Representative Ron Paul on Monday unveiled an aggressive budget plan that would greatly shrink the federal government that he is seeking to run, eliminating the agency that oversees airport security, the departments of energy and education — and three others — while cutting all war financing.
Providing a stark vision of what a libertarian takeover of the White House would look like, the plan would slash the federal budget by $1 trillion in a single year and, Mr. Paul said, bring the budget into balance within three.
The federal workforce would be cut by 10 percent across the board. Aid to foreign nations would stop flowing altogether. And, reflecting the way Mr. Paul would shrink the very job he seeks, the president’s annual salary would be reduced to $39,336 from $400,000.
At a boisterous news conference at the Venetian Hotel here Mr. Paul did not speak in detail about how he would persuade Congress to approve a plan that would greatly reduce or eliminate programs considered sacrosanct to both parties.
“A lot of people will say, ‘Cutting $1 trillion in one year — that sounds radical,” Mr. Paul said to a room of cheering supporters. “I operate on the assumption that the radicals have been in charge way too long.”
Mr. Paul shared details of his plan on the eve of a Republican debate here Tuesday night hosted by CNN and the Western Republican Leadership Conference, when all the campaigns will be closely watching the former Godfather’s Pizza executive Herman Cain.
Mr. Paul’s plan has no catchy title. The 11-page document on his Web site was simply called, “Plan to Restore America.” And it was unclear whether it would be as successful in entering the campaign conversation, attention grabbing as its proposed cuts may be.
One oasis seemed to be the Social Security system. Mr. Paul said he would keep it intact for those in the system or on track to enter it. But, he said, he would give those younger than 25 years old an option to opt-out altogether, an option he said he believed they would take.
Source: NY Times
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