Tired of Big Government Spending? Then YouCut it!
by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)Two weeks ago, I wrote on BigGovernment that the GOP Today is much different than the party was a few years back. I was glad that my post generated attention, and very pleased to read through the different responses – both positive and skeptical. Today I write again for two reasons. First, to announce an exciting new project devised by the House Republican Economic Working Group. Second, to take another step in earning your trust by showing you that we understand that actions speak louder than words.
We all know that Washington has a spending problem – and both Democrats AND Republicans bear some responsibility. But as I wrote last week, America is at a crossroads and the choices we make at this critical time will determine what kind of country we want to be. To get back on the right path, Congress MUST start to make some choices that simply can’t be delayed any longer.
While we won’t be able to solve our deficit problems overnight or with one silver bullet, we CAN and we MUST begin to replace the culture of spending that now dominates Washington with a culture of savings. Just imagine if your government was as focused on saving money as it is on spending money. Imagine if Congress spent less time naming post offices – 62 and counting – and more time reducing wasteful spending. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Today, we are launching YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows YOU to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House – YOUR HOUSE – enact. That’s right, instead of Washington telling YOU how THEY will spend YOUR money, YOU can tell THEM how to save it. After several days of voting, on Monday, May 17th, we will announce the first winner and later that week House Republicans will call for an up-or-down vote on the spending cut. We will repeat this cycle every week for the rest of the year.
For the first week of voting, here are your choices:
- Eliminate the Presidential Election Fund, a federal program that provides matching funds to political candidates during Presidential primaries, certain third-party candidates, and funds for political conventions. In the 2008 Presidential election the candidates raised over $1.3 billion from individuals and PACs; do they really need to supplement that with taxpayer money?
- Prohibiting taxpayer-subsidized union activities by prohibiting federal employees from being paid by the government for performing union functions. Currently some federal employees spend up to 100% of their workweek, paid by taxpayers, doing work for their union. Federal employees unions collect millions in revenue each year and spend significant amounts on political activities and lobbying; should they also be subsidized by the taxpayer for their official functions?
- Terminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development program that provides individuals with $25,000 stipends for completing their doctoral dissertations. Recently taxpayers have financed research on media strategies for housing policy and the use of eminent domain for urban redevelopment. Why should families who are struggling to pay for their children’s college also be asked to fund stipends from the government for those who want to write their dissertation on certain government-preferred policies?
- Terminate the new alternative welfare program, recently created to incentivize states to increase their welfare caseloads without requiring able-bodied adults to work, get job training, or otherwise prepare to move off of taxpayer assistance. Reforming the welfare program was one of the great achievements of the Republican Congress in the mid 1990s, saving taxpayers billions of dollars and ending the cycle of dependency on welfare. This new program ushered in by Democrats is merely a backdoor way to undo those reforms.
- Focus federal economic development assistance on areas of need. The Community Development Block Grant program currently funds a wide range of local economic development activities. While it is advertised as a way to help low-income communities, funds are also dispersed to communities with income well-above the national average. A recent study found that the community of Newton, Massachusetts, with a per capita income over twice the national average, was receiving $28 per person in CDBG funds. At the same time, other communities with income 25% below the national average were receiving $10 per person.
There they are: five simple ways to begin to talk about saving money.
You have a right to a federal government that doesn’t spend money that it does not have. Anyone who believes that President Obama, Senator Reid, Speaker Pelosi or the Democratic majorities are “concerned” about the deficit should take a look at how grossly they’ve increased spending. Make no mistake, they look at America’s massive debt and see a reason to raise taxes. But they are wrong. Our debt was born out of an addiction to spending. And if those same Democrats aren’t going to do anything to stop this addiction, we are. If those Democrats aren’t going to listen to you, we are.
As I wrote a few weeks back, a 178-seat minority isn’t going to win many legislative battles in the House. And we don’t have a lot of tools at our disposal. But I commit to you that we ARE going to use every means we have to hold them accountable. And this project is a start.
The time has come for Congress to finally show political courage. American families have been forced to face tough financial realities and make difficult but necessary decisions. Why should their government act any differently? This is not the same GOP as it was a few years ago, and with YouCut, we hope to force the Democrat-controlled Congress to begin to confront the difficult but unavoidable realities of our fiscal situation.
