President Clinton's 1993 Economic Plan included $255 billion in spending cuts over five years. — BC
From 1998 to 2001, the federal government ran a budget surplus, meaning revenues exceeded expenditures. This was the first time the U.S. had a balanced budget since 1969. Several factors contributed to this:
*Economic Growth – The 1990s saw strong economic expansion, partly driven by technological advancements and the dot-com boom.
* Tax Increases & Spending Restraint – Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which raised taxes on higher-income earners and controlled government spending.
* Bipartisan Cooperation – In 1997, Clinton worked with the Republican-controlled Congress to pass the Balanced Budget Act, which further limited spending.
* Defense Cuts & Welfare Reform – Post-Cold War defense spending reductions and welfare reform measures helped reduce expenditures.
By 2000, the U.S. had a budget surplus of about $236 billion, the largest surplus in U.S. history at that time. However, these surpluses did not last long, as tax cuts, increased military spending, and economic downturns in the early 2000s led to deficits again.
In what sense, derives from a mandate? — Wayfarer
Why do you think he wants Greenland and Canada? — frank
One of Trump's campaign promises was to address the federal debt. Musk and others are the ones he put on that job. — Leontiskos
Canada is a fine place, and may it continue as a sovereign nation forever. Even so, I don't quite see Canada as the escape hatch for anyone's existential threat. Even less so Greenland. Besides, Trump and his allies will be dead long before much more ice melts off of Greenland's chilly shores. — BC
What in the WW2 example is usually forgotten is that huge change that happened of one spending totally ending, fighting the war, that opened another type of spending and demand. For example the US autoindustry stopped making cars for the public and transfered everything to making tanks actually earlier than Nazi Germany did such move! Private demand was curbed and limited, all that debt that people willingly bought war bonds went to military production of bombs and tanks. Which then totally ended once the war was over, and the millions in the armed forces went back to civilian life.Can this be done, difficult as it is? Sure -- it just won't be done, in all likelihood. — BC
I'm sort of surprised to see Australians with a bookmark in the New York Times expressing such strong opinions on U.S. politics. — Leontiskos
Senator Rubio, who is now the acting head of USAID — Leontiskos
the idea that everything within USAID is being cut seems like scare-mongering. — Leontiskos
scare-mongering. — Leontiskos
Do we think that DOGE will go after enormously expensive health care spending, which first and foremost is expensive because corporations make profit from it? — ssu
Two of my grandchildren are American. Their father is a dual citizen. — Wayfarer
An illegal appointment. — Wayfarer
Or does it? Trump summarily fired a dozen Inspectors general 10 days ago. That also was illegal as each act requires approval by Congress and 30 days notice. — Wayfarer
So, question: do you support the right of Trump to act illegally in such cases, and the right of the Executive to ignore Congress and established law? — Wayfarer
Put yourself in the position of a USAID staffer — Wayfarer
The President appoints the administrator of USAID (and other executive agencies). Congress approves the appointment. — Leontiskos
The Trump administration said today that it is pulling almost all US Agency for International Development (USAID) workers off the job and out of the field worldwide, moving to all but end the agency's six-decade mission overseas that fought starvation, funded education and worked to end epidemics.
The administration notified USAID workers in emails and a notice posted online, the latest in a steady dismantling of the aid agency by returning political appointees from President Donald Trump's first term and billionaire Elon Musk's government-efficiency teams who call much of the spending on programs overseas wasteful.
The order takes effect just before midnight on Friday and gives direct hires of the agency overseas – many of whom have been frantically packing up households in expectation of layoffs – 30 days to return home unless they are deemed essential. — Channel 9 Sydney 5th Feb
Trump summarily fired a dozen Inspectors general 10 days ago. That also was illegal as each act requires approval by Congress and 30 days notice.
— Wayfarer
Are you just making things up? — Leontiskos
A recent amendment to the Inspector General Act, the Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022 (Title LII, Subtitle A), changed the notice provision to require a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for the removal. It also narrowed the president’s options under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), for replacing a terminated IG. The 2022 law was mainly a response to Trump’s first-term IG firings and manipulations of the IG system. It was one of very few executive branch reforms during the Biden administration.
The Friday IG terminations were announced in emails from Sergio Gor, the White House Director of Presidential Personnel. Gor said the removals were immediate and reflected “changing priorities.”
If the American people didn't want cuts they shouldn't have asked for them. — Leontiskos
That's why independent inspector generals would be a problem, as you said.But that is not what is happening. This is like the US equivalent of Krystalnacht. — Wayfarer
his job derives from a mandate — Leontiskos
But Rubio was confirmed as Secretary of State. — Wayfarer
As an official component of U.S. foreign policy, USAID operates subject to the guidance of the president, secretary of state, and the National Security Council. — USAID | Wikipedia
And you're OK with that? — Wayfarer
So, your opinion piece says one thing — Wayfarer
Right - cuts are perfectly understandable. Had the debate been had, USAID been informed that it was to be merged with State, staff told that it was happened and had a chance to respond and wind up operations, it wouldn't be a story, and I wouldn't be complaining about it. — Wayfarer
And the whole point of Inspectors General is that they're not political appointees — Wayfarer
Biden had more popular votes than Trump and a bigger mandate — BC
From what I have seen Musk did not do anything without approval from the White House. I mean, what is the objection, here? — Leontiskos
Andrew Natsios, who ran USAID under President George W. Bush and is a lifelong conservative Republican, calls such moves “illegal” and “outrageous.” What Musk and Rubio are doing “is criminal. They can’t abolish the aid program without a vote of Congress.” — Politico
Nothing like that can happen here where the debt is basically there to uphold present consumption. And sooner or later DOGE has to look at where the actual government spending is, which isn't USAID.
Do we think that DOGE will go after enormously expensive health care spending, which first and foremost is expensive because corporations make profit from it? — ssu
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