Facing pressure over this year’s projected $779 billion deficit, President Donald Trump has requested that the members of his cabinet find 5% cuts in their respective departments.
The cuts
Trump made reference to the “penny plan” in calling for 5% cuts. The “penny plan” is a deficit reduction plan most notably advocated for by Sen. Rand Paul, would require a cut of just one penny from every dollar spent. Even after only a few years, chipping away at the budget slowly with the annual 1% cut can solve the deficit by 2023 (assuming nothing catastrophic happens to the economy in the meantime). It might be more appropriate to dub Trump’s version the “nickel plan.”
“We’re going to ask every Cabinet secretary to cut 5 percent for next year,” Trump told his Cabinet. “It’s not as tough as you think, and frankly there’s a lot of fat in there,” Trump added, while noting that “we had to get the military done last time.” Trump also blamed Democrats in part for the deficit: “In order to get that $716 billion, I had to give up things to the Democrats that I hated to give up. But we had to rebuild the military.” Trump also clarified that 5% cuts are the minimum he’s demanding from each department.
Deficits, taxes, and spending
Are tax cuts or spending to blame for the rising deficit? Both to some extent, as tax cuts should always be accompanied by spending cuts (and were not, in the most recent Trump tax cuts). Trump did offer up $54 billion in annual cuts back in 2017, but Office of Management and Budget’s Director Mick Mulvaney confirmed that they didn’t materialize. “We had offered $54 billion worth of discretionary cuts in our budget back in March. Only about 4 or 5 billion have survived so far on the hill. We’re not going to be able to cut our way to balance.” And just last June, the Senate rejected $15 billion in spending cuts that Trump requested, or $150 billion over a decade. So in that regard, blame Congress.
Back in March President Trump requested line-item veto authority after signing a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill. If granted such a power, it would allow him to veto any discretionary spending in a budget passed by Congress that he wants to be removed.
Given how Congress never seems to reduce spending, and has rejected all cuts Trump has proposed so far, that could be the only option he has left if these 5% cuts don’t play out as expected.
Anyone remember that when the tax cut was proposed, it was going to increase the economy enough to actually pay for the loss of revenue.
Of course, no one really believed it then, and now that lie is forgotten as the real work begins to destroy more of America in the name of balancing the budget.
I stand with President Trump but I will go one step further. As a kid growing up in the grad state of Texas and particularly in Blanco County, our parents of five boys and four girls, we learned by “necessity”very early on that “if you cant pay cash you do without”. Any person like any government entity should always start their new year by making a list of needs and a list of wants. Careful study of this list will soon reveal the cause of busting the budget is not found in the needs list but entirely inthe wants list. The “wants” is where the rubber hits the road. In 9 out of ten situations the “wants” always bust the budget. lee1233
Just think if the democrats get control of the House we will see more spending om social programs, like, welfare, food stamp, unemployment, which will increase because the dems will put the regulations back into play.
Remember in November to vote RED!! To save America!!
EXCELLENT IDEA BEING THAT 545 LAZY FREE LOADERS WONT GET OFF THERE DEAD MOLDY BUTTS TO DO ANYTHING ANY MORE!
We’ll never balance the budget as long as congress controls the purse strings. It’s time for term limits at least until the budget is balanced. I’ll bet they manage it before the next election.
The other day I saw an article in which people were arguing over employment and that President Trump was better for unions. The union site on the Web I went to disagreed. Mainly along the lines of federal employees. Defunding planned parenthood and other similar programs and cutting funds where possible to the NEA would be ideas I could get behind. Our kids are coming out of public schools obese, dumber and lack the fundamentals to participate as enthusiastic Americans in order to make them inane, silly globalists.
President Trump already froze Federal COL increases this year. The union responded as if it were sacrosanct. What I would have prefered in regards o health care is less funding for those suffering from afflictions that are the result of individual conduct, if people don;t want to fund heavy smokers who contract cancer why would we subsidize those self inflicted with HIV/AIDS. Then there are the hypochondriacs.
But the real opposition will come from the DNCs trump card no pun intended, biased organizations like the ACLU, CAIR and the ABA we should be capping how many layers per capita we may be allowed in the USA. A large contributor to the once greatest health care system in the world was law suits.
