Stupid Spending:  Our tax dollars at work

Do people understand that the primary resistance to the President's obsession with raising taxes is that we aren't willing to anti up more dough for stupid spending? Or don't they care because it isn't their pockets being raided? We are called all sorts of names because we don't think such things as spending $30 million dollars to help Pakistani farmers produce more mangoes should be our problem. We rail at spending money to study gay Argentinians' risky behavior. Why are we spending money to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly?

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The left gets all bent out of shape at the mere mention of cutting Public Broadcasting subsidies even though they are very solvent. Heaven forbid we mention revoking all unspent stimulus money. Good grief, if they didn't spend it by now, what is the plan for it? What is wrong with cutting Federal travel and vehicle expenses a little? Why not sell excess government properties and put the $15 billion toward deficit reduction? Why are we subsidizing mohair? Think these are rare examples? Wrong. There's plenty more where these came from. It would be much easier to negotiate a solution out of our financial dilemma if everyone had a little skin in the game and if the ones carrying the water for the rest didn't see it being frittered away on stupid, stupid stuff. But I doubt many will agree to tax hikes only for the money to be spent as it is now. Call me crazy but I resent paying taxes to a government who is so careless with it. We'll talk when I and my money are treated with the respect we deserve. Bruce Butler

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