THE Budget Act of 1921 requires the president to propose a budget, but Congress holds the power of the purse. Since Mick Mulvaney, the budget director, sketched out the Trump administration’s proposal in February, it has been clear that lawmakers would end up rewriting it. Mr Mulvaney wants immediate deep cuts across government that are unpalatable even to many Republicans. The fleshed-out version of the budget, released on May 23rd, features a new promise: to eliminate the budget deficit within ten years.
The president wants to leave Medicare, health insurance for the old, and Social Security (public pensions) untouched. As a result, achieving budget balance requires an unimaginably deep cut to so-called “non-defence discretionary” spending, which includes things like education, scientific research and diplomacy. This part of the budget would shrink by 41%, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Centre for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think-tank....Continue reading
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