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Comment by SavageBeast | Hacker News Reader

People seem to get caught up in the political end of this issue but the fact is the US is spending 1.7T a year MORE than its tax base supports. This MUST stop and if this is how it happens, then I guess this is what it took to make the change. Stop wasting money on silly things and "services" the government has no rational business in (states have their own governments mind you) and THEN come talk to me about a tax increase to make up any necessary shortfalls.

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This is at best wishful thinking when 2/3 of the federal budget are medicare/ss/military. What exactly will get cut?

The efficiency cuts they are talking about will barely make a dent while making services worse for everyone. Good luck next time a disaster area needs FEMA assistance.

And not unlike a business when you have a deficit you have two options: cut cost and increase revenues, this incoming government will very likely decrease revenues through tax cuts, making the deficit even worse.

Absolutely correct regarding medicare/ss/military. Its an issue. What will get cut? Enough things that we can start to have a real conversation about how much "government" we're all willing to pay for.

"What exactly will get cut?" - Make you a deal - set a timer and do 10 minutes of research on the subject and come back to report you found NOTHING that could be reasonably and easily cut?

EDIT - so far I haven't heard anyone claim we're going to balance the budget via this mechanism. The goal is to CUT WASTE and IMPROVE EFFICIENCY. I see this as a basis for having a real conversation about taxation personally.

Musk claimed he could cut 2 Trillion by getting rid of "waste".

Maybe Elon has heard stories about socialist single-payer healthcare systems that deliver good results at half of American prices and wants to copy them in extenso?

I imagine nearly every single American thinks there is waste in government spending, but it is going to be difficult to find cuts that 60% of the population agrees with, especially in an amount that makes more than a tiny dent in the budget. One thing is for sure, Elon, an unelected individual from another country, who also happens to be the richest man in the world (in history?), is likely to make cuts which advantage him, not the average American. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't been paying attention.

It really feels like we're nearing the inevitable outcome from Citizens United, a country ran by billionaires, to the exclusive benefit of billionaires.

Sure buddy. Nothing suspicious at all about the man who became a billionaire thanks to government spending go in and rip it all apart after the fact.

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