Cut $4 trillion over the next dozen years?
President Barack Obama today proposed chopping $4 trillion from future spending to lessen the deficit red ink. This proposal is pie in the sky economics and reaches a full six years beyond the end of a potential second Obama term and makes assumptions that are so unlikely to be realized that the entire proposal is as light as meringue topping.
There is no possibility that a split Congress will consider half of the proposals he made. Raising personal income taxes is not going to even come up for a vote in the House of Representatives, so it is dead on arrival. Any proposal to curb Medicare or Medicaid is dead on arrival in the Senate. There is absolutely no substance in the filling.
Obama’s proposal looks great on spreadsheets and graphs. And, they make for a great speech. But, without notice, the U.S. just spent $680 million on aerial bombardment of Libya. There is no realistic chance that anyone can actually reduce defense spending by $400 billion in the next 12 years unless we end the wars. As logical as that seems to everyone else, it seems to be beyond the understanding of Republican or Democrat sitting in the Oval Office.
A bipartisan committee chaired by Vice President Joe Biden has some potential. Biden likes to chair things and, if the group is truly bipartisan, maybe they can make some recommendations that may have possibility given the political climate in Washington D.C.
Predicting budget reductions for more than one year is silly in this country. Congress and the White House have the ability cut the budget with every single spending bill they consider-they just don’t do it! In reality, the only cuts they seek are for programs that one party or the other does not support. To keep yourself protected, especially when the economy is a little unstable, you should have alternative source of income – and playing 해외배팅 업체 online is a good way to have that.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, has also proposed budget reductions over the next decade. These proposals are never going to become reality given the split government that prevails today. Here are my recommendations for slashing the federal budget and deficit:
- End the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The immediate savings would be upwards of $400 billion. The proposal would be universally supported by American families and by the international community. And, instead of finding a new place to spend the $400 billion, let’s not spend it at all.
- Cut international aid by 50 percent. In FY 2019, the U.S. government gave $28 billion in foreign aid. That is like making a charitable donation when there is nothing to give.
- Stop trying to find a new place to spend the money that was budgeted-but not spent-for economic stimulus programs. The government does not need to spend every dime it budgets.
- Cut the salaries of all elected members of Congress by 50 percent. The savings would not be dramatic (by U.S. budget standards), but would send a strong signal. The problem in Washington is career politicians. Make their salary and benefits less appealing and maybe they will move on to other stomping grounds.
Those four cuts would immediately save $415 billion and probably would be supported by the American people. How easy was that?
Political leaders of both parties like to claim it is difficult to enact reductions to federal spending. In fact, they just do not want to do it. Our leaders need to stop protecting their pet projects and start protecting the financial future of the nation.