What Federal Spending to Cut?
Federal government spending is rising, deficits are chronic, and debt is reaching dangerous levels. Growing spending and debt are undermining the economy and may push the nation into a crisis. The solution is cutting and eliminating programs in every federal department.
I have posted a new plan at DownsizingGovernment.org that would reduce spending by almost one‐quarter and balance the budget within a decade. The cuts compliment the ones proposed by President Trump in his 2018 budget.
Federal spending cuts would spur economic growth by shifting resources from lower‐valued government activities to higher‐valued private ones. Indeed, much federal spending is not just low value, it actively distorts markets and thus reduces overall income levels.
Cuts would expand personal freedom by giving people more control over their lives and by reducing the top‐down controls that come with federal spending activities.
Liberals see government spending cuts as evil, while conservatives may see them as a necessary evil. Actually, spending cuts would positively benefit society.
From the full list of proposed cuts, these are my favorites:
- End farm subsidies and rural subsidies.
- End K-12 school subsidies.
- End HUD, including rental and public housing subsidies.
- End urban transit subsidies.
- End the ACA.
- Reduce Social Security growth by indexing initial benefits to prices.
- Raise Medicare cost sharing to increase skin in the game.
- Block grant Medicaid to encourage states to find savings.
- Privatize TVA, the PMAs, USPS, Amtrak, and air traffic control.
See the full plan here.
