If I recall correctly, only about one-third of the budget is discretionary. The other two- thirds is pretty much untouchable (medicare, medicaid, social security, retirement for federal workers and veterans, and interest on the debt). Nobody in Congress is going to talk about cutting the non-discretionary part of the budget.
There is an almost endless list of "things" that could be cut out of the discretionary part of the budget but, unfortunately, it adds up to relatively small percentages of the entire budget. A lot of those "things" are pork and, unfortunately, have become part of the legislative process. You need to look no further than the recent coronavirus relief bill for examples of that. Regardless, I believe progress on reducing spending can only be made if term limits on Congress are put in place, and I am not optimistic that will ever happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJRICHARD
Instead of increasing or implementing a new tax idea.....how about something as radical as reducing spending??? Across the board 10% cut, no exceptions. In reality we could cut it bt 20% without any reduction of services.
|