$500 Billion Spending/Tax Cut Proposal - Rand Paul

[WhiskeyGirl]

A Modest $500 Billion Proposal

My spending cuts would keep 85% of government funding and not touch Social Security or Medicare.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, this will be the third consecutive year in which the federal government is running a deficit near or greater than $1 trillion. The solution to the government's fiscal crisis must begin by cutting spending in all areas, particularly in those that can be better run at the state or local level. Last month I introduced legislation to do just that. And though it seems extreme to some—containing over $500 billion in spending cuts enacted over one year—it is a necessary first step toward ending our fiscal crisis.

My proposal would first roll back almost all federal spending to 2008 levels, then initiate reductions at various levels nearly across the board. Cuts to the Departments of Agriculture and Transportation would create over $42 billion in savings each, while cuts to the Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban Development would save about $50 billion each. Removing education from the federal government's jurisdiction would create almost $80 billion in savings alone. Add to that my proposed reductions in international aid, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and other federal agencies, and we arrive at over $500 billion.

My proposal, not surprisingly, has been greeted skeptically in Washington, where serious spending cuts are a rarity. But it is a modest proposal when measured against the size of our mounting debt. It would keep 85% of our government funding in place and not touch Social Security or Medicare. But by reducing wasteful spending and shuttering departments that are beyond the constitutional role of the federal government, such as the Department of Education, we can cut nearly 40% of our projected deficit and at the same time remove thousands of big-government bureaucrats who stand in the way of efficiency.

Read more here - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703956604576110431794539522.html

[WhiskeyGirl]

Paul recently said to Neil Cavuto, "What we need to do is embrace this opportunity to go in and say, 'Here are the spending cuts, America; we're willing to step up and we will balance the budget - before it's too late.'"  For your perusal: Ron Paul's full 12 page budget plan,including the cuts.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Rand Paul's $500 billion spending cut has cornered GOP senior senators (video) - Dallas Political Buzz | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-dallas/rand-paul-s-500-billion-spending-cut-has-cornered-gop-senior-senators-video#ixzz1DYhhjAxF

here is the proposal - http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2011/01/rand-pauls-plan-to-immediately-slash-half-a-trillion-in-spending.php?page=1