In tonights SOTU address, bush indicated several things. Can someone explain how all these things can take place?

Tax breaks for people paying for their own insurance - (Less income for the government*)

Reduced gasoline usage (Less government income in gas sales tax - 20% reduction in 10 years)



92,000 more military (increased government payroll)

Civilian Reserve Corps - Privatiation of some services now done by the military (increased payments to companies that will hire, train, and supply these people. These people will get paid more than the military they replace, and the companies will need to make a profit, so this will increase government spending for services now done by the military.)

School vouchers (increased government spending)

And all this with a balanced budget, and the war in Iraq still going on. (What is that costing now, a few billion a month?) Of course, he says that Comgressional earmarks will be eliminated. In the unlikely (according to some here) event that this actually happens, it will save the taxpayers $18 billion a year (his figure).

Will someone work these numbers and tell me how all this is even remotely possible? I am certainly no accountant, but all this seems unworkable to me. Am I missing something, or was bush blowing smoke?



*The figure of up to $15,000 in health insurance premiums was given. Using one third of that figure for 100,000,000 people gives a loss of the income taxes on $500 billion to the government income, if my figures are correct. That is an annual loss. The IRS currently takes in $2 trillion a year.
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I cheated and found the cost of the war.

Reuters also reports that a Marine Corps spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Roseann Lynch, said Monday that the war is costing the US about $4.5 billion a month in military "operating costs," not including procurement of new weapons and equipment. Colonel Lynch said the war in Iraq had cost $173 billion to date. Christian Science Monitor, January 10, 2006

I am sure that it is noticeably higher now. But even at $5 billion a month, it starts to add up, doesn't it?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

Magick.

It's maddening. No one, not even Democrats, seems willing directly to call him out on his fiscal irresponsibility; he should be required to produce a budget --INCLUDING funding the war -- and show exactly how he'd balance it.

The healthcare plan is ludicrous. To think that giving the poor a tax break will make it possible to afford insurance, when their tax rate is the lowest, is a stark and painful example of how far from reality this guy is.

"To think that giving the poor a tax break will make it possible to afford insurance, when their tax rate is the lowest, is a stark and painful example of how far from reality this guy is."

This is an excellent point. I know several people whose income is so low that they aren't even required to file a tax return. How can a tax break help them?