

We could have a balanced budget pretty easily, without raising taxes. - lzw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xezWd7VU2Ug

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bediger
At the risk of Going Where Angels Fear To Tread...

This seems like a Big Business wish list. Dump all federal spending that's not
directly going to Big Business via DoD spending, and Damn The Consequences.

For example, how about that DoD spending, which is arguably mandated/allowed
by the constitution. Can we get rid of the "intelligence community"? We don't
even really know how much money goes into that, and it's pretty clear they've
gone way beyond any constitutional mandate or provision. Can we
unceremoniously dump the spying-on-citizens part of the DoD?

The video misses some finer points. For example, do we get right of the Patent
and Trademark Office, freeing up lots of material for everyone to use,
increasing everyone's freedoms? I know that the US Constitution (which this
video regards as almost Holy Writ) provides for copyrights and patents for the
advancement of the common good. It's pretty clear that both patents and
copyrights and the PTO have vastly exceeded this narrow mandate. Ditching
copyright and patent would allow an awful lot of small business trade to open
up.

Sure, we can trim government on some "constitutionality" basis, and end up
with a balanced budget and not have an income tax. But this particular video
ignores some pretty obvious devils in the details.

