OPINION: A Gimmick Revealed

From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook.

Washington is so distrusted because they say one thing but do another.

Despite the secrecy surrounding White House and Congressional talks, negotiators have claimed they had agreed on $1-trillion in spending cuts so far.

It’s not enough, but at least it sounded like a good start. But beware the gimmicks.

Sure enough, a bombshell hit when President Obama’s budget chief was asked how much spending would be cut the first year. The answer: $2 billion.

It’s the oldest trick in the book: Politicians claim they’re making big spending cuts, but none of it is immediate. The big reductions would actually be made by future Congresses—and the savings never actually happen.

It’s an insult to be told that they’re cutting spending by a trillion dollars when the only real figure is $2-billion. And maybe even that number is exaggerated.

Beware the gimmicks.

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