Trump transition team preparing budget featuring massive federal spending cuts

[Krugminator2]

The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump has been quietly putting together an aggressive budget over the last couple months that reportedly features massive cuts to federal agencies that have long been criticized by conservatives as examples of frivolous government spending. The budget team for Trump’s transition effort has been headed by two longtime conservative spending hawks — Russ Vought, who has a reputation for ruffling moderate Republican feathers during his time at the conservative Heritage Foundation, and John Gray, a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

According to The Hill (http://thehill.com/policy/finance/314991-trump-team-prepares-dramatic-cuts), the budget in question includes provisions that have long been on conservative wish lists, including privatization of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and major cuts to federal programs, especially in the departments of Commerce and Energy. The estimated total reduction in spending for the proposed budget is expected to top $10 trillion over 10 years.http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/01/19/trump-transition-team-preparing-budget-featuring-massive-federal-spending-cuts/

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/314991-trump-team-prepares-dramatic-cuts

I will believe these cuts when I see them. I did notice a few weeks back Rand's staffer John Gray met with Trump. Gray was the person who drew up Rand's original budgets.

It is pretty interesting choice to have Mulvaney as budget director and couple of hardcore staffers drawing up Trump's budget. I wonder who in Trump's orbit is putting these people on his staff.

[Origanalist]

It sounds good, but my guess is whatever cuts are made will be more than offset by new spending. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

[Zippyjuan]

According to The Hill, the budget in question includes provisions that have long been on conservative wish lists, including privatization of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and major cuts to federal programs, especially in the departments of Commerce and Energy. The estimated total reduction in spending for the proposed budget is expected to top $10 trillion over 10 years.

Numbers already don't add up without even seeing the details- if taken as reductions in current levels of spending. Estimated savings $10 trillion over ten years? That averages $1 trillion a year. Not touching defense, Social Security, Medicare/ Medicaid?

Total discretionary spending (which included the Department of Defense but not Social Security and Medicare/ Medicaid) is only about $1 trillion for 2017. So cut 100% of all agencies and 100% of the Department of Defense (54% of that part of the budget) and he can do it. http://federal-budget.insidegov.com/l/120/2017-Estimate Leave Defense alone (and he wants to spend even more on that) and you have a maximum of about $400 billion you can cut- if you cut everything. Including Veterans Benefits (he want to raise those) and Homeland Security (also wants to spend more there). Cutting Public Broadcasting System won't get you very far at all. That might pay for his Wall. And don't forget his tax cuts. Those will add to the deficit.

Let's see him cut over $1 trillion from this:

https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/pres_budg_disc_spending_pie.png

[Dr.No.]

Now, don't go and bring facts into the argument!

[Brian4Liberty]

Now, don't go and bring facts into the argument!

Yeah, Zippy is the King of Facts, half of them false, but he always has a chart to go with them, so they must be legit.

[euphemia]

I believe they have already said BTF is done. That's the harbinger of things to come. All Trump's people understand how to read a budget. They have billions of dollars, so they really know how much that is, unlike Congress for whom the numbers are abstract.