Please drop by http://www.republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut and vote to help us put Uncle Sam on a diet.
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971 Comments
Thank you Mr. Cantor for your continued efforts to dismantle the TAX AND SPEND MACHINE that is running amuck in D.C….we CANNOT continue to place additional burdens on our children and grandchildren with this EXCESSIVE WASTE! We need leadership that will give WE THE PEOPLE smaller federal government and place an emphasis on the rights of WE THE PEOPLE at the state level…
Where's the part about me getting to invest what would otherwise go to Social Security into the retirement savings plan of my choice? I know Social Security won't exist by the time I retire because the government cannot afford it.
Rep Cantor,
What a wonderful idea. Reading all of the choices above actually makes my blood boil. Why would we be spending any money on these in the first place. I would have to say that all 5 should be placed on the chopping block. I do understand, unfortunately the need for money during election time. By not funding any candidates, we will end up with only candidates that have a lot of money to begin with. This certainly does not help bring new candidates to the forefront. The elite will still have the advantage. But, alas, I still believe that all 5 need to be eliminated.
There should be an all the above option. How about cutting the payroll of all Federal agencies by 30%
While cutting spending is necessary, I suggest that these 5 items are a fraction of a fraction of a drop in the bucket. They are a beginning, but a feeble one at best. Eliminate the block grants. Eliminate Housing and Urban Development. These programs were initiated by Democrats for the sole purpose of buying votes. They are the types of programs which grow like a metastasizing cancer; once in place they are nearly impossible to eliminate. Republicans need courage to address them.
Being highly skeptical of parties, politicians and government these days, I would like to see the vote breakdown. How can we trust that these are truly the suggestions of "the people" and not of just Republicans pushing their own agenda. Show me state breakdowns, male vs. female, ethnicity, and age.
Mr Cantor,
Here is a novel idea. Instead of cutting just programs, let us kill complete departments and "services".
Social Security, you get a one time refund of all monies paid into it, and then it goes away.
Medicaid/Medicare, they go away, sorry but social "entitlement" programs are not consistent with a truly free society.
Then we need to start cutting entire departments and organizations.
HUD
Dept of Edu
ATF, (an archaic relic of Prohibition)
DHS (DOD and FBI fulfill this role)
Start cutting the real fat if we are to survive the future that Republicans and Democrats have charted for us. Otherwise we are just power walking with a twinky in one hand, and a Big Gulp in the other.
Just because you ate an apple for lunch doesn't make you healthy.
Respectfully Submitted,
Just the thought that there are some Republican law makers actually working on this is comforting. I like that the group is identifying issues under the radar, so to speak. Major issues (healthcare) draw interest from the media and voters, but most people do not even know about the bulk of these smaller mis-uses of tax money. I was only aware of #1 and #4. All listed are comparatively small, the largest claims to save only 2.6 Billion over 5 years (This preceding sentence says it all about Federal spending, doesn't it?).
Here's a challenge for the Workiing Group: Post several of these proposed cuts and call for citizen votes over a period of time. Pledge to introduce a bill to cut the top 5 vote getters. Keep that pledge. Challenge the Democrats to pledge to vote for the top 5 cuts also. After the bill is introduced, ask congressmembers for and against to post a short summary of their argument.
Number 6: Do NOT spend billions on bailing out European socialist countries!!! European countries have belittled the USA and they think we are backward losers. I refuse to pay for their socialist programs…well, I wish I could refuse!
Nice idea, but you really shouldn't ask for email addresses.
Tacky and invasive.
And putting a vote pct/total by each would be a nice touch.
According to Fair tax.org Mr. Cantor you are under the column "does not support". Project "you cut" is a pretty good idea for election year grandstanding but laughable for debt reduction. We don't need band aids we need a cure.
Get back with me when you support the fair tax.
Oh, and post the voting tally by name afterwards.
Are there working groups for immigration reform, healthcare reform-reform, or vote fraud?
Roll the best output of such groups together and you could have another Contract With America if you can remember that. Even in failure it could energize the conservative majority in this country.
