Reply #17: Matt Yglesias of what will be cut if the trigger is pulled

[Mass]

http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2011/08/01/284818/what-gets-cut-if-the-debt-commission-doesnt-agree/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+matthewyglesias+%28Matthew+Yglesias%29

A majority of the deficit reduction in the plan being proposed to resolve the debt ceiling crisis is supposed to come from the recommendations of a special commission. And to create an incentive for the commission to write a proposal that passes congress, there’s a “trigger” mechanism leading to automatic spending cuts if the commission proposal isn’t adopted. Half of those cuts come from defense, and half come from the non-defense side. But the sequestration mechanism “would exempt Social Security, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, programs for low-income families, and civilian and military retirement. Likewise, any cuts to Medicare would be capped and limited to the provider side.”

So what’s left? Here are Matt Cameron’s calculations:



Basically the “education, employment, and training” category of spending is going to get the largest share of the cuts. The State Department will also be really hit.