TruthOut10
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- Dec 3, 2012
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"It Only Cuts 2%" Yes - All Of It From Only 1/3 Of The Budget, Which Is Why It's So Devastating
Let’s take a look at a common claim made by Republicans and then one program — Head Start — highlighted by the Obama administration. We will continue to dig into other claims later this week
“We’re only cutting 2.5 percent of the budget.”
Virtually all of the $85 billion in reductions are being made in the discretionary budget — which is only about 31 percent of federal spending. So this figure, cited by many Republicans, is based on the wrong-sized pie.
Discretionary spending must be funded year after year by Congress, whereas so-called mandatory programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and the like) are on automatic pilot unless Congress changes the law. The mandatory programs are largely untouched in the sequester — though Medicare providers must take a 2 percent haircut — even though projections show that mandatory programs are most responsible for the growth in spending.
In effect, that means one-third of the budget is carrying the burden of almost all of the cost reductions. And then on top of that, the cuts must be done in about half a year. Do the math — the percentages add up very quickly.
The Bipartisan Policy Center calculates that on the non-defense side, that translates into a reduction of 8 percent. Defense spending faces an even higher hurdle — 13 percent. Those numbers are significantly higher than just 2.5 percent.
Spin and counterspin in the sequester debate - The Washington Post
Let’s take a look at a common claim made by Republicans and then one program — Head Start — highlighted by the Obama administration. We will continue to dig into other claims later this week
“We’re only cutting 2.5 percent of the budget.”
Virtually all of the $85 billion in reductions are being made in the discretionary budget — which is only about 31 percent of federal spending. So this figure, cited by many Republicans, is based on the wrong-sized pie.
Discretionary spending must be funded year after year by Congress, whereas so-called mandatory programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and the like) are on automatic pilot unless Congress changes the law. The mandatory programs are largely untouched in the sequester — though Medicare providers must take a 2 percent haircut — even though projections show that mandatory programs are most responsible for the growth in spending.
In effect, that means one-third of the budget is carrying the burden of almost all of the cost reductions. And then on top of that, the cuts must be done in about half a year. Do the math — the percentages add up very quickly.
The Bipartisan Policy Center calculates that on the non-defense side, that translates into a reduction of 8 percent. Defense spending faces an even higher hurdle — 13 percent. Those numbers are significantly higher than just 2.5 percent.
Spin and counterspin in the sequester debate - The Washington Post
