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So you want to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget

Political Theater, Episode 353

Sen. Max Baucus is questioned by reporters outside the Senate Foreign Relations room in the Capitol, where members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also know as the “super committee,” were holding a meeting on Nov. 17, 2011.
Sen. Max Baucus is questioned by reporters outside the Senate Foreign Relations room in the Capitol, where members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also know as the “super committee,” were holding a meeting on Nov. 17, 2011. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when Washington says it will cut the federal deficit. Easier said than done! Just ask the 2011 super committee, which had a mandate and bipartisan support yet failed spectacularly. For this podcast, we combine the powers of the Political Theater podcast with sister podcast CQ Budget and its illustrious host, the Budget Tracker, as well as his long-suffering editor.

Show Notes:

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