It's hard to cut spending because the 4 biggest expenses are interest on existing debt, defense, social security, and medicare.
I think the only way to narrow the deficit each year would be for the government to shamelessly take on advertising, and designate that advertising money can't be spent on anything except reducing the deficit.
So, it might be tacky to have the "Coca Cola State of the Union" speech, it's better than the alternatives.
© 2026 Praveen Puri
