The Obama administration has issued a modest list of budget cuts for programs that are “duplicative” and “ineffective.”


That’s a good start for spending reforms, but a more substantial way to end “duplication” would be to terminate all $500 billion of federal subsidies sent to state governments each year, which duplicate properly state‐​level activities such as highway building.


Further, cutting some “ineffective” programs ignores the broader question of whether programs represent just and legitimate uses of government power. We can make farm subsidies more “effective,” for example, but that does not make it ethical to transfer $20 billion each year from hard‐​working taxpayers to often high‐​income farm businesses.


I’d like to see the Obama administration attack Washington’s overspending problem in a more dramatic and fundamental way.


For now, here’s a great place to start: