WATCH THE NASCAR RACE ON SUNDAY – AND
CLICK HERE TO HELP END HUNGER IN AMERICA

Advertisement

Contests and
Sweeps

Southfork Ranch Travel Adventure Sweepstakes!

Enter now for a chance to win a Texas-sized prize pack. Do

politics & society
poll

Most Popular
Articles

Viewed

Recommended

Commented

How You'd Cut the Federal Deficit

You spoke up loud and clear. But is Washington listening?

  • Text
  • Print
  • Comments
  • Recommend

A few months ago, the AARP Bulletin produced an interactive federal budget calculator and challenged readers to try their hand at eliminating the federal deficit. The calculator noted that the federal government is projected to spend almost $4.2 trillion in 2015, but collect just $3.6 trillion in taxes and other fees, leaving a budget deficit of more than $600 billion.

See also: A Budget Out of Balance — Projections for 2015.

People voice their anger about the budget deficit and make choices using the AARP deficit calculator.

People voice their anger about the federal budget deficit. — Photo by: Getty Images, Philip Habib/Gallery Stock

In addition to working through the menu of deficit-trimming options in the exercise, more than 1,000 readers (at last count) also offered up their own ideas for stemming the government's red ink and putting the nation's finances in order.

Here's a rundown of some of the more popular and provocative proposals that landed in the hopper.

What do you think about these ideas? Good? Bad? Ugly? Post your comments below.

1. Drastically slash congressional and White House salaries, benefits and expenses.

The calculator offered the option of cutting congressional and White House budgets by 15 percent, which would shave about $800 million from the budget. Many commenters wanted to go much further,

  • Print
  • Bookmark

Tell Us WhatYou Think

Please leave your comment below.

You must be signed in to comment.

Sign In | Register

More comments »

Election 2012 Updates

Latest Delegate Count

Updated: May 22, 2012, 2012

Republican (1,144 needed to win)

Mitt Romney 1065
Ron Paul 119

Democratic (1,214 needed to win)

Barack Obama Unopposed

Delegate counts provided by the Associated Press

Discounts & Benefits

Note to see lawyer

Members receive a free, 45-minute consultation with Legal Services Network from Allstate.

Homeowners Insurance

Members can protect their largest asset and its contents with AARP® Homeowners Insurance Program from The Hartford.

ADT Home Security

Business owners save on NEW installation via ADT Security Services, Inc. Small Business.

Member Benefits

Members receive exclusive member benefits & affect social change. Join Today

Being Social

Featured
Groups

Politics — Current Events

Speak out on the issues and controversies of the day. Discuss

Issues & Elections

Civil, bipartisan discussions of today's issues and topics of national interest. Discuss