So it wasn't Plan A, or Plan B. It was Plan "See I told you so". (Wish I could take credit for that, but that's the intellectual property of Rush, and his book by the similar name).
Anyway, as I've already gone through in the last post, that "Boehner plan" was just the vehicle for the Senate watering down of everything, and here we are, with that "great and wonderful" deal passed and the stock market is tanking by 250 plus points. Must be great, eh?
Just more of the same. No cuts this year, no cuts next year, and promises to cut miniscule amount starting in 2013 that will never materialize. Except maybe the military gutting part. The left wing radicals love gutting the military.
And of course we have the Ministry of Truth (otherwise known as the media such as the NY Times and Washington Post) running around saying this was a victory for the TEA party and fiscal conservatives while at the same time using the same inflammatory rhetoric like calling the fiscally sane among us terrorists and hostage takers showing their outrage that the hard left wasn't able to get even MORE tax increases on top of the massive Obamacare taxes slated to begin soon enough to run business even further into the ground. Meanwhile the EPA and other agencies are busy spitting out regulation after regulation shutting down power plants and coal mines and many other businesses under the radar.
The only sane people in this country left are those that are aligned with groups like the TEA party for spending cuts, baseline budgeting reform, and deregulation. While it's true that there's tens of millions of people already on the team, it's unfortunate that there's not nearly enough representation in Congress to reflect this large number of people. I just hope the weak and feckless leadership of the Republican party hasn't undermined the momentum of the movement. But from what I've seen, anger is dwarfing apathy, and there's going to be a lot of Republicans paying a huge price in the next Congressional elections. And I'll be just one of many of those people working to those ends.
Showing posts with label national debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national debt. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
2011 Budget Passes House; America Loses Again
After seven months of being delinquent, today the House of Representatives finally passed the 2011 Budget. Unfortunately, it's a loser for the nation as no real cuts were made upon examination of the final legislation. The final result: about $350 million in cuts. Yes, that's right. Million. If this was a state budget, that might be a meaningful cut. However we're speaking of the over bloated federal government budget that totals around $3.8 TRILLION dollars. This is so meaningless it's pointless to calculate the percentage as it's so far under 1% it's laughable. Include the fact that that "one time" stimulus spending has been built into the budget "permanently", it's inexcusable that any fiscally sane person would vote for this.
Conclusion: Only 59 Republican incumbents deserve to be re-elected in 2012 in the House.
In fact, they're the only ones that deserve to be re-elected in the entire body. All the Democrats that voted against the bill did the "right" thing for the wrong reasons -- they believed it actually cut TOO MUCH.
Boehner doesn't deserve to be in the House of Representatives, let alone be Speaker. He threw away his biggest political weapon in the negotiations (a government furlough of non-essential employees and services) before the negotiations even started. He also low-balled the original cuts at about 2.6% of the $3.8T budget, then quickly got whittled down from there. Anyone who has ever purchased a car knows negotiating tactics better than the current Speaker of the House.
So the result: another trillion plus dollar deficit, which can't even be explained as being put on a credit card -- because a large chunk of this "financing" is coming from printing money, and purchasing our own debt through Federal Reserve shenanigans since nobody else will buy it anymore due to the reckless irresponsible spending that has been occurring the last few years 2007-2010, and now by virtue of incompetent and spineless politicians in the House, 2011.
Conclusion: Only 59 Republican incumbents deserve to be re-elected in 2012 in the House.
In fact, they're the only ones that deserve to be re-elected in the entire body. All the Democrats that voted against the bill did the "right" thing for the wrong reasons -- they believed it actually cut TOO MUCH.
Boehner doesn't deserve to be in the House of Representatives, let alone be Speaker. He threw away his biggest political weapon in the negotiations (a government furlough of non-essential employees and services) before the negotiations even started. He also low-balled the original cuts at about 2.6% of the $3.8T budget, then quickly got whittled down from there. Anyone who has ever purchased a car knows negotiating tactics better than the current Speaker of the House.
So the result: another trillion plus dollar deficit, which can't even be explained as being put on a credit card -- because a large chunk of this "financing" is coming from printing money, and purchasing our own debt through Federal Reserve shenanigans since nobody else will buy it anymore due to the reckless irresponsible spending that has been occurring the last few years 2007-2010, and now by virtue of incompetent and spineless politicians in the House, 2011.
Friday, April 1, 2011
The 28th Amendment to the Constitution
The 28th Amendment to the Constitution has been proposed, and it's a good one. All 47 Republicans in the Senate have signed on to support a Constitutional amendment that would fix the financial problems in the country from getting any worse -- overnight.
The biggest aspect of the amendment states that the federal government can spend only 18% of the nation's GDP unless a declaration of war has been made. This by itself is huge in that it would immediately reduce government spending from the outrageous rate of 25% of GDP that it is now under Obama, to 18% .. lower than it was during the Bush Administration.
