Budget Musings

Congress continues to fight over the United States Budget and all the talk seems to be about cutting social services in the name of debt reduction. On the chopping block is funding for critically important things such as Planned Parenthood and NPR.

I love math. Remember, it was my high math score that got me into computers in the first place, so let's do the math for the budget.

The Federal Budget is $1.3 Trillion. Of that Planned Parenthood gets about $300 Million and NPR gets about $428 Million. That equates to an itty bitty teeny weeny percentage of the total budget.

Planned Parenthood gets about 0.02% of the budget and NPR gets about 0.03% of the budget.

Now let's look at the War Budget (sorry, I can't call it the Defense Budget because it has nothing to do with defense). The United States of America is spending about $719 Billion to make war.

That translates into 55.3% of the budget. 55%!!! We are the only Super Power on Planet Earth. We are the biggest baddest most awesome military in the history of the world. However, we really don't need to be spending that kind of money on our military. It is completely unnecessary.

Imagine the utopia this country could be if we cut war spending by a few hundred billion. Let's bring it down to a level where we can blow up the earth 5 times over instead of 10 times over. We'd still be the biggest baddest bully on the block, but we'd also be able to care for our citizens.

Stop funding Planned Parenthood. Really? A much needed and depended upon service for women's healthcare. Do Republicans hate women that much? How do they view their wives and daughters?

Stop funding NPR. Really? Are the Republicans that terrified of an informed electorate?

As per the United States Constitution, only Congress can declare war. The last time congress declared war was 70 years ago in 1941. So why are we stomping all over earth blowing up people? Oh right, they have the audacity to put a country where our resources are.

Stop spending more than half of every tax dollar blowing up people and we can provide health care for all Americans. We can provide an education for all our children. People can afford to go to college and oh so much more.

Math doesn't lie. Politicians do. Look at the math and don't let people trick you into believing that cutting funding for important services for people has anything to do with reducing debt. It doesn't.

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
— James Madison, Political Observations, 1795