These Are the Cuts We Asked For
Posted at 8 a.m. on March 5
Despite considerable debate over whether and how to replace the sequester cuts, Ross Douthat notes that these across-the-board spending cuts “are roughly what Americans of all political persuasions claim to want.”
“The top tax rate has gone back to Clinton-era levels, discretionary spending and military spending have each taken a big hit, and entitlements have been touched barely at all. The public may hate the process and the spectacle, but there’s a sense in which they’re getting exactly what they’re asking for.”
“This is bad news for conservatives trying to keep the government’s share of G.D.P. within historic norms, bad news for liberals who would prefer that the government do more than just deliver Social Security checks and Medicare reimbursements.”
