Colin Powell: Defunding NPR Won't Solve Deficit Problem, Congress Should Look At Cutting Defense

NEW YORK -- Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell disagreed with current proposals to cut the deficit on Sunday, saying that going after small programs one by one -- and not touching military and entitlement spending -- won't be effective in solving the country's long-term budget problems.

Last week, the Republican Study Committee, a conservative House GOP caucus, announced that it aims to return non-defense spending to 2008 levels and non-security spending to 2006 levels. It would cut funding for veterans programs, scientific research at the Department of Energy, Homeland Security, transportation, housing, education, legal services, foreign aid and the arts. The RSC proposal would save an estimated $16.1 billion by rolling back federal Medicaid funding, putting the burden for those patients on state and local governments.

On Sunday's "State of the Union," Powell told host Candy Crowley that Congress needed to deal with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid if it wanted to balance the budget, and that announcing a spending freeze was an "inefficient way" of cutting the deficit:

But the real money in the entitlements, it's Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. And unless we do something about those, you can't balance the budget. You can't fix the deficit or the national debt by killing NPR or National Endowment for the Humanities or the Arts. Nice political chatter, but that doesn't do it. And I'm very put off when people just say let's go back and freeze to the level two years ago.

Don't tell me you're going to freeze to a level. That usually is a very inefficient way of doing it. Tell me what you're going to cut, and nobody up there yet is being very, very candid about what they are going to cut to fix this problem.

The RSC document also doesn't go after defense spending, even though Republicans, Democrats and many Tea Party activists have all called for putting the military's budget on the table. Powell said that was a mistake.

"As we draw down from Iraq and as over the next several years as we draw down from Afghanistan, I see no reason why the military shouldn't be looked at," he said. "When the Cold War ended 20 years ago, when I was chairman and Mr. Cheney was secretary of Defense, we cut the defense budget by 25 percent. And we reduced the force by 500,000 active duty soldiers, so it can be done. Now, how fast you can do it and what you have to cut out remains to be seen, but I don't think the defense budget can be made, you know, sacrosanct and it can't be touched."

WATCH:

On CBS's "Face the Nation," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that Congress must take on some of the "sacred cows," including entitlements, in order to cut the deficit. "Agriculture subsidies are outrageous today," he said. "Ethanol is a joke, and it's a multi-billion dollar spending. All ag subsidies. ... The post office, a model of inefficiency. Horse and buggies -- and the days when Internets [sic] and communications are basically replacing it more and more."

In response to Rep. Eric Cantor's (R-Va.) comment on NBC's "Meet the Press" that even cancer research funding needs to be on the table, McCain -- a cancer survivor -- said that while there are probably inefficiencies, it would be one of the last areas he'd go after.

Comments

[Alan Newman]

09:50 AM on 02/13/2011

Defunding NPR and PBS may not solve the deficit problem, but it will solve the spending of public money on a blatantly liberal press with a left wing polictical agenda problem. I am sick and tired of my taxes being wasted and spent on programs to benefit and promote the Democratic Party agenda. NPR and PBS must be defunded immediately if not sooner. Otherwise, lets send the same amount of money that NPR and PBS get to FOX news. What's the difference?

[makebofapay]

01:35 PM on 01/27/2011

De funding NPR won't solve the budget deficit but it may help make NPR go away then there's one less voice of reason to help balance the very loud voice of the fanatical, ignorant corporate sponsored right wing.

[Jack WWWW]

03:16 PM on 01/26/2011

Colin Powell: Not the Man You Think
http://www.usvetdsp.com/story13.htm

[CornellDublier]

03:36 PM on 01/25/2011

Defunding NPR is proof positive just how shallow the Republican party is and cutting SS and MC is proof positive of how the Republican party keeps playing the American citizenry for the fool. While they rob us through the Soicial Security program to pay for their entitilment programs to the wealthy and fatten the pockets of the pharma industry through Kick Backs and Price gouging they jack up the debt and turn around and say it is the average American worker who bankrupting the country. They play us like a cheap fiddle. But they are way out of tune and always off beat having trouble finding 1

[livefreeinAmerica]

01:38 PM on 01/31/2011

Bravo! Bravo!

[sknyjohn]

07:22 AM on 01/25/2011

He's right. but he's still a war criminal on the loose.

[David Ebert]

03:09 AM on 01/25/2011

Let's be very clear about Social Security; it is NOT some kind of entitlement that people don't deserve. It is a fund that we've been REQUIRED to pay into under the force of a gun all our lives, and it is the only retirement plan many people have because they were PROMISED it would always be there for them- it's their money. It is one thing, to be forced by law to make retirement savings. It's sensible. It's another thing entirely when that money is stolen and spent on us. That makes the SS deduction laws ARMED ROBBERY. The fact that the government stole the money and gave to DoD to fight wars with is NOT OUR PROBLEM. If they mess with Social Security, not only will they have a voter's rebellion, there will be a million old geezers with guns camped out on the Mall.

