Cliff Hanging

I'd like to try a social experiment.  Everyone is talking about our federal budget, our debt, our spending, cuts, taxes, etc.  And everyone likes to point the finger at the other guy for not playing.....which translates into "they won't do what I want".  I understand no one wants to see programs that are important to them get budget cuts.  Heck, I'd be crying buckets if the Department for Middle Class, Single and Childless Assistance got it's funding cut.  Oh...wait......

Anyway, I have a very eclectic group of friends, with emphasis on the VERY.  (I was going to say whacked-out group of friends but very eclectic sounded much more PC.  See, I CAN be PC.....I just generally choose not to be.)  I have friends who are far left, far right, atheists, Christians, Wiccans, Pagans, moderate liberals, moderate conservatives and those who politically are all over the place...like me.  Not always an easy group to come to consensus with about anything.  Just picking a place to eat can be tough between the vegans, vegetarians and omnivores!  So I got to wondering, could a group of my friends come to an agreement on a federal budget.  Can such a diverse group of people realistically come to a compromise that everyone is comfortable with?  Which led me to think why not find out.

I want to keep it simple though.  So we're not going to deal with any numbers...at least not yet.  Let's start with a broader picture....the various Departments and Programs.  I found a pie chart and list of the 2010 budget that I'm going use as the base for this little experiment. 

First thing I'd like people to do is look through the list and identify your "untouchables"; those Departments/Programs you would be absolutely unwilling to compromise on their funding.  Once we take those off the table we'll see what we have left and go from there.

I want this to be something that get's people talking and thinking yet be fun but not time consuming.  Every few days we'll adjust our budget by looking at and considering different things.  There are a couple rules.

1. There are no right or wrong opinions.  If you don't agree with someone, that's ok.  
2. You may try to convince others of the validity of your viewpoint.  You may NOT tell someone why their's is wrong.  Get the difference?

Would love to have lot's of people to join in.  Doesn't matter if you are an accounting wizard or your eyes roll back in your head when people start talking about the budget.  Your views don't have to be based on any sort of numbers.  You won't be asked to "prove" your choices in any way. 

Let's face it, if a group of friends can't come to a compromise then how can we expect Congress to?  Most of them don't even like each other!

So, to kick things off here's my list of "untouchables":
     Department of Veterans Affairs

What are yours?