If I Were President

Got your Attention Didn't I

Two things I would never cut or freeze from the Federal budget no matter how hard the republicans hollared or threatened to: Federal salaries of federal employees making under 50k a year and any benefits to children who receive school lunches, or federal benefits of any kind of a certain identified low income family or background.
First of all, all those republicans clammoring for 'pro Life' have to understand that it has a price tag. To be truly Pro -Life you can't just be about lipservice, you have to be about actually helping feed little mouths. The existent Federal assistance to impoverished children is hardly a boondoggle - it is subsistence. How do you expect expectant mothers who are in school and trying pregnant trying to get any paltry job (whether or not it comes with maternity benefits of paid time off and the like) if we don't help those women with basic issues?

Sure there are instances of waste, and people selling grocery cards for drugs. We are not stupid. But there are ways and controls that this can be stopped- like identification issues appended to the cards so we are sure the person to whom it was issued was the only one who can cash out at the store and the like...That makes it less portably transferrable. If that is the issue there is a better solution than just cutting benefits.

Back to the first issue. The Federal Freeze- Dumb. Across the board with no base salary indicated? Really Dumb.
Those are your employees. They make less than private work when you can get it anyway. They have to pay rent in some cases in high market areas too- like around DC. How else can you think to demoralize the people working for you? How much money did you pledge to India? How much do we give in foreign "Aid" to countries like Kuwait?
Freezing federal pay raises (which are like under 4 percent anyway)- is D-U-M-B dumb. I don't care what the CATO report said on cutting the budget and how the republicans are clammoring for smaller government.
Those are the people you need cheering in your corner the most- your employees.