Nitpick: I believe that defense is discretionary and medicare is mandatory. The distinction is a bit phony though, since congress can change mandatory spending by statute, and Congress has only limited real maneuvering room to radically alter the Federal workforce (discretionary) from year to year.
I agree, the distinction is totally phony. The whole purpose is to allow the two sides to talk about cutting spending without talking about politically impossible spending cuts—without admitting that they aren’t talking about most of the spending.
Nitpick: I believe that defense is discretionary and medicare is mandatory. The distinction is a bit phony though, since congress can change mandatory spending by statute, and Congress has only limited real maneuvering room to radically alter the Federal workforce (discretionary) from year to year.
I agree, the distinction is totally phony. The whole purpose is to allow the two sides to talk about cutting spending without talking about politically impossible spending cuts—without admitting that they aren’t talking about most of the spending.