch 8D

[jlisenbe]

I still like my idea better and that starts with voting out you and the dufus and your tired old ideas of divide and conquer, and invest in some home improvements that unites the country, and restructures the debts to palatable levels, and doesn't make more enemies from our friends, because you want to dictate, dominate and assimilate, rather than negotiate, cooperate, and execute a plan that works for all, like it says in the founding documents.

I would go along with your raising taxes enormously, since it would be amusing to watch the ones that could afford such a strategy to go along with it.

Your plan. 1. Elect big spending democrats which will increase the debt even more. 2. Raise taxes a lot on people not named Tal. 3. Ignore reality at all costs. 4. Live in a fantasy world as long as possible until in crumbles and reality floods in with in a nasty manner.

[paraclete]

Does that consider the 80,000+ Australians who supported the US forces by fighting along side them from Korea to Afghanistan with 5,000 casualties and 1,000 killed?

He doesn't consider that at all or the thousands who were killed in Vietnam and Korea, because he has a narrow selfish view of history and what he says is America should withdraw from the world and sit on their blessed assurance as they did before WWII. If they are going to do this they should stop antagonising Russia and China

[jlisenbe]

He doesn't consider that at all or the thousands who were killed in Vietnam and Korea, because he has a narrow selfish view of history and what he says is America should withdraw from the world and sit on their blessed assurance as they did before WWII. If they are going to do this they should stop antagonising Russia and China.

You said you have no enemies. Why should we have bases there? At any rate, my concern is for our country first. We cannot continue spending money like it grows on trees. Cuts are coming, one way or the other.

[paraclete]

You said you have no enemies. Why should we have bases there? At any rate, my concern is for our country first. We cannot continue spending money like it grows on trees. Cuts are coming, one way or the other.

Your bases here are putting your country first by allowing you to have bases closer to Asia and listening posts. You don't know how vast the pacific is and you occupy a few islands, a legacy of WWII as are all your overseas bases excepting the ones here. You reconquered the Philippines and they kicked you out, should tell you something about faithfull allies. This is the one place you didn't conquer and yet you would throw us aside like a used doormat in the name of America first, but when has America ever been second in your thinking

[jlisenbe]

Got to balance the budget. You say you have no enemies, so I take your word for it. Doesn't sound like we are needed.

Listening posts? I think Okinawa is a lot closer to what we would need to listen to. Perhaps you could go from 2% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP and do some listening yourselves.

[paraclete]

Got to balance the budget. You say you have no enemies, so I take your word for it. Doesn't sound like we are needed.

Listening posts? I think Okinawa is a lot closer to what we would need to listen to. Perhaps you could go from 2% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP and do some listening yourselves.

No, you are not needed here. We do enough listening ourselves and what we hear we don't like. Our priorities are not yours and yours are not ours. We have to put up with the stupid backwash of your black lives matter protests. We have balanced budgets so won't unbalance them for your objectives, only our own, which is looking after our people. We don't need to shout to the world that our people come first, and as we don't have an empire to shackle we don't need to spend more. We can have universal health care and a 2% military budget, why don't you try it? your might like it. Oh I forget, you have to balance your budget first, so maybe never

[jlisenbe]

If we are not needed there, then what are you complaining about? See ya later.

[talaniman]

Like the dufus you seems so self absorbed you cannot respect the bonds built from shared experiences that worked out well for us and our allies.

[jlisenbe]

To want to have a balanced budget is "self absorbed"??? And, of course, it has to be "Like Trump." Have you no ability to process information that does not involve expressing your hatred of Trump? I've never come across someone so incapable of making a simple comment without having to throw in, "I hate Trump" just about every fourth word. "We need to reduce spending." "Oh yeah, well I hate Trump."
"We should cut military spending." "Oh yeah, well I hate Trump."
"I'm going to the store to buy some groceries." "Oh yeah, well I hate Trump."
"I have an idea about cutting spending." "Oh yeah, well Trump is an idiot and so are you."

It really gets old. Everything is not intensely personal. Everything does not center around Trump. Many ideas are independent of him, so perhaps we could discuss how to cut spending non-politically. It is coming. You can be assured of that.

Might add that we don't owe Australia anything. They'd be speaking Japanese today if we hadn't bailed them out in WW2. I'm not prepared for us to go bankrupt to keep a military force in a country that only spends 2% of GDP on its own defense.

[talaniman]

Why are you mad at me for pointing out you sound like the dufus? More and more everyday. That's not my fault or problem. Case in point...

Might add that we don't owe Australia anything. They'd be speaking Japanese today if we hadn't bailed them out in WW2. I'm not prepared for us to go bankrupt to keep a military force in a country that only spends 2% of GDP on its own defense.

[paraclete]

If we are not needed there, then what are you complaining about? See ya later.

Because you don't go away, you keep coming and making demands like freedom of navigation demands, we have never had any trouble navigating the south china sea, maybe because we send freighters not warships. You don't realise that what you do makes it more difficult for everyone while you sit back and pontificated from the WH

[jlisenbe]

Why are you complaining? I'm suggesting we leave. Like I said, "See ya later".

Why are you mad at me for pointing out you sound like the dufus?

Thank you for proving my point.

[talaniman]

Thank you for proving my point.

It was a question and whatever your point was is lost in your over exaggerations which the dufus does all the time. He always feels attacked (Most times he is correct!) when others disagree with him so he lashes out with nonsense...like you do so why are you mad at me for pointing that out? That was the question.