Is Federal Spending Restraint Possible? Of course.

This video by Dan Mitchell of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity is good background for a consideration of President Obama’s FY 2012 budget proposal. It is easy to be defeatist about the prospects for getting federal spending under control, but, as Mitchell points, out there is hopeful precedent from both the Reagan and Clinton administrations:

In total, the administration’s FY 2012 budget represents an infinitesimal, one-time cut when compared to current spending levels, followed by continuing, inexorable increases. In essence, it not only perpetuates but worsens the current spending levels that everyone recognizes are unsustainable. I will have more specific comments on the FY 2012 budget later in the day.