As we slide towards the “fiscal cliff,” President Obama’s stance seems pretty clear: Americans want lots of stuff but shouldn’t have to pay for it. (It’s a position the GOP has also often taken.) A new education survey suggests the President’s position is politically smart.
A department-by-department guide to cutting the government's budget.
The Department of Agriculture administers large farm subsidy programs and runs the food stamp and school lunch programs.
The department will spend about $151 billion in 2012, or about $1,200 for every U.S. household. It employs 93,000 workers and operates more than 240 subsidy programs.
The Department of Transportation subsidizes and regulates highways, airports, air traffic control, urban transit, and passenger rail.
The department will spend $84 billion in 2012, or about $710 for every U.S. household. It employs 58,000 workers and operates 83 different subsidy programs.
The Department of Labor oversees unemployment insurance, provides training programs, and imposes an array of union and workplace regulations.
The department will spend about $127 billion in fiscal 2012, or $1,100 for every U.S. household. It employs more than 17,000 workers.
From the Downsizing Blog
The U.S. Postal Service vs. Greece
Postmaster General Michael Donahoe has occasionally remarked that the U.S. Postal Service will end up in a Greek-like crisis if Congress doesn’t allow it to reduce costs and operate with more flexibility. Michael Schuyler, now with the Tax Foundation, examines the analogy between Greece and the USPS in a paper that was released on Monday.
Two of a Kind
For all those who think that our deficit is caused by a dearth of revenue, consider this thought experiment. In 2012, the federal government will spend $3.56 trillion. Last week’s Powerball jackpot was a reported $587.5 million, the largest winning Powerball payout ever. In order to finance current spending, the federal government would have to hit that jackpot 6,570 times.
