Moderate Republicans have beaten back an effort to cut federal spending by $54 billion, partly because the proposed cuts would have hurt poor Americans. However, it is both possible and desirable to cut federal spending that benefits special interests. Although the following cuts would be very difficult for politicians to support, we should demand them:<\/p>\n
Close the Commerce Department (too much corporate welfare), retaining the Bureau of the Census, the Patent Office, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as independent agencies … save $4.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Cut federal highway aid in half … save $17.3 billion.<\/p>\n
Close the Small Business Administration (too much corporate welfare), preserving only “direct disaster loans” … save $20 billion.<\/p>\n
Cut “commodities and international” spending from the Agriculture Department budget; also cut farm loans … save $6.3 billion<\/p>\n
Cut the NASA budget by $6 billion by narrowing the agency’s mission to research using unmanned spacecraft<\/p>\n