The U.S. government is one week away from the sequester deadline, when $1.2 trillion of across-the-board spending cuts will go into effect.
The budget slashing is set to hit everything from NASA to food inspectors, and members of both parties are alternately playing the blame game and trying to come up with a solution to avoid the cuts.
Still, it's worth noting that there are some things the government spends money on that could definitely go.
Each year, the conservative Heritage Foundation combs through the budget and points out some particularly egregious expenditures and redundancies.
Here are forty cuts they've identified that the government can totally afford to make.
The government wasted $115.3 billion in improper payments, paying money either to the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason.
Source: Heritage Foundation
Amtrak lost $84.5 million having food and beverage services, a total of $833.8 million in 10 years. It has never broken a profit on serving food.
Source: Heritage Foundation
The Conservation Reserve Program of the Department of Agriculture pays farmers $2.1 billion every year not to farm in order to reduce soil erosion.
Source: Heritage Foundation
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