[palmotea]

> Is "mandatory" spending actually fundamentally mandatory? Characterizing it as such feels like a sleight of hand that prevents us from discussing whether that spend is truly necessary.

> In an overspending crisis of such magnitude I wish there was more urgency in the culture to cut spending across every budget segment regardless of whether it's "mandatory" or not.

I'm betting it includes stuff like Social Security payments, Medicare, etc. So it's fundamentally mandatory as real people's lives were planned around its availability.