And that's the key issue.How do you determine what is essential and what isn't?

Defense spending is essential, but being in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya is not. Police and fire protection are essential. Public TV, Public Radio and Planned Parenthood are not. They should be supported by the people who use them. Cowboy poetry festivals are non-essential and should be paid for by the people who attend them and not all of us who do not want to spend money on them. Bailing out banks and auto companies is not essential.