Just tax billionaires and we can have all of the above and a surplus budget.
How about we tax billionaires and also not give giant gifts to defense companies every year?
Yeah, because that for sure will stop other world powers from arming themselves and attacking others.
And to answer upcoming question: why we should care not others instead of ourselves. No one attacks us militarily (we are attacked via hubris warfare with disinformation such as this though) because we are armed.
not give giant gifts to defense companies
There is N-word that will burn some asses on lemmy.world: nationalize.
Not just billionaires; corporations.
If we consider corporations people (and the Supreme Courts says we have to) then we should tax their income. That means total income, not profits because I don't pay taxes on what's left over after my bills, so why should corps get to?
Wouldn't the billionaires just create private LLC to hold their funds? And they are not income based taxes, this would have to be based on shares or assets, net worth.
Taxing billionaires can help, but we also need to see that they contribute to what laws and rules get made, using lobbyists and support from politicians they fund.
Please inform and educate me, for those that have thought more on this!
I think when people say "tax the billionaires" it's implied that there would need to be new tax policy drafted that closes certain loopholes and exploitable tax shelters.
Just finished listening to August Nimtz on Upstream podcast. He explains why voting for the lesser evil will always push you further right.
The USA spends twice as much on public healthcare than it does on defense.
(Medicare and Medicaid = 1.4 trillion per year, vs. defense = 700 billion per year)
The problem isn’t that tax money is being used for defense.
The problem is that healthcare prices are insane in the US, and that the government isn’t allowed to negotiate lower prices (even though they have the weight to do so).
The real problem is that US insurance/healthcare was specifically designed to tie you to an employer.
Absolutely true. In the late 40s, when other countries were setting up public healthcare, we didn’t do it because we didn’t need to since employers offered healthcare plans. So it didn’t happen for us. Now there is no political will, because employers LOVE the leverage it gives them.
DoD spending was $1.8 trillion in 2023, of which $700B was “discretionary” spending. Medicare and medicaid spending was $1.6 trillion, of which $0 was discretionary.
and that the government isn’t allowed to negotiate lower prices
I'm not even sure how it works. This sounds like any company can sell any bullshit to medicare and they have no choice, but to buy it.
I don't live in US, that's why I'm asking.
Kind of funny that it’s an F-16 used here. The 22 or 35 would have been even more apt as an example.
Yeah, the F16 is one of the best examples of a fighter that can do nearly every role competently while being reasonably affordable. There is a reason so many countries bought it.
edit2:
F22 is way more expensive than F35nope, seems F35 is more expensive when you add A+B+C budget of F35, added linksTrue, looking at the F35 (A+B+C) and F22 buget and plans over the years.
Talk about bloated military budgets.
James Web Telescope budget is made by the same companies, so we know that projects are bloated by design or just by how they operate.
NASA vs. military, I am pretty sure some people would prefer to switch the budgets, hahahaha
One of the biggest budget issues with the F35 program is that maintenance and repairs must go through private industry. Corporations just continuing to milk profit at every level. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/09/22/gao-blasts-contractor-led-f-35-maintenance-as-costly-slow/
There was the semi-recent report following the plane disappearance in the Carolinas that pointed to the battle readiness of the F35 program being lower than is acceptable (don’t remember the percentage thrown out there), and a lot of that is due to the corporate side of the deal. Parts are not readily available when needed, repairs are going slower than we are used to, and this is on top of using newer technologies in an effort to PREDICT future conflicts.
I hope we have learned our lessons from the F22 and F35 programs. New tank designs for the successor to the M1A2 Abrams are popping up. We cannot allow future programs to continue to favor corporate profits to these levels.
It's not really that funny. The point is made despite it not being the most futuristic American dick extension on the market.
Plus it's been going for 50 years.
Hey now, at least the 22 looked cool. All my homies hate the F35.
Dumb Russian propaganda.especially that the equipment we are sending we would have to pay to dispose.
Besides one doesn't exclude the other and GOP wants to cut it no matter what.
Also stuff like Medicare for all would actually save money. Social security is another pool of money separate from other taxes and working people pay for it. Aren't student loan cuts actually a good thing? What is job opportunity cuts? What are legal services cuts? At least in my school school lunches expanded and include all children regardless of income.
Edit: for those downvoting, here's why it is dumb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expenditures_in_the_United_States_federal_budget just for Medicare alone we already spending the same amount as for the defense.
Doesn't look like Putin's propaganda. His propaganda machine is too dumb to make something like this because of nepotism, kleptocracy and corruption.
But here's picture from Soviet magazine after Stalin's death about Union budget:
And here is translated version*.
*it translated libraries as sciences
An F-35 would have been better for this picture, but still a good meme.
Edit. Shit someone else said this
No, you can have all those but it would result in a rounding error for the rich
Medicare isn't old enough to have paid for the F-16.
Wow I guess the whole point is moot.
I live in a first world country, so can anyone tell me what a food stamp is? I've heard a lot about them from TV, but I don't understand wth it is. Is it discounts that the government pay for food, who makes them, where do people get them?
It just means that the goverment will give you money to buy food if you're poor.
They used to be stamped paper cards, hence "Food Stamps", but are now distributed via debit cards. The name stuck, even though current programs have different names
Sorry you're getting down votes for just asking a question
The other comment reply got you your answer, but I'll just add that these days, I believe "food stamps" are under the government acronyms of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and are dispersed via EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer).
Make another one except for corporate fat cats and the rich getting tax cuts.
Sadly truthful
