“Don’t get me wrong when I say this, the gov needs to be reigned in, but has anyone considered the impact massive cuts like that will have?”
The pain will be difficult. No politician will support any meaningful reform until the illusion of free government spending is thoroughly clear. When the majority of voters finally understand the unsustainability of our current path, it may be too late. External forces will already be delivering the bitter pain. Democrats have convinced a large number of voters that the rich will be forced to pay for their benefits. Reductions in spending will be aimed at the military. Obama has a clever plan to dilute the immediate impact of military reductions with several large contracts to foreign governments.
We are in much worse shape than Europe. Europe has high taxes across the board especially with income taxes high on even low wage workers and a VAT and gas tax that increases the prices of almost every consumer good. Europe is starting to take the bitter medicine now. Democrats here just keep expanding the welfare state (student loans, Obamacare, food stamps, housing assistance, ...), sharply increasing regulations, and government control of the economy. Government employee unions have no intention to reduce their outrageous demands for retirement compensation. The unions have tremendous legal protections that place their benefits ahead of every other spending priority. Courts will support the unions and may make demands for increased spending in other areas such as eduation (see idiotic court decisions in Colorado and Washington state).
It's clear that education needs more money...look what's happening to our school kids.
Only a hateful, mean-spirited person would want to harm our children with cuts to education.