So Isaac Smith, who of refused to accept my challenge to a debate, challenged me to cut the budget:
But as you surely know, it’s one thing to talk in generalities, and quite another to get down to specifics. So what, Brian, would you cut? Here’s the FY2008 budget; have at it. And of course, it’s not just enough to propose budget cuts, but you have to demonstrate that these cuts will not impair the ability of the state to carry out its duties in education, in health care, in public safety, etc. You may not think the state has such duties, and that perhaps is the difference between you and me.
Of course, I have the size to actually respond to such a challenge. So read it and weep. And I actually went further than just cutting the budget by reallocating some of the money to where it was actually useful, and by privatizing certain state assets. So what you see here is a net savings of over $3.6 billion. And yes, public secondary education, public safety, and health care are not impacted at all.
I know in fact that the FSP people (who have called me delusional incidentally) will cry and scream that a lot of these things that I am cutting or privatizing are part of the role of government. Except government either should not be doing it in the first place, or certainly is not doing it well right now….
