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US Federal Budget: What should make the cut? What shouldn't?

I've listed below 20 discretionary budget items which receive some federal funding. Which are your top five spending priorities and your top five spending cuts? Explain why that program should be a priority for the government or why it should be cut (in whole or in part). -Weapons Development -Foreign aid (technical, military, & humanitarian) -Social Security Increases -Housing assistance for low-income families -Farm subsidies -Homeland security -Space research & exploration -Highway construction & repair -Medicare prescription drug benefits -Aid to K-12 education -Urban mass transportaton -Border patrol & immigration regulation -Alternative fuels research -Veterans benefits -Drug enforcement & control -Pollution control & clean-up -Student loans for higher education -Health & disease research -Extended unemployment benefits -Aid to state & local law enforcement

Public Comments

1. Here are some departments that can go.... Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Administration for Native Americans Administration on Aging (AoA) Administration on Developmental Disabilities Administrative Committee of the Federal Register Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Advisory Council on Historic Preservation African Development Foundation Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Agency for International Development Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Agricultural Marketing Service Agricultural Research Service Agriculture Department (USDA) Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau (Justice) Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (Treasury) American Battle Monuments Commission American Samoa Home Page AMTRAK (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Appalachian Regional Commission Architect of the Capitol Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) Archives (National Archives and Records Administration) Arctic Research Commission Arms Control and International Security Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Interagency Coordinating Committee ...and thats just the A's
2. cut: -Foreign aid (technical, military, & humanitarian) -Social Security Increases -Housing assistance for low-income families -Medicare prescription drug benefits -Extended unemployment benefits Or option 2 is we go completely Libertarian and the budget works with plenty of room to pay off the debt.
3. -Weapons development should be cut. The US spends enough on this. -Foreign aid. I'm not sure. I'd say leave that. -I'm not sure how your social security works but if it's helping people, leave it. -Housing assistance. Knowing an American who has been through this, I'd say leave it or even increase it. -Farm subsidies. The US needs to completely overhaul its terrible agriculture system. The government actually pay for farmers not to produce excess crops in case it floods the economy, which is complete and utter bullshit. -Homeland security. I'd say lower it due to its massive cost, but at least its protecting itself rather than aggressing on other countries. -Space research. Completely get rid of NASA. It's not right that people have to pay for something that is not necessary to survival and not helping anyone. If it's for the science, why not let government completely monopolise science? -Roads. I'm a believer in free markets and think that private toll roads would be better, at least for the less densely populated areas where connecting roads into a network is simpler. So cut. -Transport. Leave it, I think. -Leave fuels to science and business. -Vet's benefits. I'm neutral on that. -Drug enforcement. End the war on drugs. Completely legalise all drugs (yes, all). Do not have the time to get into my reasons though but they are well founded. -Unemployment benefits should gradually decrease over time, until the person is forced back into employment. -Law enforcement. That runs too deep for me to comment. I'd change the nature of the system, rather than the budget. EDIT: Homeless in Phoenix speaks the truth.