I was fascinated by this remark from House Budget Committee member Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC):
Norman tells Fox that the $500 billion proposal in cuts is “laughable,” adding that he and other conservatives were “shocked it was that low.”
He wants a budget which slashes spending between $2 and $5 trillion.
“We’ve got a math problem. We’ve got to get a resolution we need which has a number which can get through committee and get through the floor.”
My bold.
How much do we spend a year, all told?
The federal government spends money on a variety of goods, programs, and services to support the American public and pay interest incurred from borrowing. In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the government spent $6.75 trillion, which was more than it collected (revenue), resulting in a deficit. [Treasury.gov]
On the high end, that’s a near-75% cut.
It’d be fair to bemoan this sort of cutting as a disaster, but I’m more interested in the ex post facto prediction I should have made for this, for this is actually unsurprising.
Long-term readers will recall my observation that when voters are trained to disregard such criteria as competency, ability to compromise, and humility, the candidates will naturally turn to policy extremism to win votes. Extremism is another word, in this case, for purity, the purity of arrogance.
The more pure you can be, the more you can shine with that old-fashioned light of goodness.
Or so goes the informal, common theory of those sure that the divine, or justice, depending on your point of metaphorical origin.
So here we are with the budget fanatics, those who think we spend too much, and now they’ll be vying to be the most pure with the biggest cuts. With no compromise. Or perhaps not. Maybe Rep Norman has cut off everyone at the knees.
In any case, I expect this budget process will get all locked up like an engine with sand in it. Fanatics can’t entertain the notion that they’re wrong, and so….
