A.G. Gancarski
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott warns that free spending from the federal government must be offset by budget cuts down the road.
In an editorial for Fox Business, the first-term Republican Senator wrote that “if we want our country to survive and thrive and continue to be a beacon for freedom, prosperity and hope around the world, we’ll need to make tough choices after this crisis is over.”
Those tough choices, Scott adds, will include reaching consensus on “what programs are ‘must haves’ and what programs are ‘nice to haves’.”
“If it wasn’t clear before, it must be now: We can no longer afford many government programs that are simply nice to have,” Scott said.
“We’ll need to do more with less,” Scott added, urging the federal government devise “a plan to cut federal spending by at least the amount we spend during the crisis.”
“There is no other option,” Scott warned.
It is unclear whether the Republican Senate and the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives would be able to agree on the specifics of such a plan.
Scott, who voted for the federal coronavirus relief act, hasn’t been shy about pointing out allocations he’d like to see stripped.
Last month, he echoed the President’s call to have Harvard University pay back nearly $9 million it received via the federal CARES Act, before going further and calling for an end to the educational “slush fund” created by the $2.2 trillion economic rescue package.
He also sought to have the President move to cut $25 million for the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, $88 million to the Peace Corps for “evacuating volunteers and U.S. direct hires from overseas,” and $30.8 billion to the Department of Education for an “Education Stabilization Fund.” As well, he like to see $75 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for Humanities, Corporation for Public Broadcasting cut.
However, the kinds of cuts needed to create federal budget surpluses to offset the current spending spree from D.C. would go far beyond these conservative wish list items.
The budget deficit could be as high as $4 trillion this year.
6 comments
John
May 4, 2020 at 11:52 am
Maybe he should start looking at cutting corporate welfare such as oil subsidies. Unless Dems take back the Senate, republicans will be looking to cut Social Security and Medicare.
John Clark
May 4, 2020 at 7:07 pm
What oil subsidies?
Amy Roberts
May 4, 2020 at 11:57 am
We need to look at taking away the last tax rates for the top 1% first.
Bill Newton
May 4, 2020 at 3:10 pm
Scott knows nothing about economics since his background is theft and fraud, so it’s no surprise he completely misunderstands this issue. He might be surprised to learn the US budget will grow in the next decades. It will grow a lot. It will grow so much that those big debts will look very small. UNLESS, Sen. You Can’t Catch Me Rick Scott is able to cut away all the things that make America great, as he proposes, then he’ll reduce growth and we’ll have very painful austerity. He wants everyone else to suffer because he’s the richest SOB in Congress and he doesn’t feel a thing. Watching other people suffer seems to be his main entertainment.
BlueHeron
May 4, 2020 at 9:14 pm
Just more red meat and “performing” for a party of one? US Senator isn’t challenging, or lucrative enough? Is he gunning for a new job? Perhaps HHS? That would be awesome. He knows a lot about that subject.
… “a plan to cut federal spending by at least the amount we spend during the crisis.”
That is trillions of dollars and the federal spending is likely not over.
We have massive debt and the deficit is epic. A bit of “insomnia” on
how we got there, huh. Before the pandemic, I mean.
He is a hateful, awful, criminal who is far too extreme for the country and for
even his own party writ large.
Harold Finch
May 4, 2020 at 10:13 pm
He is absoluitely right!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comments are closed.