President’s Budget “Cuts” Should Go Towards Deficit Reduction Rather than New Spending

Brian Riedl / May 07, 2009

President Obama today released a list of 121 proposed program terminations and reductions, at a savings of $17 billion. It is important for any president to get acclimated to the idea of streamlining government, and this exercise can be the first step. Many of the programs that President Obama has asked to eliminate – particularly in transportation, education, and health – are functions best left to state and local governments anyway.

One concern, however, is that defense accounts for nearly half the cuts even though it constitutes only 20 percent of all federal spending. The Defense Department can certainly be wasteful and should not be spared from any exercise in cleaning up government. At the same time, President Obama should explain that the disproportionate targeting of defense is not ideological, and he should employ similar diligence when examining the other 80 percent of federal spending. Two other important observations should be noted: (more…)