President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference on the White House ... more >c Get rid of the Community Development Block Grant Program: It was set up to help depressed communities, but under its expanded formula, more than 75 percent of U.S. communities are eligible and get money from this program, including hundreds of upper-income communities from Palo Alto, Calif., to Greenwich, Conn. Savings: $2.95 billion.
c Cut the government’s bloated travel budget to half of its 2000 level. Savings: $5.8 billion.
c Privatize the money-losing Amtrak passenger railroad. Savings: $878 million.
c Eliminate the Economic Development Administration. Its grants are supposed to revive depressed communities and create jobs, but numerous studies show it’s a failure. Savings: $287 million.
Mr. Reidl’s full list is an eye-opener that shows how easy it is to get to $100 billion. There are hundreds of places to make deep, permanent budget cuts that, with the help of a growing economy, would reduce the deficit faster than most people expect.
As for much larger entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security, it will take longer to work out a politically viable reform plan - perhaps with the help of a well-balanced, bipartisan commission that can muster a majority in Congress. It won’t be easy, but it can be done.
Donald Lambro is a syndicated columnist and former chief political correspondent for The Washington Times.
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By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
