There Will Be a Decisive Cut To State's Spending Ways

At the Cato Institute, my friend Chris Edwards discusses the Trump administration’s planned cut to the State Department’s budget. The department saw an explosion of spending through the Obama administration, much of that during Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary. It shouldn’t be hard to find places to trim back on such reckless spending increases. Chris writes:

President Trump is reportedly planning to cut the Department of State’s budget by 37 percent. I’m not an expert on the department’s activities, but it would seem ripe for cuts given the large run-up in spending in recent years.

The chart shows Department of State outlays since 1970 in constant 2016 dollars. Real spending has more than tripled the past 16 years—from $9.5 billion in 2000 to $30.9 billion in 2016. The data comes from President Obama’s last budget. You can chart spending on federal departments and agencies here at DownsizingGovernment.org.

The Trump administration apparently wants to make budget room for Department of Defense spending increases, but the Pentagon is also bloated with inefficiency, as discussed here, here, and here.

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E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.