How to Fix America's Budget Issues

It seems to me that America finds itself perpetually in a budget crisis.  Popular remedies involve cutting back on domestic services like AmeriCorps and the entire education system.  Those who make the money decisions don't eliminate these programs entirely; they only render them less potent, less able to serve their purpose.  And yet the money used on these programs, while it does add up to quite a sum, is spread very thin.   It is all being used, and in countless ways.  So if you're trying to save money without ruining these programs entirely, you're not going to be able to get enough out of them to solve anything.

No, here's the real solution-- the real sinkhole out of which billions of dollars can be fished:  Cut the military.  Sure a military (which don't forget is, when simplified unfairly, a kill squad, and when simplified optimistically, a protective force) is a necessary evil.  But we're (at least ostensibly) only at war in a few countries.  And we, ourselves, are only one country.  So why the fuck do we need 750 military bases in 63 different countries? 

Is it necessary?  Are we trying to protect the whole world or control it?  Can either be done?  And if we're trying to do it, if we've got guns at the ready in every part of the world, ready to be called into action on a moment's notice-- if the message our military sends is "Don't fuck with us, or you're done," are we the heroes or the bad guys?  Is all of that necessary for us to feel safe?  Is us being more comfortable worth the spending of billions upon billions?  Is it worth putting lives in danger?  Is it worth the arms buildup which, if the Cold War was any indication, will result in an eventual surplus of weaponry which after enough shady deals go down will probably end up in the hands of the very types of forces we're fighting against?  And while we're at it, is it worth making war for an entire country when you're only after a select group within it?  Might that be a better job for a smaller, more covert, more precise, and less destructive task force?  Where is the cutoff?  How many lives is it okay to end with a bomb as long as one of those lives happens to be a terrorist leader?  You can't put out a fire with a flamethrower.  It might make you feel more powerful and safer that you can make a fire even bigger than the other guy's fire, but the overall fire, once your hand comes away from the trigger, will either stay the exact same size or it will get bigger, and it will only stop if it runs out of things to burn.

Cut the military.  Cut it big.