Bringing Accountability to the U.S. Federal Budget Process

Hour 2

The federal budget needs to be cut, but what realistically can go? How much of the domestic discretionary spending can be reduced for Americans to be safe, healthy and educated? Are Social Security and Medicare entitlements immune? It looks like it will take more than a tinkering of the budget according to our guest, MAYA MACGUINEAS, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. In the current partisan environment, Republicans say they won’t raise the debt as more cuts in the Federal budget need to happen. The Democrats want entitlements to stay intact, but can compromises be made like raising the Social Security age and reducing benefits for the well-off? MacGuineas says she’s a ‘long-time pessimist and deficit worrier,’ but she says she has a new feeling of hope she’ll share with us.

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[audio: 032211_110630.mp3]