OPINION

When did Republicans stop cutting spending?: Your Say

Readers react to President Trump’s budget proposal.

USA TODAY
President Trump

Letter to the editor:

I see one of the biggest problems facing our country is our out-of-control spending.

The Republican Party has long campaigned on reining in spending. Cutting social programs that cost relatively little compared with other expenditures is not going to balance the budget, though. Nor is increasing the military budget. We spend far more on defense than any of the programs that would face spending cuts in President Trump’s budget proposal.

Do we really need to spend even more on our military when we already spend the most of any nation in the world, and more than the next eight countries combined? That is far beyond what is justified for defense. In the interest of proving the GOP is not plagued with hypocrisy, and showing sincerity at tackling our spending problem, I call on the Republican-controlled Congress to reject this insane budget proposal. Furthermore, Congress needs to pass a law that restricts the annual cost of security detail covering the president and his family when they are outside of Washington to the amount spent for President Obama’s family in 2016. Allowing the amount to be adjusted annually for inflation and allowing the limit to be waived in years for which our federal budget is balanced.

Michael Martinez; Johnson City, N.Y.

Policing the USA

Facebook comments are edited for clarity and grammar:

We should be cutting the extravagant waste in all facets of government, including the bloated military. Of course, the way President Trump alienates the world, it’ll be us against them in due time.

— Kristen Cooper

More missiles and less food for the poor! More guns and less health care coverage. We’re living the American dream! At least the 1950s American dream!

— Jeff Hartung