I think you are all too paranoid
About the athlete thing, I agree they make too much (although most of the regular, non-superstar players make $1 million or less/year, not $50 million (the largest contract ever was like $30 million a year, and it was only for 2 years I think)), but it isn't the government that pays their salary, it is the fans. Every person who shells out $100+ for a ticket to the game, who watches it on TV, or listens to it on the radio pays their salary. The same idea applies to musicians. These hugely popular crap bands pull in millions of dollars every year as well. It is man's constant desire to escape his own reality that pays these huge salaries, not the government.
As for the cure for cancer. We have ways to get rid of some cancers, but there are dozens of types of cancer and each one has to be treated differently. I don't really buy that we have a cure for all types of cancer and the government is just hiding it. If we did, other countries would be stealing it and using it, which they aren't.
And the reason we cared about Clinton's scandal was the fact that he perjured himself to a grand jury. If he is willing to lie to a grand jury about that charge, what's to stop him from lying about other things as well. Yes, there are a lot of crooked politicians, but that doesn't mean we should just put up with them. All governments are corrupt in varying degrees, so limiting such a classification to the US government is ludicrous.
I think we, as a country, are funny sometimes. Our poor people would be considered upper-middle class in South America or Mexico. Most have phones, apartments, get free food, and live off the government in a much more comfortable lifestyle than the truly poor. We definitely bitch too much about our "poverty-stricken" people. If someone is disabled, then I think we should help them out. But if they're just too lazy to get a job, then to hell with them, let 'em die. (okay, that is a little extreme, but I don't think we should pay their way because they are lazy).
There's my $.02