I know where the money didn't go.. I know it every time I get in and turn the key. I am still driving the 2001 VW Golf that I bought off the showroom floor back in October of 2001. It is now approaching 300K miles. Since I refuse to take a car loan out I will keep driving it till I can afford to buy a new car in cash. Of course I spend roughly an Audi every year on Federal Government. As it turns out my single largest expense every year is Federal Government. Heck lets just look at the value. Back in 2001 I paid 16k for a nearly new golf... ( The dealer had broken in the engine for me ) Since then it has driven me to and from Chicago ( Milwaukee to Chicago and back ) every work day for years. It got me from Milwaukee to Boston in one piece. It got me from Boston to Seattle in One piece. It got me from Seattle Back to Milwaukee them back to Seattle then back to Milwaukee then back to Seattle. So far I have replaced the exhaust, some windows tires, breaks and an annoying number of light-bulbs. Ohh and that annoying O2 senor.. But, the cost of parts per year has been pretty close to nothing. If this car was a federal program I would need to dump another 100% of its cost into it each year and it would still leave me on the side of the road somewhere in the black-hills with no cell reception.

I wish I could have put my Social Security & Medicare money into a bank instead of into the government hands. I would have triple or more monthly. I pay almost $600/month on health insurance...Medicare, supplemental, part D, co-pays, dental, and eyes. So your wrong when you say my benefits should be cut. If you removed ALL illegal (forget about undocumented) we would have more than enough money. Obama told everyone he was going to take everything...money,benefits, rights. But not enough people listened.
So now it sounds like you want me to pay AGAIN. So you want my meager money to go Where?

I posted this earlier this morning as well. Note that the only constitutionally sanctioned spending in the dollar breakdown of Federal spending is our defense spending, which represents 18 percent. I'm sure the founding fathers simply "forgot" to add to the Constitution those parts authorizing the remaining 82 percent of our Federal spending.

Who in their right mind would add another entitlement program when you see how much the existing ones are costing?

Just paid more than 2x average US wage in taxes. Suppose this is the contribution I owe the country for the right to have busted my butt in school. Have my parents unable to spend a dime for my college education, but still too white and rich to get a dime in student aid. (of course I was so silver-spooned to get through undergraduate school in three years). Worked 50-60 hrs/week for 15 years to be successful...but yay! made it...now get to work 60 hrs/week as an executive to cover two government people to exist.

Kill Medicare and Medicaid. Allow this to be covered by charities, with unlimited campaign contributions.
Hand Social Security over to a competed private company with one (1) person in government to pay the bill. Fire all others. Contract has the objective to manage the payments, and can take 20% of any savings generated over present projections, base lined at 5 yr out present estimates.
Military is peanuts, but to fix that 18% too... compete private contractors against the government GS-clowns on 5-year private contracts by agency and department.
Leave, uniformed military alone, except eliminate up-or-out requirements for officers, allowing long-tern employment and retirement from mid-levels.

"Boomaly boom on the big bass drum,
Where is the money coming from?
It's used in research, children dear,
For ways to increase the tax next year."
---Ogden Nash
Considering that O.N. wrote this in the 40's, things haven't changed all that much in 70 ears.

So that's where my retirement went.

Good article. To the point and just the right length.