In truth, the “discretionary budget,” the expenditures controlled annually by Congress, which includes all debt interest payments and defense spending, is less than 25 percent of overall expenditures – and shrinking. The real driver of federal deficits is mandatory, programmatic spending. These are the expenditures Congress doesn’t address on an annual basis. They happen whether or not Congress acts.
US NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: SEE HOW MUCH THE GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS COST
The mandatory, programmatic expenditures are popular transfer payments, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans, and ObamaCare and countless other programs you have never heard about from Congress. They are perpetual and don’t get voted on annually. Any presidential candidate who dares touch that third rail of politics risks everything. There’s a reason Trump wouldn’t touch it.
FOX Business’ Madison Alworth reports from Simi Valley, California, where the 2024 Republican candidates will take the debate stage Wednesday night.
In all the constituent and lobbyist meetings I’ve ever taken, I can count on one hand the number of times an ordinary constituent was there to lobby me to cut or reform these programs, and they are our country’s biggest drivers of our challenges. There is no constituency for doing the hard things that will actually solve the problem, or at least put us on a trajectory to a more sound fiscal policy.
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I’ve found most people believe we can solve our debt problems by tinkering with spending they don’t like. Congressional salaries, foreign aid, or the ubiquitous “waste, fraud, and abuse”come up frequently, and they should. But the truth is, it is the mandatory, programmatic spending that needs reform to save the very programs so many want and need.
Swing state voters Deb Ludwig, Rebecca Boyer and Bernadette Wright discuss their top 2024 issues and the candidates that best align with them.
For the candidates on the debate stage, and the one currently in the lead to get the Republican nomination, the biggest elephant in the room is who has the guts and leadership to do the unpopular things necessary to get our fiscal future back to reality.
As for the Democrats, don’t expect them to ever address responsible spending. It isn’t in their DNA.
Jason Chaffetz is a FOX News contributor and the host of the “Jason In the House” podcast on FOX News Radio. He joined the network in 2017. Click here to read more
