Republican's Deficit Cuts Lack Specifics

Dramatic increases in federal spending have caused the national debt to spiral out of control and unleashed a populist backlash against elected officials in Washington. This past week Republicans presented their "Pledge to America" which outlined key positions and specific steps the Republican Party promised to take if they resume control of Congress after the 2010 midterm elections. The pledge promised to reduce federal spending but Republicans have been vague as to what specific cuts should occur. The bulk of the deficit problem comes from three popular programs, Medicare, Social Security, and the military. These three problems are the only programs that the Republican pledge promises to exempt from federal spending cuts. If Republicans want to make a significant dent in reducing federal spending they should target programs that are the most costly. The military-intelligence infrastructure has become inefficient, enormous, and very costly. A true fiscal conservative would look at the nation's enormous military budget first if they wanted to find programs that easily could be cut. Reforms to Medicare and Social Security could also save the government billions of dollars in the long run if properly done. Instead, the Republican pledge is vague about what spending cuts to enact and lacks the specificity that is required to truly control the enormous deficit.