DEMINT: Well, no, we’re not talking about cuts in Social Security. If we can just cut the administrative waste, we can cut hundreds of billions of dollars a year at the federal level. So-- before we start cutting-- I mean, we need to keep our promises to seniors, David. And cutting benefits to seniors is not on the table.DeMint has DeStilled the long-term Republican theory of government. It's simple: old Democratic programs good. New Democratic programs bad. Current Democratic initiatives socialism. Prior Democratic initiatives sacred.
Excuse me –let me grab a sip of water.
GREGORY: But then-- but where do you make the cuts? I mean, if you’re protecting everything for the-- the most potent political groups, like seniors, who go out and vote, where are you really gonna balance the budget?
DEMINT: Well, look at-- Paul Ryan’s roadmap to the future. We see a clear path to moving back to a balanced budget over time. Again, the plans are on the table. We don’t have to cut benefits for seniors. And we don’t need to cut Medicare. Like-- like the Democrats did in this big Obamacare bill. We can restore sanity in Washington without cutting any benefits to seniors or veterans.
Why not? They get cyclically reelected on this program. By the time Democratic initiatives become sacred cows, the electorate gives Democrats no credit for them. That's the future of the PPACA, assuming Republicans can't defy history and sabotage it.
There's always a perception that there's a huge amount of administrative waste in the federal gov't that can just be CUT OUT. But it's not true--I don't have the numbers, but the collective salaries of federal workers are a very small %age of the federal budget.
ReplyDelete