[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

I find your budget cuts interesting to say the least. You want to basically destroy Social Security and Health Care and raise it to a level (70) that most people will probably never see.

Current life expectancy overall in the U.S. is: 77.9.

The gov't shouldn't be in the business of providing people a retirement fund. People should invest their own money, their own way for retirement. We're already too far down that road for many folks, so obviously current and near retirees need to be protected at status quo. However adjustments to SS need to be made for those further out. BTW those adjustments will hurt folks like me who have paid into SS for many years yet face an age increase, benefit reduction, or means testing. Younger folks who haven't paid in as long are less invested, hence affected less.

I'm sure you understand the SS fund has been raided for years by the fed and is essentially a big, fat IOU. If a private corporation had managed its retirement fund the way SS has been managed they would be prosecuted and jailed.

Why reduce federal employee pay? You do realize that most federal employees are middle class right? That will do wonders for the economy.

From the survey:
During the Great Recession, most private-sector employees have seen their wages frozen, and some have even watched wages decline,” the chairmen of the deficit panel wrote. “In contrast, federal workers have seen their wages increase.” This option would be a one-time 5 percent cut in federal civilian workers’ pay; the chairmen called for a three-year freeze on pay, which would have a similar effect.

The part about private sector pay being frozen or reduced through forced unpaid leave is true, why shouldn't the federal workers feel some pain as well.

Let me get this straight, you don't want to reduce spending on making more ships or weapon programs, but you want to screw the veterans over on their health care plans?...lol REALLY??? Do you own stock in Lockheed Martin? It would appear so.

As usual with you far lefties, you demagogue endlessly

Again, from the survey:
Would change health-care plan for veterans who had not been wounded in battle. Premiums, which have not risen in a decade, would rise. More veterans would receive health insurance from employer. This option would also take some benefits, like housing allowances, into account when tying military raises to civilian pay raises. Currently, increases in those benefits come on top of pay raises.

No one is "screwing" veterans, just having them pay slightly more for their health care premiums.....just like everyone else. This also states; non- wounded veterans.

As far as weapons systems, we are already cutting redundant or unneeded weapons systems and the DoD is seeing funding cuts across most agencies/departments. I live in VB and we just saw a massive reduction in JFCOM. So the whole "cut military spending" argument is baseless unless you can bring specific programs or systems that you believe should be cut.

You do realize the majority of military spending is on personnel (soldier/sailors/airmen pay) and operations & maintenance. Should we cut O&M and not maintain our facilities and equipment???? How about cut soldiers pay????

I'm sure you also realize these weapons systems and gov't contractors that are so evil and terrible provide thousands of well-paid tech jobs across the country.

I assume you didn't mark anything in the "taxes" section because of your "Fair Tax" stance.

I only marked a small tax increase because the only way to stop a runaway train is to cut off its fuel supply. If we continue to increase taxes to the fed, the politicans and lobbyists have a larger trough to feed from and they will continue their nonsense.