To give a better sense of just how much government would have to cut back, consider this: In 2010, Uncle Sam took in $2.162 trillion in federal revenue -- and 8% of that is $173 billion.
Here's a sampling of what that $173 billion could have paid for last year:
The Department of Labor ($173 billion) OR ...
One-fourth of defense spending ($667 billion) OR ...
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (roughly $170 billion) OR ...
Most but not all of the interest owed on the country's debt ($228 billion) OR ...
The Departments of Transportation ($78 billion), Justice ($30 billion) and Housing and Urban Development ($60 billion); plus the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration ($5 billion) OR ...
The Departments of Agriculture ($129 billion), Energy ($31 billion) and Commerce ($13 billion) OR ...
The Departments of Education ($93 billion) and Homeland Security ($44 billion), plus NASA ($19 billion), the EPA ($11 billion) and the parks, fish and wild life services ($6 billion).