[livefreeinAmerica]

01:48 PM on 01/31/2011

If they mess with Social Security, not only will they have a voter's rebellion, there will be a million old geezers with guns camped out on the Mall.

I generally share your sentiments that you so earnestly expressed; except for "thee will be a million old geezers with guns camped out on the Mall." What we don't need are more guns to solve the social/economic ills of this country. Again, I appreciated your comments and feel they are shared by millions of Americans who are depending on this safety net for survival during their golden years.

[inonoatama]

01:43 AM on 01/25/2011

I have gotten two fairly obnoxious comments in response to my comments in this comment area.

One commenter, who will remain nameless, has been a member here since October 2009. In that time, 15 months, this member has made a staggering 3,964 posts (!). Think of it. Being that this person has been a member of HP for 450 days, a simple calculation shows that this poster has made a total of 8.8 posts per day. That strikes me as an awful lot. In fact, it strikes me as a bit pathological. It occurs to me that this person has no life. So please, whoever you are – take a break from this idiocy. Making nearly 4,000 posts to an internet site in 15 months is not what I tend to think of as a sign of mental stability.

[meganmurphy]

07:59 PM on 01/24/2011

I'd like for those of you who keep insisting that you're liberal and yet would vote for this man to consider the following:
1. Powell at a U.N. hearing holding a vial of white stuff and crying about the sky falling. "WMDs! WMDs! TERRORISM! We need war and more of it." This guy is a liar and a corrupt human being. He has shown his stripes. Why can you not see them?
2. Why in the world would we have to sacrifice Social Security and Medicare when the rich couldn't sacrifice their money? This is beyond surreal to me. I can't even believe anyone is having a serious conversation about this. It's ludicrous! They're trying to undo the New Deal! They want all charitable programs to stop. They want the government to stop all programs to help the weak, helpless, hungry, and elderly. Buuuuut... let's keep collecting the same amount of taxes as always. This is .. where are your heads? What on Earth are we doing?

[LawrenceL]

08:09 PM on 01/24/2011

Powell is a voice of seeming moderation in a very unreasonable party, which is why he will never again hold a position of responsibility in the GOP.

He has no constituency with the GOP; it doesn't matter if non-Republicans would vote for him in a General election, if he would never receive the GOP nomination. He has never been elected to any public office. And being an independent is not his style.

[Stopinstigating]

10:54 PM on 01/24/2011

"Why in the world would we have to sacrifice Social Security and Medicare when the rich couldn't sacrifice their money?"

Because the public is being treated like children unable to handle the truth of just how bad our economy really is. Even if you confiscated every dime from the wealthiest 2% it wouldn't begin to touch the amount of future liabilities of Social Security and Medicare. The New Deal is a perfect example of how politicians encourage addiction to the government teat at the expense of people learning to do for themselves.

[Craigipedia]

05:27 PM on 01/24/2011

The United States' primary objective in attacking federal spending and the enormous budget deficit could logically begin and end with the military. Our military out-spends the entire world, and for what? A war we never had with the USSR and a war we will probably never have with China - the Chinese have zero strategic interest in destroying us militarily, when we are so willing to hand them $300 bn every year through trade deficits that we refuse to address.

After cutting the defense budget by 50%, evacuating Iraq and Afghanistan, and bringing at least 50% of our troops back from Japan and Europe we should begin discussing the cost of healthcare. Insurance companies are completely unnecessary and provide no economic utility. They exist as a profit-driven middle man doing a job that the government can and should do on its own --- they buy medical products as an economy of scale and distribute individually, you cannot buy a single vaccine from a pharma company because they make them in batches of thousands. The government, however, can buy those products and then release them to the public when necessary (as opposed to private insurers who refuse to buy and/or release the products to customers despite taking premium charges for services [un]rendered)

[Mad Jack]

04:57 PM on 01/24/2011

I agree with Secretary Powell, but would also point out that when the military was reduced at the conclusion of the Cold War it was by changing the national security and defense strategies. Any realistic discussion of reducing defense spending (to include aid to "friends," our own force structure ("shape" and size), and weapons programs) can only be done within the context of proportionate limitations on our security and defense strategies. Today, the US has reached its limit as an imperial power; we can no longer afford to police the world with robust forces globally positioned for deployment anywhere at a moment's notice. What Secretary Powell didn't mention was that when the Soviet Union imploded and the Cold War ended, we and our allies expected a "peace dividend." Our allies took it; they drastically reduced their military capabilities and, with Great Britain's limited exception, can no longer effectively augment US forces. Frankly and in truth, most "allies" are just useful for political cover; their "window dressing." That's not intended as a slight on their troops' courage or commitment, just their capabilities vis a vis ours. The US must accept it can no longer afford to be the world's "cop on the beat" and must concentrate primarily on defensive, versus, offensive capabilities. Concurrently, the US should stop funding armed forces of other countries which have their own resources. The US is no different than preceding imperial powers (e.g., Dutch, French and British).

