Trump Seeks Sharp Increases In Military Spending, "Drastic Cuts" To State Department, EPA

Zero Hedge ^ | 02/27/17 | Tyler Durden

[Enlightened1]

As part of his proposed budget, President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a spending plan for the coming fiscal year that includes sharp increases in Defense Department spending and "drastic cuts" to domestic agencies such as the State Department, the EPA and other non-defense programs, so that he can keep his promise to leave Social Security and Medicare alone, according to four senior administration officials cited by the NYT. The budget outline will be the first move in a campaign this week to reset the narrative of Mr. Trump’s turmoil-tossed White House.

Coming one day before delivering his high-stakes "State of the Union" address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, Trump will demand a budget with tens of billions of dollars in reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency and State Department, administration officials reported. The NYT adds that social safety net programs, aside from the big entitlement programs for retirees, would also be hit hard. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking on Fox News earlier on Sunday, said Trump's budget would not seek cuts in federal social programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

While preliminary budget outlines tend to be little-noticed administrative exercises, the first step in negotiations between the White House and federal agencies that usually shave the sharpest edges off the initial request, this plan, a product of a collaboration between the Office of Management and Budget director, Mick Mulvaney; the National Economic Council director, Gary Cohn; and the White House chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, is intended to make a big splash for a president eager to show that he is a man of action.

Resistance from federal agencies could ease some of the deepest cuts in the initial plan before a final budget request is even sent to Congress.

[Enlightened1]

BOOM!

The Leftist and the Globalists will go crazy! Haha!

Love it!

[Degaston]

Unless Trump/Sessions does something to actually solve the Medicare/Medicaid problem then we go over the fiscal cliff during Trump’s first term.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231865

“... There are two ways to cut Medicare and Medicaid: The first is to screw everyone while the second is to enforce the law and start locking up health care providers, executives and pharma for anti-trust violations that embody law on the books for over 100 years.

Trump has now proved he is going to do neither, despite it being fact that the latter not only doesn’t require Congressional consent (since the law already exists) Congress can’t stop him from doing so either (since the Executive is exclusively entrusted with enforcing law under the Constitution.)

Not only has Trump been completely silent on the anti-trust issue (and I remind you, for those who think there isn’t one there are now lawsuits and even Racketeering allegations that have been filed in this regard by the states and private parties) his Treasury Secretary has now disavowed any sort of cost control in that regard at all ....”

[Sybeck1]

Good, except we don’t need any $300 toilet seats etc.

[knarf]

I think this is a very fair trade.

Remember (even a Trump) government will not easily give up any money per se', but will re-route what is already in play.

The wall, f'rinstance is already mostly paid for by previous Congressional allocations. If they claim they don't have the money, I'm expecting Trump to bring down the hammer and expose the thieves and hopefully prosecute the sumbitches.

[Enlightened1]

The toilet seats and hammers were not $300....

All the extra money was going to other secret programs.

[gibsonguy]

Looks like they still haven’t stopped the leaks. They’re getting smarter by not using specific numbers but now they have 2 days to trash Trump’s proposals before he says them.

[Trod Upon]

Mistake. We need deep cuts across the board. Defense needs rationalization and reallocation, not more money down the hole.

[vette6387]

“Meanwhile, the State Department’s budget could be cut by as much as 30%, which would force a major restructuring of the department and elimination of programs. “

Oh be still my heart! And I just hope that our foreign aid (aka trying to buy off our enemies) is cut to the bare bone in that process.

[WENDLE]

The main thing I want to hear from the President is that he will Veto any debt ceiling increase March 15th. ZERO. It is time to pay the piper. In order to get the things we want we will have to cut bureaucracy with a meat clever. Also welfare and we need people to work in community service for welfare payments. This will save $100s of billions as we replace dead wood bureaucrats with community service from welfare recipients that are able bodied and can work. This will force millions into the work force and off the dole . Now we have tax payers— not tax takers and we can then get our tax cuts and build up our military. MAKE America work again!

[vette6387]

“Trump has now proved he is going to do neither”

How do you know that? For peet’s sake, he’s only been in office for little over a month and yet “you know” he’s not going to do anything about waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare. Maybe you should contact “the psychic friends network” and arrange to get people to pay you for your sage knowledge and advice.

[SandRat]

I LIKE THAT!!!

[Liz]

Pres Trump Seeks "Drastic Cuts" To State Department......

Trump needs to root out the Clinton-era corruption in the State Dept.

Hillary AND Obama used the State Dept's Millenium Challenge Corporation to milk millions for cronies and pet projects:

<><> Hillary gave millions to cronies Sid Blumenthal, Cheyl Mills and others for something called Symbion Poer In Africa.

<><>Obama gave Michele 100 million tax dollars "to teach Muslim girls in Morocco".... a sum to be held by and administered by the Obama Foundation.

<><> Hillary left State / the contractors' fund 6 billion dollars short.

cont

[Liz]

cont

I would bet good money that then-Secy Hillary put all her people on the State Dept payroll before she exited.

