This Is Why It's So Hard To Cut Public Spending
Odd Lots10 Feb 2025

This Is Why It's So Hard To Cut Public Spending

The Trump administration has come into office with big ambitions to lower the size of the US deficit. So far, a number of small items have been identified as possible waste. But to meaningfully bend the curve on spending, there's widespread agreement that we'd have to look at things like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense. This is hard stuff to cut and it's something that governments around the world have long struggled with. How do you pull back on a prior commitment that your constituency has come to expect? In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Firtz Bartel, an assistant professor of international affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M. He is also the author of the recent book The Triumph of Broken Promises, which examines the simultaneous economic crisis in the US, UK, and Soviet Union during the 1970s, and how each country was forced economically to essentially "break promises." We talk about what it takes politically to maintain domestic credibility for any government while undergoing such wrenching choices, and why some systems are better suited for it than others.

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Episoder(1192)

What the Iran War Means for Dubai's Luxury Boom

What the Iran War Means for Dubai's Luxury Boom

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Here's Why The Iran War Is Prompting A Safe Haven Rethink

Here's Why The Iran War Is Prompting A Safe Haven Rethink

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21 Mar 12min

Greg Brew on Surging Energy and the 'Strategic Trap' of the War in Iran

Greg Brew on Surging Energy and the 'Strategic Trap' of the War in Iran

The war in Iran has already lasted longer than many people might have expected. There was an initial assumption, after oil prices started surging, that President Trump could just declare victory at an...

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How War in Iran Will Squeeze America's Farmers Even Further

How War in Iran Will Squeeze America's Farmers Even Further

America’s farmers can’t seem to catch a break. Years of thin margins and rising costs have already stretched them to the limit. And now, war with Iran is making things even harder. The conflict is dri...

19 Mar 47min

War in Iran Is Redrawing the Map for Natural Gas

War in Iran Is Redrawing the Map for Natural Gas

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18 Mar 44min

War in Iran is Chewing Through American Missile Stockpiles

War in Iran is Chewing Through American Missile Stockpiles

The war in Iran has been fought almost entirely in the skies, with both offensive missiles, as well as anti-missile defense systems. But the math is brutal. The war in Ukraine has already put a dent i...

16 Mar 44min

What War in Iran Means for China's Teapot Oil Refineries

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In the wake of the war in Iran, oil prices have shot up for everyone. But not all oil is exactly equal. And, obviously, a lot of Iranian oil goes to China specifically. Furthermore, because Iran’s oil...

13 Mar 43min

Legendary Hacker Matt Suiche on Cyberwar in the Age of AI

Legendary Hacker Matt Suiche on Cyberwar in the Age of AI

We tend to think of warfare in two distinct arenas: the physical and the digital. Increasingly, however, those lines are blurring. Last week, Iran launched drone strikes on data centers in the UAE and...

12 Mar 49min

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