We need to hold all these preposterous prevaricating thieves,,parasites and postulatIng pundits who say one thing and do the opposite out of office altogether, no matter how long or how many elections it takes to do so. The Lunatic left WILL, if successful, try to force Medicare for all on Americans and those to be disenfranchised out of a system they PAID for all their lives,American Seniors, many of whom are Combat vets will FINALLY have had enough and the Establishment will then be DRAINED permanently. They should be aware of the FACT that people can only be pushed just so far and history is REPLETE with examples. If they want to be victimized the way they have victimized THEIR CONSTITUENTS; the REAL ONES, American citizens Only and NOT every foreign felon by definition. It is NOT the fault of the electorate that the Congress neither speaks nor comprehends the term “Illegal, ” MEANING IN VIOLATION OF EXISTING LAW. We need to vote these career thieves. parasites and prevaricating pundits out of their cherished but abused positions in the heirarchy of the Oligarchy of the politically privileged and powerful they have made of themselves since they who make the laws; have learned to BREAK them with impunity or, twist them through politically appointed justices to fit their twisted Agendas in total violation of the intent of the Justice System as created by the Founding Fathers. The Progressive Democrats ARE THE WORST OF THE LOT BUT THEIR RINO ALILIES AND COHORTS IN COMPLICIT CORRUPTION ARE EVERY BIT AS BAD. Now, many in their cabalistic communes are advocating and inciting violence against all who disagree with them and their jaundiced dictatorial demands to DO as I Say or Else! Well: here’s news to you so predicated nit wits and traitors,: IF you are so minded: This Vietnam Vet will meet force with force and I will show and give no quarter. I am no threat to anyone who is not a threat to me but if you are; you DAMNED WELL BETTER BE PREPARED TO DIE DEFENDING WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN BECAUSE I AM AND WILL NOT HESITATE AS A COMBAT VET TO END YOUR MISERIES FOR YOU: PERMANENTLY IF YOU THREATEN ME, MY FAMILY, PROPERTY OR ALL I HAVE WORKED HARD ALL MY LIFE TO ACCRUE AND THE OBSTACLES PUT FORTH BY THIS WORTHLESS SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT FOR HAVING SERVED HONORABLY WHEN NEITHER THE GOVERNMENT OR THE SOCIETY IS WORTH SQUAT! Wat to reduce the debt:: Pay only our fair share of U,N, membership and retain the seat on the Security Council but they ARE the enemy within. Deport EVERY illegal period and their DACA brats, Use the military against the Immigrant Caravan marching as I write to invade this country and worsen an already rotten situation, Force Strictly observed Term limits and make all terms the SAME in length to give the ELECTORATE much more control over those they Elect and whose ONLY function in doing so is to serve We, The People, and NOT their every whim and fantasy at our expense. Make ENGLISH, our National language by Law and cease printing instruction for foreigners to collect unearned and improperly distributed unenetitled benefits to them at a cost of $3 BILLION, year and have every Congress cretin account for by audit, why it is they mostly live in homes worth far more than their already bloated $174,000 per year salaries for sitting in office on average only 124 days a year; and WHERE the money to make those purchases came from! I’d be willing to bet that a lot of them would go to prison for embezzlement and a lot of other crimes and their properties could then be confiscated and sold at auction to reimburse the taxpayers for what was stolen from THEM!. The government that governs least ALWAYS Governs BEST! It is time that long abused American citizens realize that if we do not hold these turkeys responsible, who the hell WILL? And, the time to do so is NOW as the addressing of these issues SHOULD have been TAKEN CARE OF LONG AGO~!Think this Disabled Vietnam vet is ticked off? YOU DAMNED WELL BET HE IS, AND DAMNED PROUD OF IT.YOU SHOULD BE TOO AND VOTE ACCORDINGLY TO DRAIN THE DAMNED SWAMP; FOREVER! If these terminal cancers will NOT work for you and me from the Offices we elected them to to serve US, then use your votes en mass to INSURE THAT THEY ARE REMOVED FROM THEM!I am a non- affiliated independent voter with a degree in Government achieved in 1967. It is a necessary evil but it MUST be controlled as the old proverb that “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” could not be truer than it is here in these DIVIDED states of America, made that way DELIBERATELY by the Deep State “Obama Legacy; one of ruin and the loss of everything American , especially if successful freedoms , choices and our Sovereignty as an Independent and FREE state! (See U.N. Agenda 21)
This would be a good start.
Automatic 5% cut by just firing all the Obumma hold overs…no brainier!!
Automatic 5% cut, by just firing all the Obumma hold overs…no brainier!!
Well, cutting off Peurto Rico and letting them become their own country would save over a billion bucks! Get out of the UN and make them move their headquarters out of NYC, and freeze the borders would bring in over another 1 billion bucks!! I’m with Trump on this. Tax cuts to the deep-state! Oh, and we need to stop funding Big Pharma until they sell their prices at an acceptable rate. MAGA
Good beginning. Our “deficit” concern has 2 sides. Income is one, spending is the other. Mr. Trumps revenue generating actions are working just fine. It is the spending side that must come into balance with our revenues. This is elementary school learning! “If you don’t have money, you can’t purchase stuff”. Obviously, politicians, mostly Liberals, have “legislated” myriad programs, handouts, and freebies for a multitude of special interest groups; we cannot afford this broad safety net for the many undeserved recipients. We will care for those IN NEED, and we have PLENTY of money to do that! Here’s what’s going on: The more undeserved recipients we have, the more “administration” (Gov’t employee’s) we need. The more Gov’t employee’s we have, the more big buildings in high-rent areas, we have. The more of all these budget-eating expenses we have, the less money there is to deal with the deserved recipients. Why is this so hard to agree with? We need to live within our means, that’s all!!
Here are a few savings: eliminate the DEA, Department of Education and EPA. That ought to free up a few dollars.