When I began this project to balance the Federal budget, I didn't know I'd end up pulling my hair out by the roots. Never having actually looked at that budget, before, I didn't realize just how out-of-control it is. If I hadn't taken on this project, I never would have believed that the United States could be bankrupt. But bankrupt we are, even though the Government takes in more than $2 trillion in taxes, every year.

I thought that I'd be able to exercise a little Libertarian principle, in making my cuts to the budget. I thought I'd be able to say, "That's unConstitutional, so out it goes." But the truth is that I have very little real discretion. Everything must go, or we'll have to borrow more money. As I said when I began this project, our nation's debt exposes us to economic blackmail. If we hope to retain our independence, as a nation, it is imperative that we stop borrowing. So I continue to make cuts.

The next Agency on the chopping block is the Export-Import Bank of the United States. This Agency lends money to companies that export American products. That may be a worthy program, and its demise is likely to reduce American exports, further reducing our Gross National Product. Closing it down may well cause the economy to shrink, as every cut I've made, so far, will cause the economy to shrink. And a shrinking economy means fewer taxes coming in to the Government. So the budget will have to be further reduced, next year, causing a further shrinking of the economy, and on and on, in a vicious cycle. This is the consequence of decades of reckless over-spending.

I wish I could convey the anguish I feel, over what I'm having to do. But I tell myself that an even worse fate lies before us, as a nation, if we do not rein in our spending. If we continue to borrow and spend in this reckless fashion, our future as a free people will be in jeopardy. It is better to be poor and free than it is, to live in chains. If we become slaves, food will taste like ashes in our mouths, even should that food be the finest of delicacies. If we remain free, we have hope for a brighter future that we can build for ourselves. If we descend into slavery, there will be no foreseeing the end of the darkness.

The Export-Import Bank is closed. That's $13.8 billion saved. $280.8 billion left to go.

I'm sure that most of you are laughing, when you read about my fool-hardy exercise in Federal budget-cutting. "Ha!" you say. "He thinks he's going to close down the Department of Agriculture!" I know it sounds ridiculous. But I'm going through the same turmoil I'd be going through, if I actually had the authority to balance the Federal budget. My objective is to do as little harm as possible, in making my cuts, and I find that the impact is enormous!

Aren't you horrified by what I'm being forced to do? I am. In order to balance the Federal budget and still allow the continuation of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the War on Terror, I'm going to have to close down just about ALL of the Executive Branch of Government. I know that the Libertarians among you are probably cheering, but remember this: even with cuts of $620 billion, the Government won't be in a position to PAY DOWN its National Debt. All we'll be able to do will be to continue paying the interest on it. As enormous a sum as $620 billion is, cutting it would only stop the Government from sinking further into debt; it won't help us start to rise up to the surface, and the debt-free air.

Today, I'm starting my cuts at the Department of Commerce. The only Agency I'm leaving untouched, in this Department, is the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. They're the folks who give warnings about hurricanes, such as Andrew and Katrina. Unfortunately, NOAA's budget constitutes the largest slice of the Department of Commerce. I'm also going to try and leave open the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, mainly because their budget is less than $1 billion. And I have to leave open the Bureau of the Census, because conducting a census is mandated by the US Constitution. Everything else must go. Unfortunately, the only savings I'm able to eke out of this drastic action is a mere $1.5 billion.

That's why I've got to head back over to the Department of Health and Human Services, to look for further cuts. Remember, I've already closed down the National Institutes of Health. Visions of horrifying consequences prevent me from closing down Medicare and Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Indian Health Service. Everything else must go. Good-bye, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Good-bye, Administration for Children and Families. Good-bye, Health Resources and Services Administration. Good-bye, Administration on Aging. Your demise has saved the country $23.5 billion.

As I said in an earlier post, I won't even pretend to guarantee that I'll leave Medicare and Medicaid untouched. I'll try to fund them, of course. But when closing down almost the entire Department of Commerce only nets me $1.5 billion in savings, I have to admit that there simply may not be enough money in the civilian sector of the Executive Branch to allow a cut of $620 billion, without touching Medicare and Medicaid.

Okay, I've saved $25 billion, today. What I've had to do, however, in order to save that money, has left me reeling. And I've got to find an additional $294.6 billion to cut! What's next?

With $468.2 billion left to cut from the Federal budget, I have no alternative other than to close down the Department of Education. I've already been forced to wipe out the Pell grants program. Now come the Federal loans for higher education. Now come the State education grants. Everything in the Department is going to be shut down.

All I can say, in my own defense, is that the cost of higher education is going to have to come down, as a result of this action. By removing almost $100 billion in student loans from the demand side of the equation, I've sucked the pricing capacity out of the supply side. Without that guarantee of federal money augmenting the ability of students and their families to pay for college, a vast number of students will be unable to afford the current cost. Universities will be emptied out, unless they either lower their tuition or private financing steps into the breach.

Of course, I know a few teachers who will be happy about this development. The paperwork burden that the Department of Education is requiring of teachers is enormous, and the Department's goal of turning Universities into factories that churn out a mass-produced product (meaning students) is causing a lot of outrage among teachers. Well, my friends, it's all coming to an end.

The Department of Education is history. That's $148.6 billion saved. $319.6 billion left to go. What's next?