[quote]You can have balance, Lets say we settle for 3-4 times more spending then the next guy and use that 6-7 times to have free if not super cheap healthcare and education for our people. Also we could save some from helping the European Union protect themselves I think they have had plenty of time after world war II to recover. We can keep a force there but they really need to step up their spending in NATO.[/quote] For balance to happen you have to make sacrfices to achieve that. With health care you have to get rid of the private provider system we have in order for a "socialized" one to work. I say that because for that to work effectively everyone has to participate in funding it. It won't be a cheap service if you have 10-20 million on it while the rest of the working population is with a private provider. It isn't unreasonable to give people affordable care, because having everyone covered should eliminate people having to pay for the uninsureds treatments. Im not opposed to more affordable education. The problem i have with people demanding free education is that they don't think thoroughly into what that entails. (One of my other posts) France has free education, with higher taxes, and LESS people are accepted into the higher education system to keep taxation reasonable. If college were to be free in the United States less people would have to be accepted if taxes were the outlet used to fund college educations (to keep taxes reasonable). Higher education was only intended for people who will succeed in it, it isn't intended for everyone. That's a harsh realization, but it it's the truth. College doesn't guarantee people high paying jobs, and frankly the message of "you need to go to college" is a bad message parents, schools, etc have been giving over the years. I say that because the trades are in need of people, and not every trade job pays poorly.