Politics: Showtime

Don Boudreaux pulled back the curtains that hide the "wizard." When things are given proper perspective it becomes obvious how shallow the politicians of Washington are. The example here is Obama's call to cut $100 million from the budget. See the original post here.

...President Obama today "challenged" his cabinet to "cut the budget by $100 million" ... What courage. A President who proclaims the importance of making "hard choices" calls upon his government to trim away a whopping one thirty-six-thousandth of its projected expeditures for the year - or, alternatively reckoned, one twelve-thousandth of its projected budget deficit.

To put this budget "cut" in perspective, suppose that the typical American family, earning $50,000 annually, plans this year to run a budget deficit proportionate to the deficit that Uncle Sam will run. Such a family would plan to spend $75,000. Now suppose that this family, seeking to signal its faux-commitment to financial prudence, promises spending cuts equal, in proportion to its budget, to the cuts announced by Mr. Obama.

This family would declare - surely with much fanfare - that it will reduce its planned expenditures for the year by $2.08! Perhaps it might promise to survive the year with one less gallon of gasoline or with one less cup of coffee.

Who would take such a gesture to be anything other than audaciously insulting sarcasm by the chronically irresponsible?

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