Congress controls the purse strings. The chances of cutting spending in any significant amount are almost nil, because their—and almost everyone else’s—definition of “waste” is viewed as “essential spending” by some other congressmen. It will require great political skill to arrive at spending cuts across the board. The three big buckets of spending are Social Security, Medicare, and the military. Except for possible minor cuts, there is no way that Congress will cut spending in any significant way for these three programs. In addition, there’s longstanding legislation that insulates government bureaucrats from political oversight. It has become a protected class that knows that it really runs the government. Congress would have to vote for a complete overhaul of very long-standing legislation that has made government workers almost a “fourth branch” of government. This is highly unlikely.