Cutting $2.5 Trillion over 10 years

Well the Spending Reduction Act of 2011 is about to be proposed by a group of Republicans in the House; it cuts 2.5 trillion dollars from the federal budget over the next ten years. Interestingly, the cuts do not come from Social Security, Medicare or the Defense Department. Aid to Education is not singled out for cuts. Indeed, all of the usual targets that the Democrats use to defend spending are not on the list. This will not stop the Democrats from screaming about the cuts and saying that the GOP is trying to balance the budget by starving the poor; it will just make those points by the Democrats even more of a lie than usual. So where do the cuts come from?

The bill wants to set 2011 spending at the levels of 2008 except for defense, veteran's affairs and homeland security. For the nine years after that, the bill would impose the limit of the 2006 spending levels on these portions of the budget. this action alone will save about 2.1 trillion dollars. Beyond this, the bill would stop funding for programs like the national endowment for the arts, national endowment for the humanities, corporation for public broadcasting, the legal services corporation, Amtrak subsidies and many others. the full list can be accessed by clicking on the title to this post.

Think of it! In a time of economic hardship, why should we be subsidizing yet another TV network like PBS or a radio network like NPR? There are already hundreds of channels from which to choose and a plethora of radio stations. These outlets should support themselves in the marketplace or through contributions. Similarly, why should the federal government decide which artists are to get funds? Indeed, why should any artists be subsidized when we just do not have the money? Why should money losing train lines be continued at taxpayer expense. The claim that the train reduces traffic and pollution makes sense only if people actually ride the trains. While this is true in the Boston to Washington corridor and a few other locations around the country, most of the long distance trains travel nearly empty every day. If no one uses the trains, they serve no purpose other than meeting the needs of local officials who like to point to them. There is no need to keep these vanity projects around.

The legal services corporation deserves a special place in hell. There is already way too much litigation in this country. If indigent criminal defendants need counsel, that is one thing, but to fund lawyers so that they can bring civil suits that clog the court at great expense makes no sense at all.

There is also a plan to cut federal employees by 15% through attrition and to cut federal vehicles and offices. With federal workers already making substantially more than their counterparts in private industry, it is time to cut back on these positions.

the truth is that when Obama took office, he raised federal spending within the first year by 84%. It is time for much of this needless increase to be rescinded.