Cutting PBS, Americorp and National Endowment for the Arts will not balance the budget

Interesting article in the New York Times yesterday that shows that Republicans may have their best chance at cutting programs that they have had a fascination with for several decades. These include PBS, Americorp, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Most informed citizens know that cutting these programs will not make a dent in balancing the budget. Neither will cuts to Foreign Aid or the EPA or School Lunch Programs to poor kids. Conservative fantasies about large tax cuts (they are playing that song again) that will pay for themselves and generate more revenue has been historically proven wrong time (Reagan) and time (second Bush Presidency) again. In the first 204 years of this country, the National Debt was one trillion dollars. In the next 36 years, that debt went up twenty times over. That was not caused by Great Society or New Deal Programs. This was not caused by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare for those that think there is a difference.) This was not caused by those who want to give students Pell Grants for college, clean up the environment, or modernize our transportation system.  That was caused by a reckless tax policy that members of both parties supported. It was caused by going into two major wars in 2001 and 2003 that members of both parties supported and not paying for them. It was caused by not taking on the third rail of politics and adopting sensible unharmful reforms to Social Security and Medicare (although to be fair, these programs are not yet in the dire shape opponents make them out to be) to make them solvent and robust. It was caused by maintaining a Military Industrial Complex complete with obsolete weapons systems that surpass the budgets and numbers of the next 17 militarily strongest nations combined.

The American People are adults. If presented with the situation by responsible public servants, they would support prudent measures (and even a little pain in some increased taxation) to get our fiscal house in order.

The House is not going to get in order by cutting PBS, Americorp and the National Endowment for the Arts. That is a joke and people should not fall for it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/us/politics/trump-program-eliminations-white-house-budget-office.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur