What parts of our government are "too big"?

[kentuck]

It is a conservative mantra that government is "too big". Could we agree with them that some parts of government are too big? After all, liberalism has at its roots Jeffersonian libertarianism, a distrust of government.

Could we agree with the conservatives that our Defense budget is too big? Isn't that part of our government? How about the $75 billion we are spending on intelligence programs? Naturally we disagree with them that we are spending too much on "people programs". We believe we should have healthcare for all our people and less corporate welfare and programs for the wealthy.

However, we can agree with the conservatives that much of the government is "too big".

[ixion]

1. aye, there's the rub

conservatives never met a defense budget they couldn't love, as long as it was bigger than the last one.

[hobbit709]

2. Homeland Security for starters.

[gateley]

3. The Republican part. nt

[AnOhioan]

14. Damn....beat me to it :)

[Turbineguy]

4. Actually government could be made smaller

but it has to be big to counteract the idiots republicans elect to govern.

[endless october]

5. DHS, DEA

ATF.

end the drug war.

[FormerDittoHead]

6. McCain said he would go in there (the budget) with a scalpel then a hatchet!

Too bad he didn't name a SINGLE FUCKING PROGRAM he'd cut.

Kentuck: WE ARE ON THE SAME PAGE. Unfortunately, the Republicans don't think we can THINK our way to security, we have to SPEND our way to security.

here's a great reference for the cost of the military:
http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm



The US has a giant economy, so it's not fair to show raw dollar amounts in comparison, but it would be great to see budget pie comparisons to other countries like Russia and China, but this gives you an idea:

[hansberrym]

18. Great link, tt makes very good sense to view gov spending both

with and without SS as both charts matter. So I would criticize either side who presented only one chart. Good for this site to present both.

The link presents the disputed percentage of interest on debt attributable to defense openly, but there is not enough info to agree or disagree with the 80% figure this site urges. But even if one employs the 50-60% estimates used by other groups, the overall result is not very different -military spending is close to 50%(not including SS, etc.)of Fed GOv spending. It might be more effective/persuasive to simply use the non-controversial figure of 50-60% (as military spending is roughly half of the spending it also should acct for roughly half of the interest on debt) so as not to be accused of overstating the case.

I do not know this group, but the linked info could very well be used by those like myself who are not againt military spending per se, but are against excessive military spending driven by the neocon zeal for empire/hegemony and the notion prevalent on both left and right that America needs to be the global policeman. If we do not first take care of ourselves, we will not be able to care for anyone else. This adage holds for both individuals and governments.

It makes good sense to look at what all levels of government fed, state, and local spend as a share of the individual's earnings. As I see it, from a liberal/libertarian point of view, government is too big when is consumes a share so large that the individual can not take care of himself, or can not use his earnings to pursue his own happiness.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. The corporations and their lobbyists who run it.

[BigBluenoser]

8. Military.

I've always found it interesting that the people who constantly refer to the founding of America for their values are the ones who want to constantly expand the size of the federal armed forces (this is a generalization).

[foxfeet]

9. Republican moobs.

[alarimer]

10. The CIA and the Pentagon

The whole military-spy complex.

DHS.

[Kievan Rus]

11. DEA should be disbanded, agents sent to work for FBI or BATF

[OwnedByFerrets]

12. The "defense" budget is way out of line with our needs

[The2ndWheel]

13. I'm not sure how any aspect of government could be small

when a single entity attempts to represent the varied interests of 300+ million people.

[DBoon]

15. The NSA's domestic spying program

nt

[iceman66]

16. "Defense"

but more on the civilian/contractor side than the uniformed military - that's where most of the money goes anyway.

[TankLV]

17. The part STILL occupied by REPUKES...

Homeland Security
ALL parts of the Patriot Act.
Anything started by bush* or other repuke presidents.

[lurky]

19. The secret parts.

Black budget programs. Quasi-private operations. The whole underworld of intelligence front companies and criminal enterprises we got a peek at with BCCI and Gary Webb. All effectively governing our lives without oversight or accountability.

[omega minimo]

20. Florida

[MellowDem]

21. Your mom

;)