Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

We already pay enough in taxes.  Hold them where they are and cut spending. 

If you could convince me that raising my taxes would not lead to increased spending, I'd sign up in a minute.

Of course, I happen to care about our Republic and would do anything I could to keep it.

I'm weird.

Hardly that DC cesspool is an anarchist's dream

Musta been auto-correct.

so, it's not a whole lotta money

Let's cut it because it's the right thing to do and it is some money

too many think since it won't do too much, why bother

What would get cut? I can think of a lot of "pork" that could get cut, but it's not a whole lot of money compared to what we are up against.

Audits would be a good thing. I think companies are getting paid way too much for their services (I'm looking at you, defense contractors).

Well . . .

so, it's not a whole lotta money

Let's cut it because it's the right thing to do and it is some money

too many think since it won't do too much, why bother

Like I said before, I get the sentiment and you have to start somewhere but you can't fill a multi-Trillion dollar hole with a few Billion here and there.  

Here is a CBO site that shows 2023 Expenditures and Revenues.  I think it is helpful to view them as a percentage of GDP so here are outlays:

• 5.0% Social Security
• 3.4% Nondefense discretionary
• 3.1% Medicare
• 3.0% Defense
• 2.4% Net Interest
• 2.3% Medicaid
• 1.9% Other
• 1.7% Income Security Programs
• 22.7% Total (note, the above totals 22.8%, the 0.1% difference is due to rounding.  Which brings up a good point, 0.1% of GDP is literally BILLIONS of dollars and in this context that is a mere rounding difference).  

Revenues:

• 8.1% Individual Income Taxes
• 6.0% Payroll Taxes
• 1.6% Corporate Income Taxes
• 0.8% Other
• 16.5% Total

Total Revenues are 16.5% of GDP which is historically close to but maybe a hair below the postwar normal.  The record is 19.8% achieved in both 1945 and 2000.  In 1944 Federal Revenues were 19.5% and they haven't exceeded 19% in any other year.  Based on that, I would submit that roughly 19% is close to a hard cap on the amount that the Federal Government can realistically collect.  Thus, no more than 2.5% of GDP can come from increased revenues.  

The deficit for 2023 was a staggering 6.2% of GDP.  What makes that really troubling is that we had that enormous deficit on pretty solid revenues and without any major calamity to explain it.  It isn't like 1942-1946 when the large deficits were explained by our involvement in and spending for WWII.  It isn't even like 2009-2011 when the deficits were based on stimulatory spending and tax cuts in response to the credit bubble nor even 2020-2022 when the deficits were based on stimulatory spending in response to COVID.  

Gotta start somewhere.

And I'm not suggesting that the cuts will be "painless."  Deep cuts will be painful, and will almost certainly stall the economy in the short term.

I agree of course with "starting somewhere", fine.  What politicians do is claim to cut $X "somewhere" when massive spending is going on elsewhere they didn't cut.

And I agree "we" are responsible in this form of government, which I've come to see as the core of the problem.