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SyracuseDemocrat Donating Member (696 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 10:39 PM
Original message
Poll question: Is the government too big?
We have a roughly 2.2 trillion govt this year, thanks in part to Bush's tax cuts and exploding defense spending. If we shrunk defense spending by 70% and trimmed down the govt, eliminating waste and other crap in the Pentagon and other agencies, I think that we could do it all for around 1 trillion dollars a year. What do you think? The government currently is twenty times larger than it was in 1960 - In 1960, we had a budget of 100 billion. I don't think that the government has ever shrunk, is it time to cut it down a little? Tell me what you think.
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SyracuseDemocrat Donating Member (696 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 10:41 PM
Response to Original message
1. 20% of GDP is not too big?
Apparently some people think that it isn't. :shrug:
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redeye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-03-03 12:03 AM
Response to Reply #1
18. No
It should normally be in the high 20s or low 30s.
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lcordero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 10:47 PM
Response to Original message
2. The only part that is too big is govt contracting
govt contracting is a lot of money for no results and nothing to show for.
All of the Halliburtons, Bechtels, Carlyles and Brown & Roots should be destroyed.
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inthecorneroverhere Donating Member (842 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 10:47 PM
Response to Original message
3. not a really good question
This is really not a good poll.

The problem is the sheer magnitude of the deficit, and the way the money is being spent.

See http://pearlyabraham.tripod.com/htmls/gop-charts.html
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acerbic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 10:53 PM
Response to Original message
4. How you use it is a lot more important than the size... n/t
.
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HungryLoser Donating Member (92 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:41 PM
Response to Reply #4
15. Sounds cliche but
it's sooo true!
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jagguy Donating Member (525 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
5. it is vastly too big
look at it's growth over the last 50 years and tell me with a straight face how it's worth it.

If there were real benefit it would not be so bad but thats just not the case.
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FatbackSlim Donating Member (82 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:08 PM
Response to Original message
6. Too big
And it's going to be nearly impossible to shrink. We've gotten ourselves committed to too many government programs with too many constituencies to ever be able to clear some of them out. Military and social both.
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jagguy Donating Member (525 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:11 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. I wish that were the problem
its all about the pork.

All that could be done for a lot less but noone in Congress will suffer shaving a penny from their district's "take". And they're all fighting for a bigger take.

It depressing to think that the stuff we support to try and do a little good gets squandered so.
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JanMichael Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:10 PM
Response to Original message
7. Not enough options for me to vote.
Sorry.
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expatriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:14 PM
Response to Original message
9. Cut military research by 50% and put it into equalized funding
for all schools on a per pupil basis.

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Muddleoftheroad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:21 PM
Response to Reply #9
13. Waste of money
Equalizing funding of schools doesn't really address the problem. Take a look at the per pupil spending already and you will see that D.C. spends about two and a half times what Utah spends. The problem is crime, lack of opportunity, bad neighborhoods, proverty, hopelessness.

Equalizing school spending won't help those.
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jagguy Donating Member (525 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:22 PM
Response to Reply #9
14. do you realize that if it were not for military R&D
you might still be using a mechanical adding machine ?

Do a little research on the innovations that are part and parcel to our world that this research brought.

Its been proven time and again that throwing money at poorly performing schools achieves nothing. Even Dems have thrown up their hands at the sorry DC public schools.

Terrible idea.
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Syrinx Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:49 PM
Response to Reply #14
16. Even this thing called the Internet...
Came into being through military r&d.
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donco6 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-03-03 12:59 AM
Response to Reply #9
21. Sounds noble, but . . .
I work as a school district finance director, and I don't believe simply giving more money would accomplish much.

The money would have to be given based on some coherent plan for spending it. I have seen waste - try as I might to eliminate it. But we have seen some success after our serious effort at producing a community-led strategic plan.

Don't get me wrong, I do not believe our schools here in CO wouldn't benefit from more money. But if you don't know how best to spend it, it's probably just going to end up wasted.
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expatriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:16 PM
Response to Original message
10. the thing is... it is the wrong way of putting it...
of course their are certain apparatuses in the government that are too big, oppressive, wasteful, etc. but a lot of times when people just have the line 'government is too big' they are conservatives who don't want their taxes going to the public sector.
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Redleg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:18 PM
Response to Original message
11. Depends what you mean.
Can it effectively and efficiently provide the services, etc. that the people need?
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Wonk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:20 PM
Response to Original message
12. Related... Bill Moyers NOW - The Military Industrial Congressional Complex
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=115311&mesg_id=115311
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ryharrin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Aug-02-03 11:51 PM
Response to Original message
17. I voted too big, but
only because of military spending.
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redeye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-03-03 12:04 AM
Response to Original message
19. Defense spending is too big...
...but the cuts don't make up for the increase in social spending and foreign aid that's badly needed.
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Character Assassin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-03-03 12:06 AM
Response to Original message
20. Yes. By magnitudes. And unconstitutionally as well..
Don't bother asking, just read your Constitution.
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fabius Donating Member (759 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-03-03 01:03 AM
Response to Original message
22. Defense spending is way too big.
Corporate welfare is way too big.

Faith based initiative is way too big.

War on Drugs is way too big.

Infringement on States is too big.
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