Voters may get upset with politicians who fail to achieve their campaign promises and goals, but what truly disgusts us is that politicians do not even seem to be trying. This project, despite it's limits and shortcommings, is at least an effort — something that has been lacking or seen to be lacking.
How about reducing the size of congressmens staff? Why does a congressman need a small army in order to do his job. These are the same jacka**es that write the majority of bills and they are paid by us!!!
Done with my rant. My vote is for #2
Not convinced that the GOP yet has the fire in the belly to reverse our rush to socialism. You do, perhaps, but what about many of your fellow life-long GOP pols? The American people are angry with the Dems, but not yet happy with the Reps. The intensit y just isn't there yet.
When will we be able to vote on cutting the WELFARE payments to that parasite nation of Israel? You know, that nation that has attacked us on more than one occasion, spied on us and sold our military secrets to China (ref: Cheney said so himself) and Russia (thanks Pollard.) Further, this "aid" ends up costing us far more because it creates enemies we would not otherwise have.
Then lets cut these wars we are fighting for Israel in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thanks "Wolfowitz" and "Perl" and "Wurmser." See, Cantor, I know the score.
In order to do any of his 5 points and the extras all of you patriots came up with we will have to remove most incumbents. They are all alcoholics drunk on the ability to control you and spend our money. We start in November. This spending this is what the TEA Party is all about, plus calling out politicians failure to have follow our beloved US Constitution..
How about cut the 'Free Money' programs this guy promotes? http://www.matthew-lesko.com/
None of these programs are 'necessary'.
I will be getting far more out of it than a refund – I could have made much more with that money. They aren't getting off that easily. Stop paying billions to Israel and take care of our own citizens for once.
Thank you, sir. At least you are TRYING. The problem is that their are too many scam artists in Congress and this government is TOO BIG TO FAIL. Honsetly, if all taxpayers stopped paying taxes for a week, do you think Congress would get the message??? Absolutely not. They are oblivious and will remain so until they get their pink slips.
All of the above, brother! …and that would just be a start! You could easily get rid of 20 to 30% of the entire federal and state governments. Austerity needs to be the new norm!
Don't make this so complicated.
Cut federal spending across the board by 70%, except for defense (no cuts) and congressional salaries (90% cut).
Any questions?
The biggest big government program is WAR. Until you address that and who profits from it – the banksters – then you will just be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Take your anti-semetic BS and begone!!
Well, we can't afford welfare payments to Israel yet despite them being international criminals Obama is still signing the checks.
I'm with LuvntheBigSites above Mr. Cantor, it is just not enough. If you think this "it's a start" stuff is gonna cut it, you don't understand the mood of the American voters. Get some pants on or get out of the way.
End birthright citizenship to illegal aliens….billions to be saved there!!
While I think the effort to cut is a noble one and there are some good ideas here, my rough math from the numbers on your website says that you have proposed a total of about $1.3 billion dollars a year in savings with these five proposals. There is approximately $3.83 trillion in spending this year. What is that, 0.03%? Congress will have to do much better than that.
i am not convinced congress will ever cut as much of the budget needed to put us back on the right track. read the constitution, then ask yourself, why did the obama care bill need more pages than the constituion? any thing that takes that many pages has loopholes in it. just look at the tax code, nobody can tell you exactly whats in it, not even the irs can. just follow the best rule book ever written, and the rest will fall into place. and if you don't have time to read the constitution, then quit your job.
I agree, one time payment of all monies deposited in your S. Security account,(with 8% interest)and get rid of S. Security for good. I can save my own money, thank you.
I vote #2
How about doing your job and stop talking! Just support bills and programs that are Constitutional and bring the house back to the people!!
Baby steps…
Don't let the perfect get in the way of the better.
If that is anti-Semitic are his proposals anti-American?
Take your anti-Congress BS and begone!
No, we need to propose the tax cuts ourselves, and DO ALL of the ABOVE!!!
How can you say "YouCut" when you pick one of 5 programs each of which are a drop in the collective bucket?
Let us make the proposals.
We should be asking for verified social security numbers AND voter IDs on these sites. I want to ensure that voters vote!
