Republicans will never cut Farm Bill spending

Of course, deficits could be narrowed by focusing on the other side of the ledger — that is, by increasing tax revenue. But Republicans have ruled that out, too.

Instead they’re proposing more tax cuts, which they have tacitly  might worsen deficits. Republicans are also working to gut , which would grind down federal revenue further.

So what options are left?

McCarthy, for his part, has  “eliminat[ing] all the money spent on ‘wokeism.’ ” (How big is the official “wokeism” line item? TBD.) But more broadly, once you reject any trims to entitlements or defense spending and bake in the cost of the GOP’s proposed tax cuts, you’re left with a roughly  hole in budgets over the next decade.

Closing that gap would require eliminating , as the Tax Policy Center’s Howard Gleckman recently noted. That means axing border protection, air-traffic control, farm subsidies, infrastructure and many other categories that both voters and elected officials hold dear.

Republicans don’t seem so seem  on cutting those things, either.