What Real Spending Cuts Look Like

Conn Carroll / June 12, 2009

Last week, House Republicans identified a list of $69 billion worth of spending cuts over five years. This might sound good, but in actuality it spends 99% as much as President Obama this year, and 97% as much as the president over the next five years. At The Corner, Heritage fellow Brian Riedl lays out some more aggressive steps conservatives could take to control exploding Washington spending:

It’s easiest to start with the most blatant waste: $55 billion in annual program overpayments; $25 billion in unused federal property; $17 billion in annual earmarks; $123 billion for programs for which government auditors can find no evidence of success; and $140 billion in potential budget savings identified by the Congressional Budget Office.

They should then move onto large reforms, including: (more…)