We’ll never solve the deficit problem with these cuts

Janice Herr, Las Vegas

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Watching Congress trying to cut the federal deficit reminds me of when my husband and I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. To save weight, we cut labels off the tea bags. We saved a fraction of an ounce, but if we had faced reality, we could have saved many pounds by replacing our heavy wooden backpacks and kapok sleeping bags.

Discretionary spending is $520 billion for the year (13 percent of the federal budget), and Congress is trying to solve our deficit problem by cutting parts of it. If they cut the entire amount, it would still leave a deficit. This is a TBL (tea bag label) solution.

Social Security overpayments helped balance the budget after the George W. Bush tax cuts, and now the Republicans want to milk this cash cow again. It has been suggested Social Security benefits should be cut, but since Social Security has paid in $2.5 trillion more than it has paid out; it’s never been part of the problem. Cutting here is another TBL solution.

The federal government has to get real about the federal deficit because these TBL cuts are fairy tales. After two unfunded wars, an unfunded tax cut, and a deep recession, we’ll never solve the deficit problem without more income.