Current Events > Mitch McConnell blames entitlements for the deficit

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/BChappatta/status/1052193038620012545?s=19

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the U.S. budget deficit is "disturbing" and spending on entitlement programs must be addressed by both Republicans and Democrats.

This is after he passed a budget that ran the debt to over a trillion dollars, primarily due to spending an absolute fuckton on the military and giving absurd tax cuts to the rich.

Fuck this slimy piece of shit.
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yeah we need to cut down on entitlements so we can have more tax cuts

Conservatives' professed concern for the deficit is just a disingenuous front for their desire to cut the safety net.
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Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png
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Funny how hes concerned about the deficit after championing massive tax cuts that are projected to widen the deficit by trillions in the next decade
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Of course he does, thats been the plan all along. Balloon the deficit and use it as an excuse to cut out safety nets.
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0AbsoluteZero0 posted...

Funny how hes concerned about the deficit after championing massive tax cuts that are projected to widen the deficit by trillions in the next decade

The Laffer Curve is a fickle beast.

He's not wrong
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s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

If we spent 10% of the national budget on candles, it could still be pointed to as the reason why we're raising the deficit even if it's a lower percentage of the budget than entitlements and military.
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Questionmarktarius posted...

0AbsoluteZero0 posted...

Funny how hes concerned about the deficit after championing massive tax cuts that are projected to widen the deficit by trillions in the next decade

The Laffer Curve is a fickle beast.

Yeah, but the economic fuckups they're doing are just basic economic failures before getting derivatives and calculus involved.
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Anteaterking posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

If we spent 10% of the national budget on candles, it could still be pointed to as the reason why we're raising the deficit even if it's a lower percentage of the budget than entitlements and military.

Sure, but this meme that the military is some MASSIVE part of the budget and that entitlements need MORE needs to die. At 60%, how much more exactly will it take to "fix inequality"?
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s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

Get out of here with your facts!!!! Reason has no place here.
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King_Hellebuyck posted...

Of course he does, thats been the plan all along. Balloon the deficit and use it as an excuse to cut out safety nets.

Yep, Mitch is about as Sith lord as it gets. He plays both sides of the angle better than any other republican.
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s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

Interesting, and surprising that there's such a deficit when social security and medicare are funded by payroll taxes. I guess they're not funded enough.
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s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/

I'm skeptical of their reliability since this is for the same year from the same source. Projection or not, something's awry.
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gunplagirl posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/

I'm skeptical of their reliability since this is for the same year from the same source. Projection or not, something's awry.

Discretionary spending is a fraction of total spending. That's the part where everyone screws up.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/glossary/#discretionary-spending

gunplagirl posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/

I'm skeptical of their reliability since this is for the same year from the same source. Projection or not, something's awry.

Yours touches only on discretionary spending, which is a PART of total spending. The graph you use is the one people like to toss around to pretend that the military makes up half the budget when its really only about 16%:
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
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Questionmarktarius posted...

gunplagirl posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/

I'm skeptical of their reliability since this is for the same year from the same source. Projection or not, something's awry.

Discretionary spending is a fraction of total spending. That's the part where everyone screws up.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/glossary/#discretionary-spending

Ah, that's actually helpful to know.

Either way, calling medical care an entitlement is like saying do not grow addicted to water for it'll make you weak.
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gunplagirl posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

gunplagirl posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/

I'm skeptical of their reliability since this is for the same year from the same source. Projection or not, something's awry.

Discretionary spending is a fraction of total spending. That's the part where everyone screws up.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/glossary/#discretionary-spending

Ah, that's actually helpful to know.

Either way, calling medical care an entitlement is like saying do not grow addicted to water for it'll make you weak.

It's called an entitlement because people are entitled to it. You wouldn't want to call it anything else, because the actual word being used implies it is a right. That doesn't mean it doesn't cost money.
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s0nicfan posted...

At 60%, how much more exactly will it take to "fix inequality"?

Realistically?

