From the NEW YORK TIMES’ EDITORIAL:
It has been four months since John Boehner, now speaker of the House, first proposed to cut $100 billion from this year’s budget, an idea that was later elevated to a “pledge to America” in the 2010 campaign. Last week, Mr. Boehner finally specified his first actual cut: $35 million from House lawmakers’ office budgets.
Precisely because it is puny and painless, the cut passed the House with broad support, showing once again that the path to bipartisanship in Washington is paved with giveaways (like deficit-increasing tax cuts) and grandstanding (like trivial spending cuts dressed up as deficit reduction).
The road to fiscal responsibility is a harder one. Even as Republican leaders tout the $100 billion goal, aides have said it will be $50 billion to $60 billion, to adjust for the fact that the fiscal year is already under way. Whatever the sum, the public needs to know from Mr. Boehner what specific programs and services Republicans are willing to cut. The question is pressing, but not because the cuts are pressing. On the contrary, cutting billions would be foolish at a time when joblessness is high and the recovery needs stimulus, not tightening…
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