Should the Government be barred from spending on non Essential things when the nation is in debt?

[Common Sense]

Such as Conventions, limo's for elected officials, free plane rides, vacations, bonus's, etc.

[Andrew]

You'd have to define "essential", because I'm sure a lot of people would disagree on what essential is. The nation has pretty much always been in debt, yet there is always money for war and tax cuts.

[Demand Destruction]

No, money is debt. Loan money is created by debt demand.

[Media Bias Watcher]

YES! Don't forget one of our biggest wastes, giving billions of dollars to countries who don't respect us and in fact are out to destroy us! Hello, Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt! I'm sure the women in America don't want to give a dime to this group and others like them.

Not to far behind that waste is any payment or funding of any kind for illegals. We are idiots for being so liberal with illegals. In their countries if you came in illegally you'd be in some disgusting jail cell. No one would care if you lived or died.

And I LOVE the response right below mine! She's right on target. If we have to suffer through the disgrace of Obama Care then the politicians who shoved it on us should too!

[dawn]

The first thing we need to do is take away their automatic pay raises. And pensions. And health care.

Their pay should be pegged to the median income of the US. When it goes up, they get a raise. When it goes down, they get less.

They shouldn't get a pension--they need to exist on the standard Social Security check that most other people have to live on, since they let businesses drain all the pension funds.

They shouldn't get health care--if the free market is good for everyone else, why isn't it good for them?

[Phil McGroyen]

Of course

[R]

The Government doesn't live under the same standards we do.

They have all these different things that sustain their livelihood. The can cut social security, medicare, military spending, etc. They'll always be rich, and have free benefits..

Congress makes its own salary, and gives itself raises.

One of the lowest Congressional salary is 173,000. If we cut 10,000 from every member we would save a little over 4 million dollars a year and they would still be rich. members could still afford two homes and pay them off in three years while everyone else would still struggle to pay off one in their entire lifetime.

They want to cut all this stuff that doesnt effect them personally. People say who care it's only 4 million we owe 16 trillion so what does it matter.

Well 4 million dollars is a lot of money. We could put that toward all kinds of things. And not have to cut so much from other places..

I don't know why we can't cut congressional salaries a small amount. If someone makes so much that they can take a 10,000 cut and still be rich they make too much especially if everyone else is struggling.