With much fanfare and self-congratulation, President Obama has called on his cabinet to identify $100 million in budget "cuts" in the next 90 days, declaring ""One hundred million dollars there, a 100 million dollars here, pretty soon even in Washington it adds up to real money."  Under questioning, press secretary Robert Gibbs derided questions about the impact of such cuts in light of a $3.6 trillion budget by saying "only in Washington, DC is 100 million (dollars) not a lot of money."

But there's a flip side to that:  only in Washington, DC are billions of dollars "not a lot of money".  For example, while campaigning for the presidency, then-Senator Obama said "'No Child Left Behind' is woefully under funded" — the FY2008 budget for "No Child Left Behind" was $24.4 billion — up from $17.4 billion in FY2001.  Only in Washington, DC, is $24.4 billion "not a lot of money".

But let's put things into perspective.  As noted by George Mason University economics professor Don Boudreaux on Cafe Hayek, $100 million in "cuts" in a budget of $3.6 trillion is like a family that makes $50,000 per year planning to spend $75,000 and then claiming to "cut" spending by decreasing it by $2.08.  Whether you make more or less than $50,000, I don't think you would have much trouble cutting $2 from your yearly spending, especially the way the government counts "cuts".  Consider:  I typically spend about $7 on lunch if I go to a particular cafe in Beaumont.  I planned on eating there today, but didn't have time so I went instead to McDonald's and only spent $4.50.  Voila!  I've just cut $100 million, er, $2.50 in spending.

Trumpeting his commitment to efficiency in government (is it possible to use those words in the same sentence without laughing?), the President detailed some "cuts" already made, such as $52 million over five years for the Department of Homeland Security, achieved by buying office supplies in bulk.  Seriously?  Why would the government's largest bureaucracy not already be buying in bulk?!?  Come on, Office Depot, where's the Easy Button for Uncle Sam?

Consider some of the following earmark spending items in the FY2009 budget, keeping in mind that this doesn't count the actual appropriations bills; e.g., military items are over and above the military budget granted by budget bills (and requested by the Pentagon); in the spirit of Gibbs's claim that the Administration would be looking for cuts "great and small", I've included some of each:

• $63.3 million for the Department of Commerce for "Tactical Law Enforcement Wireless Communications"
• $60 million for the Dept. of Defense for "Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health"
• $52.1 million for the Energy Department for "Vehicle technologies (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)"
• $47.6 million for the Dept. of Health and Human Services for "Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center, Inc. Newburgh, for facilities and equipment (HHS - HRSA Health Facilities and Services)"
• $45 million more for the Defense Department for "Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health"
• $45 million for the Commerce Dept. for "Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery"
• $39.7 million for "Advanced Training Center (Customs and Border Protection Construction)"... in West Virginia
• $39.3 million for "Intl. Prog. for the Elimin. of Child labor for the U.S. contrib. to a multinational effort to combat child labor, per Executive Order 12216 & William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Prot. Reauth. Act of 2008 (Labor - Departmental Management)"
• $36 million more for "Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health"... again at the Dept. of Defense
• $33.3 million for "Alaska Native Educational Equity for activities authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act"
• $30 million for "UN Population Fund"
• $29 million for "Dulles Corridor Metrorail"
• $27.9 million for "Industrial technologies (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)"
• $24.8 million for "Reading is Fundamental authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act"
• $24.3 million for "National Writing Project"
• $475 for "Garfield County Regional Airport, Runway Improvements"  (I promised some small ones)
• $475 for "NFTA Hybrid Buses, Buffalo"
• $23,750 for "Housing and Community Services, New Braunfels for equipment for Fox Run in Victoria"

And so it goes.  I would say that if the President is looking for cuts "great and small", there's a pretty good start.  Remember:  the money being taken from your paycheck is going to pay for this stuff.  We should demand better.