A department-by-department guide to cutting the federal government's budget.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development funds public housing, provides rental vouchers, and subsidizes homeownership.
The department will spend $63 billion in 2010, or about $530 for every U.S. household. It employs 9,500 workers and operates more than 110 subsidy programs.
The Department of Education provides loans and grants to college students and subsidizes elementary and secondary schools.
The department will spend $107 billion in 2010, or about $900 for every U.S. household. It employs 4,100 workers and operates more than 160 subsidy programs.
The Department of Transportation subsidizes and regulates highways, airports, air traffic control, urban transit, and passenger rail.
The department will spend $91 billion in 2010, or about $770 for every U.S. household. It employs 58,000 workers and operates 85 different subsidy programs.
Smelling Your Email
In response to this week’s news that the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service is facing $238 in losses over the coming decade, Charles Krauthammer lamented the inevitable demise of the government mail monopoly: Read more
Ray LaHood as Santa Claus
U.S. News & World Report’s columnist, Paul Bedard, reports that Transportation secretary Ray LaHood told him that it's fun playing Santa Claus to states and cities around the nation. Read more
Privatize the U.S. Postal Service
In August, President Barack Obama commented that "UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. ... It's the post office that's always having problems." We found out just how deep those problems were when Postmaster General John Potter announced that the U.S. Postal Service is facing $238 billion in losses over the next 10 years.
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