This New York Times interactive budget is an interesting exercise in priority-setting. It misses some of the nuance inherent in budget-setting, such as what one does with all of the unemployed military out looking for jobs if troop levels are set back to Clinton levels and how that plays in the economy, but it's worth the few minutes to go through the list and see what you would do.

That little graphic was my result on the 2015 budget. I didn't touch Medicare or Social Security, I unbundled the employer health insurance deduction, put estate and income tax rates back to Clinton-era levels, rolled back all the Bush tax cuts for everyone, added a bank tax and carbon tax, cut farm subsidies, weapons programs and nuclear programs, and expanded the taxable wage base for Social Security. That got me a surplus of $744 billion by 2015, and balanced the budget through 2030.

I realize it isn't as simple as all that. But it does make for a great exercise in looking at what costs the most and how those costs can be brought under control without touching Medicare, Social Security, or health care subsidies.

What would you cut?