Other aspects of the amendment include needing super majorities of Congress to raise taxes and the debt limit, requiring Congress to balance the budget and the President to submit a balanced budget. This amendment will finally force the spendaholics to put a finite amount of money where it is needed most -- prioritize in other words -- just like we have to do in the real world. And since there's a cap on spending, statist "liberals" will not be able to balance the budget by increasing taxes and spending at the same time -- they can only spend a set amount of money per fiscal year.
It's nice to see the new Senators like Mike Lee and Rand Paul getting a coherent solution put together and supported. Of course this is a long way from being approved -- super majorities of the Senate and House have to approve the amendment before it is sent out to be ratified by the States. The good news however is, since so many State Legislatures were taken over by Republicans in the 2010 race, if the amendment can get out of Congress then it is almost assuredly going to be ratified.
Still a big if -- but it's just the beginning of gathering support for this. If statist "liberals" refuse to go along -- which they undoubtedly will -- they will have to be exposed and further voted out until this thing is passed. This has to be made the top priority and campaign issue alongside the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This political one-two punch to the statist "liberals" will be the combination to knock them out of power and get the financial health of this nation turned around in short order.
The biggest aspect of the amendment states that the federal government can spend only 18% of the nation's GDP unless a declaration of war has been made. This by itself is huge in that it would immediately reduce government spending from the outrageous rate of 25% of GDP that it is now under Obama, to 18% .. lower than it was during the Bush Administration.
Other aspects of the amendment include needing super majorities of Congress to raise taxes and the debt limit, requiring Congress to balance the budget and the President to submit a balanced budget. This amendment will finally force the spendaholics to put a finite amount of money where it is needed most -- prioritize in other words -- just like we have to do in the real world. And since there's a cap on spending, statist "liberals" will not be able to balance the budget by increasing taxes and spending at the same time -- they can only spend a set amount of money per fiscal year.
It's nice to see the new Senators like Mike Lee and Rand Paul getting a coherent solution put together and supported. Of course this is a long way from being approved -- super majorities of the Senate and House have to approve the amendment before it is sent out to be ratified by the States. The good news however is, since so many State Legislatures were taken over by Republicans in the 2010 race, if the amendment can get out of Congress then it is almost assuredly going to be ratified.
Still a big if -- but it's just the beginning of gathering support for this. If statist "liberals" refuse to go along -- which they undoubtedly will -- they will have to be exposed and further voted out until this thing is passed. This has to be made the top priority and campaign issue alongside the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This political one-two punch to the statist "liberals" will be the combination to knock them out of power and get the financial health of this nation turned around in short order.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Why the Washington Post is a joke
The headline House approves dramatic cuts in federal spending in 235-189 vote
This all about $60 billion in cuts.
Dramatic is right. Dramatically underwhelming. If you recall we are talking about a $1.6 TRILLION dollar deficit and a $3.6 TRILLION dollar budget. Even prorated, we're talking less than $110 billion in cuts. Let's do the math, shall we? Yes, that's less than 7% of the deficit, and about 3% of the entire budget. And we won't even divide by the $110 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities of SS, Medicare, and drug plan because the % is going to hundredths of 1%. Wow, yes that's dramatic. A dramatic joke, and calling it dramatic seriously is why the WaPo, NYT and most other liberal rags are considered a joke by people that actually know what's going on.
But then, some big spending, big government clown will propose say, $52 billion in spending on a high speed rail project less than 5% of people will use and call that a great investment, and not much money at all. You can't have it both ways you hypocrites.
Dramatic indeed.
This all about $60 billion in cuts.
Dramatic is right. Dramatically underwhelming. If you recall we are talking about a $1.6 TRILLION dollar deficit and a $3.6 TRILLION dollar budget. Even prorated, we're talking less than $110 billion in cuts. Let's do the math, shall we? Yes, that's less than 7% of the deficit, and about 3% of the entire budget. And we won't even divide by the $110 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities of SS, Medicare, and drug plan because the % is going to hundredths of 1%. Wow, yes that's dramatic. A dramatic joke, and calling it dramatic seriously is why the WaPo, NYT and most other liberal rags are considered a joke by people that actually know what's going on.
But then, some big spending, big government clown will propose say, $52 billion in spending on a high speed rail project less than 5% of people will use and call that a great investment, and not much money at all. You can't have it both ways you hypocrites.
Dramatic indeed.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Real Cost of Big Government
Numbers are thrown around all the time from various sources, both credible and otherwise about budgets, taxes, and the cost of entitlement programs. For the most part a single individual cannot even comprehend magnitudes of billions of dollars, and now we're talking trillions. Politicians and self-appointed economic geniuses get bogged down in the trenches of individual government programs, individual lines of the tax code, and individual regulations. We lose sight of the big picture.
