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xchrom

(108,903 posts)
Fri Aug 31, 2012, 09:01 AM Aug 2012

Romney’s Plan To End Deficit Hits Poor As Well As Park Rangers

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-30/romney-s-plan-to-end-deficit-hits-poor-as-well-as-park-rangers.html

Mitt Romney’s promise to balance the budget without higher taxes while protecting retirees and spending more on defense means the rest of government -- such as meat inspections, food stamps, national parks and affordable- housing aid -- would need to be cut by more than a quarter.

Though Romney doesn’t spell out how he would achieve his fiscal goals, the arithmetic is clear, and it implies substantial pain for middle-class and low-income Americans.

By putting Social Security off limits to cuts, promising to boost defense spending by as much as much as $150 billion a year, and holding the line on taxes, all other spending would have to take a hit of about 29 percent by 2016, by one estimate.

If that were spread across-the-board, it would translate to 8,000 fewer employees to staff and maintain the national parks, about $35 less a week in food stamps for a family of four, 35 fewer offices to forecast the weather and track storms, and $8.9 billion less for research to battle cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases. Cuts in the Medicaid insurance system for the poor and similar programs would save about $100 billion a year, according to the campaign.
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