I'd be ok with that except if they had that money it wouldn't be a problem! LOL!
When are you and THIS chick getting married?:http://www.breitbart.tv/for-it-muslim-student-in-...
(You know you can divorce her if you just say "I divorce you" three times.)
Don't let perfection get in the way of improvement.
De-fund the NEA!
Now that's what I'm talking about, with all the technology we have now and instant access to information "we the people" should be able to have more say-so in the way our country operates.
Eliminate the Department of Education, too. Still a drop in the bucket. The major problems people like Cantor seem rather unlikely candidates to take on – like the Federal Reserve and the IMF. Hey, Cantor, do you represent America, Israel and the banksters?
Nathan, excellent outlook!
May I quote that, when talking to my adult son.
There Now, Rep Cantor……….Wasn't that easy,…………..Kudos to you for putting together this list for
our perusing pleasure. Not to be picky but exact amounts of savings would have been nice to see,
although numbers on savings for these programs are not vital because ALL of them must go.
Cutting this bloated monster Gvt will be the challenge of our lifetime. I've read estimates we need to cut
by 50%. Please join us Sir, as we 'walk through the valley of the shadow of' entitlement programs ,as our
last resort. What must be done for the prosperity of your children and my grandchildren will not be pop-
ular. The austerity will be breathtaking, on a scale we've never witnessed in the USA, with the exception
of the post Civil War South.
By producing this effort, it is clear that you 'get it'. Hopefully others will soon join and stand shoulder to
shoulder with us. On a conference call with my Rep, Randy Neugebauer TX, last evening, too many ques-
tions were asked from those wanting more benefits, not less. It was, to say the least disheartening.
I'm curious about how Europe was able to ban G Soros from trading in their markets and wonder if you
or your colleagues have looked into banning him from our system.
As the RHINO's in their primaries, fall like flies off the porch ceiling on a cold morning, hopefully ya'll can
get some help in slowing this run-away train you are riding. We are dead serious about locking this
Regime down until after the 112th Congress is seated. Consider no feat to be excessively symbolic.
Thank you for being serious about budget cuts. You are correct , WDC will never be the same.
FIGHT on PATRIOTS ! ! !
Mr. Cantor,
I'd like to say upfront that this YouCut endeavor is a phenomenal idea and a long time coming. However, I have a few suggestions to make it slightly more effective, and expand its appeal across party lines.
The examples you've given are certainly things that could be immediately cut for the betterment of our country. However, I do believe that there is a certain divisiveness inherent in a few of the examples (specifically the union example and the alternative welfare example). While these examples certainly SHOULD still be on here, I think it would be even more helpful if there were a whole lot more less-divisive programs listed. For instance, the National Institute of Health recently spent a few hundred thousand dollars studying sexual habits at gay bars in South America. I've yet to meet a single person who believes that money was spent wisely.
It would be very nice if this website became a catch-all for the federal budget. If you were able to break out by line-item all of the various federal programs so that we could vote on *all* of them, this would be even more effective. They could be intelligently organized by agency, and then organized into subgroups within agency based on various categories. Let's put everything in the federal budget up on the block, and see what Americans want chopped.
Andrew….I vote for you!!!
Is this the same Rep Cantor who voted for HR 1424 (TARP)?
Senator Cantor,
ONLY when you can prove to me by you VOTES that you understand that the 9th and 10 Amendments strictly narrowed the scope and power of the Commerce and General Welfare clauses will I support you. Until then, you are just another "New" Conservative i.e. a Progressive Statist RINO pretending to be conservative! You are only fooling the sleeping ignorant, but the people are waking up and learning about Liberty vs Statist Fascism.
[...] Read the rest. [...]
All of these programs need to be cut. Two things come to mind: Which of the five programs costs the most and which of those programs does the most harm to our country?
The spenders in D.C. will have to be removed with crowbars. November…..fire up! Time to reassert American capitalist system in US.
I love the one time payment of SS. Great idea. Never meant to be a lifetime support system.
I agree. I VOTE for ALL 5! I also vote NOW for all 5 you will list next week!
Some of you are missing the point. We have to start cutting somewhere. I'll take a "measly" $1 Billion in savings over spending it.
