$1 Trillion

To break through the ideological divide that has dominated Washington this past year and offer a pathway to address the nation’s fiscal problems, the National Taxpayers Union and Illinois PIRG joined together to identify mutually acceptable deficit reduction.

To break through the ideological divide that has dominated Washington this past year and offer a pathway to address the nation’s fiscal problems, the National Taxpayers Union and Illinois PIRG joined together to identify mutually acceptable deficit reduction. The report, “Toward Common Ground,” documents our findings.

The study identifies 54 specific cuts in federal spending, including:

  • $214.9 billion in savings from eliminating wasteful subsidies to agribusiness and other corporations.
  • $428.8 billion in savings from ending low-priority or unnecessary military programs
  • $232.3 billion in savings from improvements to program execution and government operations.
  • $132.1 in savings from reforms to major entitlement programs

My colleague, Dan Smith said it best, “In an effort to address the deficit, we too often forget to differentiate between the good and the bad; between public priorities and special interest handouts. These recommendations correct years of insider lobbying that has benefited narrow interests allowing room either for investment in valued programs or deficit reduction.”

To read the full report, go here.

Authors

Celeste Meiffren-Swango

State Director, Environment Oregon

As director of Environment Oregon, Celeste develops and runs campaigns to win real results for Oregon's environment. She has worked on issues ranging from preventing plastic pollution, stopping global warming, defending clean water, and protecting our beautiful places. Celeste's organizing has helped to reduce kids' exposure to lead in drinking water at childcare facilities in Oregon, encourage transportation electrification, ban single-use plastic grocery bags, defend our bedrock environmental laws and more. She is also the author of the children's book, Myrtle the Turtle, empowering kids to prevent plastic pollution. Celeste lives in Portland, Ore., with her husband and two daughters, where they frequently enjoy the bounty of Oregon's natural beauty.