[big tom]

03:57 PM on 01/24/2011

powell is the only republican i would vote for on a national level...the others are piathetic

[nuni]

03:56 PM on 01/24/2011

"But the real money in the entitlements, it's Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. And unless we do something about those, you can't balance the budget."

Mr. Powell, if we are going to deal with the issue, we must start with some pertinent facts.

1) Social Security is well funded to take care of itself well into the next half of this century. Robbing it's funds to pay for unfunded wars and taxcuts for the wealthy. Somehow, Republicans have managed to transform the robbing of Social Security into Social Security needs reform. If we can find $3 trillion to give to Wall Street, we can find 2.5 trillion to pay back Social Security. Problem solved, next!

2) Medicare: Medicare was also not in dire straits until the Republicans decided a big giveway to PHARMA in the form of Medicare part D was the way to go. One of the most effective things we could do is remove the restriction which prevents the government from negotiating drug prices. The second would be single payer. We don't need insurance companies making a profit from denying payments for health care.

3) Defense budget - We spend billions every year on outdated weapons systems that the military says they don't need. We spend more billions on weapons systems that never worked.

Sure, when Powell is correct about the ridiculousness of defunding NPR, but he's still not entering into an honest debate on entitlements.

[nuni]

04:26 PM on 01/24/2011

2) Should be "The second would be single payer for all."

[blueken]

03:49 PM on 01/24/2011

I'm a pinko commie liberal, and I would vote for Powel as President. The truth is the truth and we need a truth telling adult at the wheel. I have listened to NPR for years. Their news is the most un-biased, intelligent, and detailed reporting you will hear anywhere. Their entertaniment is much better than you will find anywhere else. The right has gone so far right that the truth sounds too "liberal" to them. Meanwhile, I have never heard anyone on the right call out Beck, Rush or O'Rielly. NPR only gets 15% of it's funding from the government. If they get cut off, you will see less original programing, but I have faith that they will continue to report the truth. Now that will tick of some on the right. So be it.

[dvtaz]

02:58 PM on 01/24/2011

Colin Powell is nothing but a democrat pretending to be a Republican. He is has betrayed the people who trusted him to represent their interests. He turned his back on the Republican party and supported Obama. At one time I thought he might make a good president but thank God He showed his true self and set me straight.

[blueken]

03:51 PM on 01/24/2011

The Republican party turned it's back on him, when they embraced the likes of Palin, Beck, Limbaugh and Hannity. I'm a commie rat liberal, but I know a smart and honest man win I see one. Powel would get my vote, not because he agrees with my ideology, but because this country needs an honest man with some backbone.

[LawrenceL]

07:40 PM on 01/24/2011

He's been a Republican his whole life, and he has served a Republican President.

But I'm not surprised that it's just not good enough for you, because nobody ever quite lives up to your lofty expectations, do they?

I hope General Powell can cry himself to sleep tonight, knowing that somebody with your nonexistent qualifications disapproves of him.

[Stopinstigating]

11:04 PM on 01/24/2011

Powell voted for Obama, a man who patronized and financially supported bigoted hate speech for 20 years. Anyone that could overlook this glaring character flaw, then claim to be surprised that Obama is two-faced, cannot be taken seriously.

[p456]

02:55 PM on 01/24/2011

I don't understand how a man as brilliant as General Powell could be a republican.

[blueken]

03:53 PM on 01/24/2011

I don't udnerstand why the Republican party choses to listen to Palin, Bachmann, Limbaugh, Angles and O'Rielly instead of a proven leader like Powell.

[p456]

04:06 PM on 01/24/2011

That is why I always felt he wasted is time and ruined his career being a republican. Great point you make though, but I am happy they don't take good advice I am just sorry people still vote for them.

[LawrenceL]

07:42 PM on 01/24/2011

The military tends to be a conservative organization.

Perhaps he thought his career would be enhanced if he was a member of the "right" party. People make these kinds of decisions all the time: which church to join, etc.

[p456]

07:55 PM on 01/24/2011

That would be a fine way to look at it if he was still in his twenties. But as a man matures he should make mature choices.