Here are a couple ways to cut the budget

[rurallib]

from a friend's email earlier today:

First, the funding for OCO (Overseas Contingency Operations) should be stripped from the Pentagon budget beginning in 2013. OCO is, simply put, the budgeting for overseas wars. Seventy members of Congress, including Iowa's Bruce Braley, suggested this to the supercommittee in September, and indicated that it would save $1.8 Trillion. This would not leave the Pentagon's pockets empty nor leave the country defenseless. The Pentagon budget of over $500 billion per year is bloated, and who wants more overseas wars anyhow? The second initiative is the Financial Transaction Tax, proposed by Senator Harkin and Congressman DeFazio, which would assess a tax of $3 for each $10,000 in stock & derivative trades, with exemptions for small investors. This would be projected to raise $350 billion over ten years, and would have the added benefit of putting a small brake on unproductive financial speculation.

[Warpy]

1. Excellent idea

I've suggested a 10% cut per year until the Pentagon budget was in line with what other countries have suggested in the vain hope the generals would reconsider their mission as one of defense, not Imperial warfare.

This idea is even better since it takes the money right out of their hands and prevents its being spent on more wars of corporate convenience.

Raising revenue is also essential along with this. The transaction tax on Wall Street is also an essential part of reining in the speculators, especially those using HFT to shave profits out of 0.01 cent changes in value. The will isn't yet there to sock it to the billionaires the way they deserve to be socked but the transaction tax will help a great deal.

[rurallib]

2. I wonder how many had ever heard of the OCO?

Until about 2PM this afternoon, I never had.

[jmowreader]

4. You know generals don't usually run out and start wars on their own

You've got a decent idea, but all of the wars we're in right now were started by presidents, not generals.

I have a lovely idea: Every time a president decides to launch an unnecessary war, he should be forced to go hat in hand to Congress and ask for enough of an endstrength increase that we can use soldiers to flip burgers and haul diesel instead of hiring mercenaries.

[Warpy]

5. Without the big slush fund, Presidents would have to go hat in hand

and have Congress declare war instead of sending them halfway around the planet because some corporate office started to scream like their nuts were in a vise or some fat cat screamed communism or some corporation saw a natural resource that had a bunch of inconvenient brown people who didn't want to be moved sitting on it.

Without a military slush fund, they'd have to go to Congress. That's why.

[sam11111]

3. good ....but....using the word CUT just strengthens the RW meme "cut cut cut"

So pls consider stressing raising Revenue...which the RW has blocked from the discussion. Thanks