[mwfunk]

"Likewise, our government needs to quit pretending it actually needs money and cut spending. The TSA and middle-east war machines are the first places I'd start with."

Absolutely, but those things are a drop in the bucket relatively speaking and aren't systemic budget problems. By far the biggest culprits are Medicare/Medicaid and the Bush tax cuts, but neither party has the collective will to do anything about them. It's not totally their fault, either- it's the nature of the political system and the level of voter awareness. Anyone who started seriously gunning for any of those things would get voted out at the earliest opportunity, or at least that's their perception. It's a profoundly messed up situation.

[nwzpaperman]

It is a bigger problem than just votes, but votes do drive the initial policy formation and corresponding political discussion.

What happens when you retire a light bulb? Contrast that with what happens when you retire a person. The light bulb goes in the trash bin, but the person begins an escalting battle for survival as he or she's financial reserves approach depletion.