Asking a conservative minority to make sweeping cuts by tomorrow is simply setting ourselves up for more disappointment, and setting up the minority for failure.
Let's plug up the holes in the spending sieve one at a time. We'll eventually get there if we are persistent and consistent.
Let's immediately de-fund the 50 million dollar (plus) pledge to expand nuclear technology in the Middle East, as well as the 76 million dollars for "economic opportunities" in Yemen, and the additional 30 million dollars to Jordan, the 150 million dollar Muslim "technology Fund", eliminate the Global Entrepreneurship Program until our unemployment here, in our own Country is reduced to 4% or less, stop funding "Summits" available only to foreign nations and never available to Americans. Stop funding any program designed to pillage the American taxpayer to benefit other Nations that are hostile to our Country. While I admire your intentions, you should be laser focused on the elimination of the cap and trade ponzi scheme being thrust upon us as well as Harry Reids outrageous bill S.3194, which will force Union control on our volunteer firefighters, further debilitating our economy, in every city across the Nation.
Andrew, Cantor,
The problem is there are too many options to choose from here… There's so many programs and departments that need to be shut down. Starting ANYWHERE is a great start though.
They're a minority; they need to take on the little things and build momentum to the larger items…
It won't make much difference if Obama gets his way in confiscating everyone's 401(k)s.
LOL… yep. If you don't pay taxes (47%) then you don't get to vote! I like that… you can add that to next week's 5.
I didn't see the dismantling of Government Unions. It's bad enough that those criminals in the AFL-CIO, SEIU and others are calling the shots in DC but, to eventually bail out thier pension funds, (and we have already, think GM was about saving that industry?). i say let's reduce the size of all the bloated departments starting with the FCC, FTC, DOE, DHSS. How 'bout it , Cantor…..You willing to Put up or Shut up? And, btw, every week when these alleged 'votes' fail because lack of a majority, do you intend to re-introduce them when the GOP does have the majority. The worse thing you GOPer's can do right now is to blow smoke up my ass!!
Kasteer,
You are right, but Republicans seem to think that because we are angry at Democrats, then we must love Republicans.
In reality, this is election year… electioneering, plain and simple.
Why ask the people what they want cut? If this was a truly serious effort to cut spending, we wouldn't need a weekly/monthly list to vote on. My point is that everything on the above list needs to go!
Start cutting everything Mr Cantor, we'll tell you when to stop.
The journey is 1,000 miles long,…………..
what good is taking the first step,……………..but actually,…………..
I liked the way you said better.
Cantor,
Good idea and good start. This should have been implemented years ago. Let citizens decide how they want their tax dollars spent. I bet things would be different today…
I am VERY tired f my income being stolen by the government and redistributed to unethical, questionable, and illegal groups/activities, etc. Fed gov should NEVER redistribute money in any form!
I appreciate you reaching out to citizens. Please come back to the 7th and meet with your constituents. We would love to communicate directly with you. I'm still on the fence… show me you can communicate with us, that you can relate to us, that you can be one of us, and represent us with conservative action… you'll have my vote.
I like the flat tax because it is evenly applied and not regressive 9rich peole don't buy more milk and bread thatn poor people) and still assures some income (let's face it there are some necessary governmental expenditures) even when the people are belt tightening.
I'm interested to hear different reasoning.
We as Americans, the Tea Party folks being the most visible, have a two-fold problem……
1.) Getting rid of as many Democrats in Congress as we can,……and,…………
2.) Replacing as many Republicans as we can,…………..sure hope,……….
you are on the right side there Mr. Cantor.
You see, this is why the current batch of "Republicans" have to go. Instead of talking about reductions in a HUD program, you should be talking about eliminating all unconstitutional Federal agencies such as HUD, HHS, Education, etc. Too little, too late Mr. Cantor! You have no clue how fed up we are with all of this nonsense .
First off, I'm proud to say that I have voted for Mr. Cantor since moving to the beautiful state of VA. I'm also proud of the way he has stood up against the Obama machine for a past year and half..Good job!
