The new Congressmen say that we need to cut spending.

Our tax revenues, as a percentage of GDP, are the lowest since 1950, but Mr. Obama consulted with them, and not only decided to keep the temporary Bush tax cut stimulus (the one that failed to stimulate) but added some additional tax cuts as well.

So how are we going to pay for those tax cuts? Well, obviously, we need to cut spending. The four biggest areas of the federal budget are national defense, medicare, medicaid, and anti-terrorism, and the new Congresscritters want to focus on cuts in the 12% of the budget that isn't in those four areas.

Generic Paper Clips, Anyone?

Me, I think it'd make as much sense to balance the budget by switching from name-brand paperclips and staples to using generic brand staples and paperclips to hold papers together. It ain't gonna work. Fighting wars - not only the current wars but the past ones - amounts to 62% of the budget, and our military expenditures have grown 120% in the last decade, far more than the federal budget as a whole. Shouldn't we pay off the last war before we start a new one?

You can see by this table what taxpayers think about the matter. It's a poll released today by the Pew charitable trust. They have a habit of asking questions that many of us really would prefer to ignore the answers to, but when I get over my righteous indignation, I have to admit that they seem to be well-done polls, really getting to the truth instead of asking "have you stopped beating your wife" questions.

Maybe Taxes Oughta Go Up

If the economy recovers, that'll go a long way towards balancing the federal budget. Part of our problem is that the baby boomer generation is retiring, and we have fewer workers. We really need to bring in some wetbacks, and make them citizens to help carry the load. We also need to raise the tax rates. Neither of those solutions is very popular with the electorate, though.

I guess we can all choose to freeze to death in the dark. I'm doing my part. I spent most of the day under the blankets, freezing to death. The folks at the National Westher Service say things are supposed to warm up this weekend, and even hit above-average temperatures next week, but I've dealt with their treachery for decades. Mark my words, they're going to sneak up on us and present us with an icy wet March, sure as the world.

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Congress - defense spending - federal budget - paper clips - Pew Charitable Trust - poll - taxes