Debt Ceiling: Worst-Case Scenario
By Randall Hoven
[excerpt]
...The above exercise was not a statement of some kind of preferred budget. It was simply an exercise to see how bad it would be to live within the current debt ceiling. And the arithmetic says it is possible. Not only is it possible, but it could be done without defaulting on the debt and without touching the entitlement programs of Social Security and Medicare. Feel free to look at the numbers and arrange to your taste. There are many ways to cut 30% from projected spending.
In round numbers, the federal government would have to live on what it did in 2005. It would not have to be the end of the world. It certainly would not have to mean default. In fact, it is disingenuous to conflate not raising the debt ceiling with defaulting on sovereign debt.
Personally, I think a lot of areas could use some cutting. Maybe we fiscal conservatives should not let this crisis go to waste. Now could be a great time to get rid of the Departments of Education and Energy and virtually eliminate their budgets. Now could be a great time to throttle back on the intrusive police powers of the DEA and BATF. Now could be a great time to get the federal government out of market manipulation in housing and other "commerce", and end a lot of crony capitalism and corruption by taking some piggy banks away from bureaucrats.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/debt_ceiling_worst_case_scenario.html
Worthwhile reading.
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