Second, and a little of topic, I'm very concerned that amnesty is going to be shoved through both Houses before we even get a chance to get to the November elections. I believe conservatives have a great chance to make the 1994 takeover of Congress look like a hiccup compared to the sweep we could have this November. I see that Obama has a new rent a mob in a sense with illegals Mexicans.
I say take number 4 but terminate ALL welfare. I had a little bit of a hard time choosing between the five.
Or maybe there should be an option like……..CUT TAXES by instituting a flat tax!!
Just because the other 4 end up as losers doesn't mean they should be considered OK. Don't turn this into a trick vote like the Puerto Rican Statehood vote!
The government forces the people to follow the laws they make for us but refuse to follow the law that THEY swore to uphold, the Constitution . You want a great law? Make it an act of treason to fail to uphold the Constitution. You want our trust but you will do an end runaround the Constitution everytime it doesn't fit your needs. Talk is cheap and the people demand action on this. Follow our rules, WE ARE THE PEOPLE ! If you make it an act of treason you will be force to obey. But you can't have that now, can you? Only the people need to obey in your eyes. Trust no one in government.
This is an excellent concept, but Washington is still telling you how they are going to spend your money… they are just giving you choices now.
A good question for Cantor and any other representative would be what will they do with the money they save? They should freeze it and apply it to the national debt…
Stop with the Mortgage Bailout Programs. That is just a way for the banks to collect more fees.
Straight across the board interest rate deduction on all mortgages – nobody in trouble with their mortgages can "requalify" for a different loan. It will be fair, easy, and increase the average person's ability to spend on their needs and improve the economy.
Let me clarify something…
This is political games at its finest…
Republicans get to shore up the base and win over votes, but they know damn well that all these suggestions won't make it to the floor. So they get to play the Fiscal Conservative, win some independent votes, and if they take the majority in the house, guess what…
YouCut! gets cut…
When I start hearing progressives on the evening news lamenting that the "Evil Republicans" want to take away entitlements, and social programs…
I'll sit up and listen, because then I will know without a shadow of doubt that the "Conservatives" mean business. Until then, it is all just games.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dear Mr Cantor:
Thank you, I am very glad to see someone taking some action on reducing this countries spending binge. If I can make a suggestion, instead of chipping away on the edges; use the same budgeting method every responsible small business and family uses. Re-create the budget based on wants and needs. Use our constitution as a guideline for the need column. Defense, national security, etc…
Then let us vote on the rest of the budget if we want to spend the money on the "wants", line by line. Otherwise defund and eliminate any department that uses an acronym. FCC, EPA, DHS and the million others. Then let us vote to restore them, or not.
This is a great idea, but its not really taking it far enough.
For every spending bill, it should be posted on the internet with all the financial aspects highlighted. Then we should be able to vote for or against each individual spending aspect of the bill.
The only reason this is necessary is because congress as a whole hasn't been doing this on its own. Thank you, Congressman Cantor, and this is coming from a fellow Virginian, but we need more than just 5 spending possibilities per week!
Mr. Cantor – I will go to the site and vote. I am skeptical that this is anything more than a "danged" election year gimmick to gain support. If you are serious, why not do as suggested here (and everywhere in the US) and cut spending on all the choices listed above by you and by the commentators?
This seems to be an attempt to involve citizens in "THE" process. It may be news to you Mr. Cantor but we are already involved and that, I suspect, is what is behind your 'YouCut' website. We'll see. I hope that the agenda is legitimate. I'm willing to give it a shot.
Seems like a good idea but the costs you propose are pretty trivial. They need to think MUCH bigger to cut 1.5Trillion a year from the budget.
If the USA were a person who made 100k a year and spent 160k a year we wouldn't be looking to cut his morning coffee, we'd sell his car and house and move him into an apartment.
May you be buried wit a PIG !
The FairTax is not the same as a flat tax. The FairTax replaces the income tax with a type of VAT. There are things I like about the FairTax, but I think it will be easier to enact a flat tax.
You strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
which one?
With Mr. Obama as President Europe is correct.
