Together, opponents find $600 billion to cut

Our nation faces unprecedented fiscal challenges, as the commitments we've made now and into the future far outpace our fiscal capacity. The federal budget is polluted with wasteful programs and special interest giveaways like departments that order as many as 50 percent too many supplies, or subsidies that benefit large corporations. While this election season has been dominated by talk about the deficit, we haven't heard enough about specific solutions.

Considering the new political landscape, it will be even more critical for Democrats and Republicans to get serious and work together. Unlikely allies, Illinois Public Interest Research Group and the National Taxpayers Union, have taken the first step and joined forces to identify 30 specific cuts in federal spending that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers should recognize as wasteful and inefficient uses of taxpayer dollars.

Cuts include eliminating wasteful subsidies to farmers and large corporations, like McDonald's to advertise their products overseas. If enacted in their entirety, these changes would save taxpayers over $600 billion in total by 2015.

There is a consensus that can be reached between political factions that spend a great deal of their time fighting one another. It is possible to reduce spending without significantly degrading the level of services provided to the American taxpayer, and we can make the government more accountable along the way.

Emily Mueller

Illinois Public Interest Research Group

Chicago