We'd probably need to spend about twice what we do now to resolve the fiscal problems that a private healthcare system imposes on our population, in that it creates big winners (the upper middle class, who tend to spend a very low fraction of their income on their healthcare) and big losers (the working class, who tend to declare bankruptcy and get forced out of the entire banking system as a result of healthcare costs).

Fortunately, in doing so, we'd be able to eliminate all medicare/medicaid/VA spending, as well as all of our current government tax subsidization of private health insurance, which would all together pay for about half of a UHC program.

Also fortunately, given that as a nation we already are paying what a canada-style universal system would cost, the tax increases on most citizens would effectively match what they currently pay to buy their own healthcare, so the net burden to most of the population would be minimal.

The upper middle class would pay more, as for many of them the cost is carried by their employer as a benefit rather than simply provided as a group coverage program they can buy into. The investor class would actually benefit, as net corporate cost per employee would actually fall, so whatever extra they pay in personal income taxes would certainly be absorbed by the growth of their equity asset portfolios.

Most of our other entitlements pale before the cost of healthcare in America. That's the big one, the vast, vast majority of that entitlement spending. In fact, the next largest is social security, which is incredibly easy to keep liquid. We just have to stop stealing from its own fund.

Any actual cut to 'entitlement spending' really just means creating more big losers in our private healthcare system.
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s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

Health care spending is totally out of control. There is so much corruption and lack of accountability and passing costs onto others that the costs have been allowed to just balloon up beyond reason.

It's unbelievable that a country would spend so much on health care while not having a universal health care system.

But sadly there's just too many people making too much money for this to change anytime soon.
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Like his refusal to work with democrats ever? That type of entitlement?
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Yea. McConnel is an idiot. We didnt need a reminder of that.
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s0nicfan posted...

gunplagirl posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

gunplagirl posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/

I'm skeptical of their reliability since this is for the same year from the same source. Projection or not, something's awry.

Discretionary spending is a fraction of total spending. That's the part where everyone screws up.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/glossary/#discretionary-spending

Ah, that's actually helpful to know.

Either way, calling medical care an entitlement is like saying do not grow addicted to water for it'll make you weak.

It's called an entitlement because people are entitled to it. You wouldn't want to call it anything else, because the actual word being used implies it is a right. That doesn't mean it doesn't cost money.

Except when it's used, a disturbing amount of people use it for the negative connotation. "They feel entitled to my tax dollars for their transgender surgery arrrrrrrgh" and whatnot.
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frozenshock posted...

s0nicfan posted...

Entitlements make up about 60% of the budget, with the military sitting at around 20%. You know that, right?

EDIT:
https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/total_spending_pie%2C__2015_enacted.png

Health care spending is totally out of control. There is so much corruption and lack of accountability and passing costs onto others that the costs have been allowed to just balloon up beyond reason.

It's unbelievable that a country would spend so much on health care while not having a universal health care system.

But sadly there's just too many people making too much money for this to change anytime soon.

Yes we need to fix the very broken system. Problem is no one wants to fix it. They just want to blame the other side.
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Darkman124 posted...

We'd probably need to spend about twice what we do now to resolve the fiscal problems that a private healthcare system imposes on our population, in that it creates big winners (the upper middle class, who tend to spend a very low fraction of their income on their healthcare) and big losers (the working class, who tend to declare bankruptcy and get forced out of the entire banking system as a result of healthcare costs).

Because, we got rid of the "crappy" doctors.
https://fee.org/articles/lodge-doctors-and-the-poor/

This is the rough equivalent of decreeing that all alcohol sold can only be quadruple-distilled 20-year-old single-malt scotch.

Or, a more common example would be all the mandated features in a new car that prices piles of people out of the market without taking on hilarious debt. About the only difference here is that shady used car salesman is replaced with an overcrowded ER.

Lodge doctoring has found a second wind in the form of urgent care centers. Probably the best modern development in medicine from a fiscal standpoint. Deeply, deeply underused, though.
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He's one of the worst Americans who ever lived.
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Darkman124 posted...

Lodge doctoring has found a second wind in the form of urgent care centers. Probably the best modern development in medicine from a fiscal standpoint. Deeply, deeply underused, though.

Oh yes.