I’ll have more detailed analysis later, but Rand Paul’s five-year balanced budget plan is in many respects a continuation of his $500 billion spending cuts package. The Kentucky senator would:
- Eliminate the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Education, and Housing and Urban Development.
- Repeal Obamacare
- Block grant Medicaid, SCHIP, food stamps, and child nutrition programs
- Zero out all foreign aid
- Retain the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts while permanently patching the alternative minimum tax
The plan doesn’t touch Social Security or Medicare benefits, though it does call for their reform by fiscal 2016. Most spending is rolled back to 2008 levels and a surplus of $19 billion is supposed to be realized at the end of the five-year window.
