Cantor’s Clever Cutting Gimmick
Republican Congressman and big-brain Eric Cantor has an interesting idea working at his web site. It’s called YouCut and it’s a first shot as getting voters involved in cutting the size of our Brobdingangian federal government back to reasonable levels.
Here’s how it works. Cantor has put five programs on the block. You can vote for one of them on the web or via text message, and the one that gets the most votes will become the focus of Cantor’s budget-cutting attention. As a gimmick, it has its limitations but it’s a pretty slick idea nonetheless.
Make no mistake, this isn’t a huge program — the cuts could be as small as $260 million over five years or as large as $2.5 billion a year — but it’s an honest start. It has the great benefit of getting voters used to participating in the budget process again. Voter buy-in will be criticial when conservatives start going after far more popular programs like Social Security and Medicare, which will have to taste the axe very soon.
So, sure, YouCut is a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick with a necessary purpose and, as such, I think we should pay it some attention. If gimmicks help people get more involved in saving America from the same fate as Greece, then I’ll take all the gimmicks Cantor wants to throw at us.
Other Posts of Interest:
- The Dems Cant Even Bring Their Convention In on Budget
- Conservatives Strike Back?
- Another Sunday Show, Another Media Fantasy
Category: The Economy and Your Money, The Republican Minority
All of the programs Cantor has listed are worthy of ending up on the chopping block. It's just too bad Cantor didn't allow us to vote repeatedly–you know, the way they vote in Chicago.
as small as $260 million over five years? This reminds me of Everett Dirkson's crack: A million here, a million there, and sooner or later it adds up to real money. Only now The 1 has us getting used to the T word.
How's this? If they would cut, cut, not reduce the rate of expansion, $5 from any program and not add it back in someplace else it would be an earth-shaking accomplishment.
The planet would begin to heal, the oceans recedePeople might get the sense that they were no longer fighting with the Tar Baby.[...] good blog etiquette to provide a link and have people go there to see whatever it is. OK. Sundries Shack. [...]