Donald Trump's Budget Proposal Just Might Work

President Trump's still-fuzzy proposal to cut $54 billion next year from non-defense spending is ambitious and politically questionable, but it is neither unprecedented nor impossible to achieve. Budgetary history (of two sorts) shows that savings of such size can, under the right circumstances, be both reasonable and economically productive. Before delving into the big-picture numbers, let's allow the disclaimer that not only is the devil in the details but so may be scores of lesser demons. Trump's details have not been yet released, and may not even have been figured out by the White House itself.