If you have children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews or even are a young person yourself, take a good look at them (or in the mirror). Then take a look at what the future tax rates are going to have to be in order to keep the federal government from collapsing under the weight of the debt being created today. Estimates are the lowest income bracket will have to go from 10% to 25% and the middle income brackets will become 66%, up from 25-28%. And that's before you start counting State income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, etc. So in essence, if we continue on this spending binge, in the very near future, average people trying to work hard and earn a living will be paying between 70-80% or more, of their income to fund paying off the debts we are incurring so callously today. And if your children are working that much for the government instead of themselves or their own families, are they really going to be free? I submit to you that the answer is no. People will be working as tax slaves. The real cost of big government is very literally, our freedom.
Now with that groundwork of what the future is going to hold laid, let's return to the present.
Today, the President threatened to veto any spending bill that cut $60 billion or more out of a budget that spends almost 4 trillion dollars. $60B is 1.5% of 4 trillion. So the President says that 98.5% of his budget is untouchable. How many sane people believe that 98.5% of what the federal government spends is actually vitally important?
When you further consider that this 4 trillion dollar budget includes locking in the almost trillion dollars worth of "stimulus" spending as a permanent thing, can a sane person really believe that more than 25% of the federal budget is vitally important? That so-called stimulus layout was supposed to be a one-time thing, wasn't it?
Take a look at that article. While I normally disapprove of the way the national media implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) endorses the fiscal ruination of this nation, Jake Tapper is normally very good on actual reporting instead of regurgitating what he's told by government officials.
It's the same old tired propaganda of "we have to spend more on education, this that and the other..." because it's compassionate and/or good for the future.
How compassionate/good for the future is the very realistic scenario outlined above?
If the President thinks that 1.5% of the massively over-inflated budget is worth shutting down the entire government temporarily, then it's time to go ahead and do it. In the end, a little inconvenience now is much preferable to enslaving ourselves and our children to the government in the future.
If you have children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews or even are a young person yourself, take a good look at them (or in the mirror). Then take a look at what the future tax rates are going to have to be in order to keep the federal government from collapsing under the weight of the debt being created today. Estimates are the lowest income bracket will have to go from 10% to 25% and the middle income brackets will become 66%, up from 25-28%. And that's before you start counting State income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, etc. So in essence, if we continue on this spending binge, in the very near future, average people trying to work hard and earn a living will be paying between 70-80% or more, of their income to fund paying off the debts we are incurring so callously today. And if your children are working that much for the government instead of themselves or their own families, are they really going to be free? I submit to you that the answer is no. People will be working as tax slaves. The real cost of big government is very literally, our freedom.
Now with that groundwork of what the future is going to hold laid, let's return to the present.
Today, the President threatened to veto any spending bill that cut $60 billion or more out of a budget that spends almost 4 trillion dollars. $60B is 1.5% of 4 trillion. So the President says that 98.5% of his budget is untouchable. How many sane people believe that 98.5% of what the federal government spends is actually vitally important?
When you further consider that this 4 trillion dollar budget includes locking in the almost trillion dollars worth of "stimulus" spending as a permanent thing, can a sane person really believe that more than 25% of the federal budget is vitally important? That so-called stimulus layout was supposed to be a one-time thing, wasn't it?
Take a look at that article. While I normally disapprove of the way the national media implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) endorses the fiscal ruination of this nation, Jake Tapper is normally very good on actual reporting instead of regurgitating what he's told by government officials.
It's the same old tired propaganda of "we have to spend more on education, this that and the other..." because it's compassionate and/or good for the future.
How compassionate/good for the future is the very realistic scenario outlined above?
If the President thinks that 1.5% of the massively over-inflated budget is worth shutting down the entire government temporarily, then it's time to go ahead and do it. In the end, a little inconvenience now is much preferable to enslaving ourselves and our children to the government in the future.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Future of the US
Just seeing news in Greece and the protests and rioting going on there. It's like looking into the future. The future that "progressives" are progressing us toward here in the United States. An entitlement mentality so ingrained that even when the country and currency is about to collapse under the weight of debt, a large portion the people still don't want to make sacrifices. Perhaps if they hadn't run up the credit card so high the bill that came due wouldn't have been so bad.
Can you say $55 trillion in underfunded liability to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? Yeah, I've got a great idea. Let's expand that massive Medicare program that's bleeding red ink to EVERYBODY in the country.
The credit card bill goes even higher. What's going on in Greece will look like a playground fight between 7 year olds compared to what is going to happen here when the bill collectors finally come calling. Unless we stop the out of control spending and this rogue government now and start reversing the damage.
Can you say $55 trillion in underfunded liability to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? Yeah, I've got a great idea. Let's expand that massive Medicare program that's bleeding red ink to EVERYBODY in the country.
The credit card bill goes even higher. What's going on in Greece will look like a playground fight between 7 year olds compared to what is going to happen here when the bill collectors finally come calling. Unless we stop the out of control spending and this rogue government now and start reversing the damage.
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