Cutting to the Quick

Reagan unveils a budget plan that kills, chops and freezes

Parts of the scheme had been leaked in advance, and everyone assumed it was only an opening gambit. Even so, the scope of President Reagan's budget-cutting proposal was little short of staggering. As presented to the Cabinet last week, it would freeze dozens of politically popular spending programs and mark others for outright extinction. Among the phaseouts: the Small Business Administration and the Job Corps. In the plan's single biggest surprise, the President recommended a 5% pay cut next year for the Federal Government's...