Rep Cantor – this is a nice idea and, symbolically anyway, a good program for the minority to be engaging in. And, as you implied, such a significant minority is essentially reduced to pointed symbolic gestures in matters like these. However, with trillions of dollars of other peoples money spent, wealth yet to be created, the only cuts to have any substantial results are not budgetary per se, but rather structural. departments need to go, i would argue most of them, not have their budgets grow by less than requested and then have that called a cut. we need to return the government to the founding philosophies of self-governance and self-reliance and away from the culture of oversight, control, entitlement and servitude. the time for small, measured interventions is long past.
I say the Presidential Election Fund should be the ONLY funding they receive, the PAC funds and are the ones that should be outlawed.
Anyway great idea!
Terminate the Department of Education, the DOE and the DOA.
Terminate ALL "targeted" tax cuts. like ethanol.
This is fun and easy.
Both !
So…the only vote I can see is for the itemized. How does one vote against?
I would welcome a freeze on all new spending( defense excepted) until budget is balanced and deficit eliiminated If that takes years so be it.Concurrently, get rid of every duplicative program and agency and live within our budget – What responsible individual households do. Short of that, Greece awaits us! David
Americans have got this all wrong!!! There will never be any cutting in spending because there is no incentive to cut. Politicians don't understand anything that people do such as phone calls, town hall meetings, or even the tea parties!!! Look how they and the media spin everything we do. Only thing that will ever work to get this monster under control is to stop feeding it!!! Don't send another penny to washington till every one of them are gone. Start over with real people who will honor our constitution!!! Eliminate 90% of all federal government!!! Our money is their power. Stop feeding them and they will starve to death!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As has been stated, this is a band aid. Stop screwing around, go to Cato. org which estimates that the dept. of agriculture, energy, education and HUD waste a total of 262 billion annually. The tax foundation estimates the 2009 cost to comply with federal income tax requirements was 347 billion annually. Government waste plus the unnecessary cost to the private sector for all government requirements is at least 1.5 trillion. All federal taxes should be eliminated ( the real purpose of the tax code is to manipulate us) and replaced with a single national sales tax not to exceed 20%. With no business taxes the entire world would set up businesses here and employment would soar. Grow up.
Rep. Cantor, if you are truly concerned about government spending, then read this post from Robert Higgs right here on BigGovernment. http://biggovernment.com/rhiggs/2010/05/12/nothin...
I agree 100 percent. Or they can just cash me out. Give me 100k and call it even. There is no chance in the world that social security will be around in 20 or so years when I'm ready to retire.
Are you implying easy divorce is somehow 1) bad and 2) associated with Muslims? Hmmm, I don't think the latter is the case. It was while we were a Christian nation that divorce was difficult and things like porn were kept under control.
Eric,
Love where you're going with this. However, you are still a big wuss. My Grandma could cut better than that… How about a new list: EPA, Interior, Commerce, Education, FCC… you get the point. Don't be a girl!
Well said. I was thinking the same thing while I was reading all these posts! We have to start somewhere & I applaud Cantor for trying something instead of doing nothing. Actions speak louder than words!
I support the fair tax as it eliminates the requirement to "declare" income to the federal government. It also taps the underground profits from illegal activity. The flat tax would have no effect on your local drug dealer's profits or the income of illegal immigrants. The fair tax would also force the government to focus on growing the economy and building consumer confidence if it wanted to increase its tax revenue. And tax collection would be handled only at point of sale, not between a bloated IRS and every single citizen.
The flat tax would be an improvement to the system we have now, but I believe it leaves too much of the current system in place.
This trolls hate Cantor because he's Jewish. LIberals hates Jews and unborn babies. Liberals just hate period.
I am not excited about giving my email addy for the vote either but this is a good idea. I do like the other suggestions. Americans want to see whose with them.
You almost got number two right MR Cantor, here's my version…
2) ALL employees of the government SHALL NOT belong to a collective bargaining unit or labor union.
lol…Looks like (whatreallyhappened) is one of those "Congressional Staff Members)…I
wonder how many of the trolls work for Democrats or have family that do!!
ok that makes sense
am i right that a sales tax is in some ways regressive?
how do we cover come that? Do we even worry about it?
I have heard that there would be a standard deduction.
It's about freakin' time you actually contributed something sensible to this conversation. Points are well taken.
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