A Bi-Partisan Balanced Budget Plan
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House and Senate budget conferees have begun meeting in an attempt to head off another potential government shutdown when the latest continuing resolution expires, on January 15. In theory, the committee is supposed to report no later than December 13, but few on Capitol Hill expect them to come up with a deal by that deadline. As usual, the two parties are at loggerheads over taxes and spending, says Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
Tanner lays out a plan that balances the budget without tax increases and reduces our dangerously high debt burden, by cutting $3 trillion over the next 10 years. It builds on good ideas from both Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, to expand individual freedom and reduce the burden of government.
– Trim the Intelligence Budget.
– End the Drug War.
– Reform Social Security.
– Stop Subsidizing State Governments, Especially for Education.
– Reform and Reduce Welfare.
– Reform Medicare.
Tanner also recommends ending U.S. military outreach, which would save at least $200 billion, and block-granting Medicaid, which would save $760 billion if the grants’ growth was limited to 5 percent a year.
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