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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It makes a lot more sense to target Medicare, Medicaid, social security, and military spending than random one-off programs.  That’s where at least 75% of the spending goes to. Just reduce each by 20% and we can get closer to a balanced budget. [/quote]

In today's Washington Post, Matt Bai summarized David Stockman's -- yes, Reagan's budget director -- plan for getting rid of the deficit.

Stockman begins with a dramatic dismantling. He proposes [u]eliminating 16 federal agencies[/u], including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (Yes, eliminating, as in not existing anymore.) He would cut [u]50 percent of the funding for nine other agencies[/u], including the FAA and NASA, and about [u]a third of the budget from all the others[/u]. He also proposes eliminating farm subsidies and virtually all pro-business tax breaks. Leave aside for the moment that all of this would require congressional action. Stockman’s impressively detailed analysis shows that if you could wave a magic wand and do all the things he lays out, [b]eliminating 535,000 federal jobs and shuttering dozens of buildings in the process, you would save approximately … wait for it … $400 billion. That’s 20 percent of Musk’s stated goal[/b] , and less than half of what he considers an acceptable fallback.

No worries, though, because Stockman then moves on to a radical rethinking of American foreign policy, in line with Trump’s “America First” mantra. Stockman would surrender what he calls the American empire, [u]bringing home all the troops from Europe and Asia[/u], in favor of a “Fortress America” approach that focuses on protecting the homeland. [b]After junking all the aircraft carriers and overseas bases, Stockman projects an additional $500 billion in savings. That’s still not even halfway to Musk’s goal.[/b]

The rest, of course, has to come from social programs — [u]mainly Social Security and Medicare, which are the biggest drivers of long-term spending[/u], and which Trump has already vowed he won’t touch. Stockman would means-test these programs, which is something any serious plan to reduce long-term debt would have to do. To get to the $2 trillion target, Stockman takes means testing to an extreme: [b]Social Security cuts would start for individuals at incomes above $75,000, with benefits phasing out entirely once you earn six figures.[/b][/quote]

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