EDITORIAL: Citizens Against Government Waste offers a roadmap for fiscal sanity
Whenever fiscal hawks argue the government should make do with less, they are met with the question: What can we possibly afford to cut? The answer is quite a lot.
Last week, Citizens Against Government Waste published its 2017 version of “Prime Cuts,” a list of recommendations for reducing our $20 trillion debt. The nonpartisan organization offers 607 recommendations that would save taxpayers $336.2 billion in the first year and $2.3 trillion over five years.
The report addresses virtually every area of federal spending, including defense. Here are two proposals:
■ Cutting improper Medicare payments by 50 percent in five years would save taxpayers $20.6 billion .
■ The Market Access Program is supposed to help U.S. agricultural producers promote their products overseas. Instead, CAGW notes, it serves as little more than “a corporate welfare program that funnels millions of dollars to large, profitable corporations.” Eliminating it would save taxpayers nearly $1 billion over five years.
Before Beltway politicians decide to take even more of our money, they should take a closer look at how to do a better job with the money we already give them. This report is a great place to start.
