Deficit reduction, is it really possible?

I think freezing federal pay is about as effective as halting earmarks.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-30/obama…

What do you think about how Washington is handling our deficit problem? Do you think we should follow Europe into austerity or is it too soon for that? Since most of us on this site will have to repay our country's spewing debt, I assume most here are 30 and under, what is your suggested course of action?

 

I'm all for cutting spending, so I don't need to explain my stance on health care. Slashing government jobs and shrinking the military industrial complex are all sound ideas, but it seems that Washington is never going to let that happen. Just thinking out loud here.

 
Best Response

It's not merely about the effectiveness of each cut. A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there--it all adds up. If there is a program that is a failure or that is counterproductive, then it should be cut or drastically reduced (and there are all kinds within departments and even departments themselves) no matter what the fiscal position of the country looks like. People will say, well, halting gov't employee pay increases is only a drop in the bucket. But I say, what's the alternative? Giving them a 6% annual pay increase while the nation is steaming toward bankruptcy? Everyone needs to take a haircut.

But of course, if Democrats were willing to reform the entitlement system in America, dink and dunk cuts would be unnecessary because New Deal and Great Society programs are what's bankrupting America.

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