Runaway spending? Where do we slice and dice?

Now we know. Southeast Missouri's congressman is in favor of closing Fort Leonard Wood. There are plenty of other military facilities to handle the load.

Ka-Ching! Billions of dollars saved.

And U.S. Rep. Jason Smith favors closing the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. Let the soldiers who risked their health and limbs in the defense of freedom find their own medical care.

Ka-Ching! Billions of dollars saved.

Rep. Smith favors a scorched-earth policy regarding the Affordable Care Act. As we all know (because Mitt Romney told us so), folks without health insurance can get free medical care at any hospital emergency room. Let everyone else foot the bill.

Ka-Ching! Billions of dollars saved.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways? Mark Twain National Forest? Shut 'em down. They might even be cash cows for the federal government by selling them off to Japanese lumber cartels and canoe-rental operators.

Ka-Ching! Billions of dollars saved.

Our congressman also is in favor of eliminating farm subsidies. We all eat too much anyway, and what better incentive to moderate our calorie intake than $27-a-gallon milk and $14-a-loaf bread?

Ka-Ching! Billions of dollars saved.

Federal buildings, bridge inspections, interstate highway maintenance, airport passenger-service subsidies, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, monthly disability payments -- is it really necessary for the federal government to pay for all of this? Let private enterprise do it.

Ka-Ching! Billions of dollars saved.

How do I know Congressman Smith is in favor of all these things -- and many more? Because he told us so.

Remember a few days ago when the federal government was about to default because the debt ceiling, the one raised by Congress every few months, had been maxed out? Smith said he would vote against raising the debt ceiling and the reopening of the federal government. And he did.

Why?

Because Smith, like many other opportunistic elected officials, knows how to get attention. But, like most of his colleagues, if he knows anything about actually addressing the revenue/spending issues of running a federal government, he isn't telling us. No, it's so much simpler -- and appealing to voters -- to say: Shut 'er down. We don't need all that dangblasted government.

Of course, Smith is a smart fellow. He knows what he says and does regarding spending and the national debt sound right to his constituents. And he also knows that cutting off the government's ability to borrow to meet its obligations is beyond the pale.

Smith knows that the debt ceiling must be raised periodically to cover expenses already lawfully approved by -- let's see, who is it again? -- the Congress.

So what Congressman Smith and his cohorts are really saying is this: If we are serious about debt ceilings, we have to get serious about spending. And if we get serious about spending we have to make some drastic cuts that will ripple through the economy in ways this nation has never experienced, not even during the Great Depression.

This is why I'm sure Smith will find no fault with my list of cuts in Southeast Missouri. He said he wanted to send a message that government spending has to be brought under control. He said it, and I believe him.

So, which will you push for first, congressman? I might start with those riverways. Nobody uses them during the winter anyway.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.