The reason military spending is an obvious target as it is the most discretionary large cost we have. The social programs have been woven into the very fabric of our society. You might scale them back for future generations, but there really is very little things you can do with meaningful short-term results. Much like if you lose your job, cutting cable is easy, unloading the house is far more complex.
But let's run with your ideas. Tell me exactly how you would cut social spending and what your remedy for its consequences will be. I am tired of this conservative polyanna view of the world. They have quick, but rarely very well thought out answers. I would much rather be a conservative as things are simple to them.
1) What would you cut? and how much?
2) What are the consequences of those cuts? (ie, if you eliminate social security and/or medicare, what happens to our elder population that has 65% of its retirement funding from social security, and what happens to the baby boomers that have no savings..... or do we just have 60% of the population over 65 homeless)
3) What are the remedies for those consequences (how do you deal with that type of social turmoil)?
It is very, very difficult to balance a budget in a recession, as by definition tax revenues are very low, so you are cutting the government below standard operating levels. That kind of drastic cut during a recession also tends to compound the problem, and is generally thought to be the wrong thing to do in recession. I am all for balancing a budget, but it needs to be balanced consistent with a normal run-rate.
I am tired of conservative criticism without a conservative solutions (real solutions, not high-level fantasy).... get off your high horse and get to work. You can start here:
Budget of the United States Government: Browse
Or, for a simple version:
United States federal budget - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia