Spending. What is it good for? A lot, really.

I'd like to expand on a previous post about government spending. I referenced how Sen. McCain, thrashing around in the turbulent waters of loss, made bizarre and idiosyncratic  claims like wanting to freeze all government spending except for the defense department, the VA, and the three entitlements: medicare, medicaid, and social security. 

Now, this seems monumentally retarded at first, second, and thirty ninth glances. For starters, those four programs, together with the interest on the debt, comprise more than seventy percent of the governmental budget. Moreover, because of the... unique way that the Bush administration chose to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are not included in that total. 

It is on the fortieth glance, however, when you realize that this idea isn't stupid. Its completely terrifying. Included in this 463 billion dollars in discretionary spending are organizations like NASA and the National Endowment for the Arts. Now, many people believe those organizations shouldn't be funded to the degree they are, and while I disagree, its a fair point. However, here are just some other organizations that are in that group.

• The FAA: They keep your plane from crashing into that plane. 
• The NTSB: Responsible for investigating transportation crashes and making sure they don't happen twice.
• The NHTSA: They regulate cars, so that GM doesn't "accidentally" replace your rubber bumper with a cheaper one made of, say.... cardboard. 
• The CPSC: They issue class one recalls when Mattel ships out a container full of Barbies that have thumbtacks for hands.
• The USDA: They inspect meat packing plants, farms, fertilizer plants, etc. 
• The FDA: Food. Drugs. Got it?
• The FBI: Keeping child molesters and mobsters off your streets since 1935!

As you can see, that discretionary spending? Yeah, its pretty cool.