Taxpayers demand to know if Huma and the rest of the Hillary factotums are still on the govt payroll (perhaps as no-show State Dept govt contractors), still cashing multiple US govt checks, still receiving classified info, getting all the tax-paid perks they can dream up.

================================================

Taxpayers demand to know if Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, Sidney Blumenthal, John Podesta, Jennifer Palmieri, Heather Samuelson, and other Clinton cronies are STILL listed as State Dept employees---perhaps as contractors--and are still receiving classified mail and govt paychecks.

Note Brian Pagliano---Hillary's personal IT---left her employ then surfaced on the public payroll as a State Dept contractor.

======================================

It's an old bureaucratic trick for a politician to hand-pick people and put them on the public payroll long after you think they're gone......perhaps buried in the list of no-show State Dept "contractors."

Taxpayers demand to know who else among the Clinton cronies are cashing US govt paychecks?

<><> Hillary?

<><> Bill Clinton?

<><> Huma Abedin?

<><> Anthony Weiner?

<><> Cheryl Mills?

<><> Cheryl mills' live-in David Domenici?

<><> unemployed Chelsea Clinton?

<><> Chelsea's unemployed husband?

<><> Heather Samuelson?

<><> Sidney Blumenthal?

<><> John Podesta?

<><> Jennifer Palmieri?

========================================

CONTACT CONGRESS HERE: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Demand Congress send you all available information on individuals connected to Hillary still cashing US govt paychecks. In light of the $6 billion missing from the contractor fund when Hillary exited, taxpayers demand to know who is listed as a State Dept contractor.

Demand to know if Huma, Cheryl Mills and the rest on the list are still presenting vouchers, getting perks.....and perhaps, getting classified information to sell.

Demand Congress secure all the documents Hillary's State Dept submitted and the number of her staff still listed on several govt payrolls. emand to see all the documents Hillary's State Dept submitted and the number of her staff still listed on several govt payrolls.

[kabar]

There are two ways to cut Medicare and Medicaid: The first is to screw everyone while the second is to enforce the law and start locking up health care providers, executives and pharma for anti-trust violations that embody law on the books for over 100 years.

Trump has now proved he is going to do neither, despite it being fact that the latter not only doesn’t require Congressional consent (since the law already exists) Congress can’t stop him from doing so either (since the Executive is exclusively entrusted with enforcing law under the Constitution.)

Both Medicare and SS are unsustainable actuarially as currently structured. They are pay as you go programs with today's workers paying for today's retirees. In 1950 there were 16 workers for every reitree; today, there are less than three; and by 2030 there will be just two workers for every retiree.

The only way Medicare and SS can be made sustainable is to either decrease benefits or increase taxes or some combination thereof. We have 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day for the next 20 years. The population over 65 will double by 2030.

Cutting the budgets of EPA, State Department, etc will not save these entitlement programs. Over two-thirds of the budget are dedicated to the entitlement programs and debt servicing costs. Our aging population will increase that percentage of the budget for entitlement programs unless we reform the programs.

Trump is smart not to take the lead on entitlement reform. Both parties must take responsibility for reform. The Dems will attack the Reps politically if they initiate reform actions using their old playbook that the Reps want to take away Medicare and SS from the elderly. Trump outsmarted the Dems during the campaign saying he wanted to preserve both programs and not cut benefits.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

That’s an old wives tale. The reason those toilets costed so much is because they’re being utilized in areas where a conventional toilet won’t fit or work.

[Drew68]

Move the EPA to a desk in the closet. Take away their red stapler.

[PeterPrinciple]

Resistance from federal agencies could ease some of the deepest cuts in the initial plan before a final budget request is even sent to Congress.

---

Resistance?

[kabar]

The State Department's budget (minus USAID) is about $15 billion. USAID's and other foreign operations including foreign aid is about $35 billion. A 30% cut to the State Department budget of $50 billion amounts to $15 billion. We are running deficits that are over $500 billion and increasing annually to go back up again over $1 trillion.

Unless you reform the main drivers of our debt, the entitlement programs, there is no way that savings effected from the rest of the government can offset the increase in entitlement programs.

[Degaston]

Trump tweets about all sorts of topics. But why doesn’t he ever tweet about the one topic that is going to push the US government over the fiscal cliff more than any other? The federal government spends 37% of its budget on health care programs and this cost has been growing at an average rate of 9% per annum. Seven years into the “recovery” the federal debt total grew 1.4 trillion. Usually we see a recession start before seven years so we are overdue for one. And during the downcycle we see federal revenues collapse while federal outlays skyrocket which means that the debt will go up even much more. Why it all hasn’t imploded yet is because we’re in a US Treasuries bubble just like we had the dotCom bubble of 1998-2000 and real estate bubble of 2004-2006. This bubble is lasting longer thanks to the herculean efforts of the Federal Reserve to keep the bubble brewing. But when it pops then watch out :( However if Trump will “drain the swamp” on runaway racketeering, price fixing, monopolies, and other forms of fraud by med-pharma-insurance providers then we have a chance to reign in the risks from being 100% that we go over the “fiscal cliff”.

[dp0622]

Wouldn’t 600 Billion used correctly do the trick?