If he keeps up that pace, Obama will next propose spending cuts in the range of $2.89 trillion.* Presto: We’re running a surplus.
Of course, that level of cutting ($2.89T) won’t happen, nor am I suggesting it should. Hell, the $17B might not happen; “every program has its patrons,” as the NYT article notes, paraphrasing “administration officials.”
Regardless, I’ll repeat the less-than-profound point I made a couple weeks ago, in the wake of that paltry $100M kerfuffle: Budget paring is a process, not a light switch.
I’m especially encouraged by this latest step in the process because it is based on “terminating or reducing 121 federal programs.” Read that again: It’s not just trimming that Obama is suggesting, but wiping out entire programs that have outlived their usefulness.
More of the same, please.
In the meantime, I’m curious to see how Cantor, McConnell, et. al., will manage to spin this “socialist” gesture. Wait for it … wait for it …
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* For the math impaired, $17B is 170 times greater than $100M; and $2.89T is 170 times greater than $17B.