When Federal Interest Payments Exceed the Military Budget: Time to Stop Defending Rest of the World

When confronted with the coming red ink tsunami, members of the War Lobby blame entitlements for bloating the budget. There is no problem, they suggest, that could not be solved by slashing Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and assorted other “mandatory” social programs. After all, the bulk of the budget is accounted for by those three plus interest and the military. (Domestic discretionary outlays, currently the most convenient budget target, make up only 16 percent of total federal spending.)

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Alas, in coming years even Ernst might find it hard to convince residents of assisted living centers that their benefits should be cut to allow the Europeans to continue expanding their welfare states.

- rest at When Federal Interest Payments Come To Exceed the Military Budget: Time to Stop Defending the Rest of the World | Cato Institute