We’ve heard a lot, the past weeks, about budget “cuts”.  Those of us who can do basic arithmetic have noticed that mostly  the “cuts” are, at best, decreases in increase and, at worst, a bald-faced lie. The good news is that a number of credible sources have done the analysis to show that real cuts can be made and will improve government as well.

The cries of “you want grandma to eat dog food” have already begun. Well, sorry folks, when you are broke you have to quit spending. Our country is broke and we must quit spending. Americas have been  described as “Spending money we don’t have; on things we don’t need; to impress people who don’t care”. Our government is just representing the people. A good local example is the proposed Cobb County SPLOST which contains more wants than needs and, worse, takes on long-term costs. It’s got to stop.  That’s going to mean a bunch of gored oxen.

A bright spot was the new House members who stood up when Speaker Boehner “couldn’t find” the full $100M of promised cuts. And, to his credit, he listened. However, a lot of the heavy lifting in finding things the country doesn’t need has been done by the Heritage Foundation in “How to Cut $343 Billion from the Federal Budget“. Another set of ideas from CongressmanPaul Ryan is “A Roadmap for America“. The Cato Institute weighs in with “The State of State Subsidies“.

One last word about protecting your ox – the only people worried about cuts in government spending are those who depend on government spending. No one is forced to be dependent. Dependency is a result of decisions. Expecting your fellow Americans to pay for your bad decisions wrong in so many ways. With that said, the situation “is what it is” and we, as a nation, must find solutions which both pay off the debt and minimize the hardship.