September 14, 2005
Drinking the Kool-Aid
Tom DeLay declares there is no fat left in the federal budget:
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an "ongoing victory," and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans' choice to borrow money and add to this year's expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn't seem possible."My answer to those that want to offset the spending is sure, bring me the offsets, I'll be glad to do it. But nobody has been able to come up with any yet," the Texas Republican told reporters at his weekly briefing.
Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, "Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared it down pretty good."
Congress has passed two hurricane relief bills totaling $62.3 billion, all of which will be added to the deficit...
Some Republicans wanted to offer an amendment, including cuts, to pay for hurricane spending but were denied the chance under procedural rules.
"This is hardly a well-oiled machine," said Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican. "There's a lot of fat to trim. ... I wonder if we've been serving in the same Congress."
American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene said federal spending already was "spiraling out of control" before Katrina, and conservatives are "increasingly losing faith in the president and the Republican leadership in Congress."
"Excluding military and homeland security, American taxpayers have witnessed the largest spending increase under any preceding president and Congress since the Great Depression," he said...
DeLay and his gang are drinking some serious Kool-Aid that only gets served up to people who spend too much time in Washington, D.C. and, thereby, lose touch with economic reality.
This posting extends the arguments made here and here.
How can these people talk and keep a straight face?
I don't know the exact figures (or even if they're available), BUT:
1) I suspect, certainly in absolute terms, and probably in inflation-adjusted terms, that the Federal budget (and therefore the Federal government) has increased more under the post-1994 Republican-controlled Congresses than under all Democrat-controlled Congresses combined.
2) This may also hold true for the George W. Bush administration as compared to all previous administrations, whether alone and/or combined.
3) The spin regarding George W's "decreasing taxes" nothwithstanding - all that has been done has been jiggling around tax RATES.
In reality, TAXES are the reciprocal of federal budgets - tax RATES only determine when and by whom the the federal budget is actually paid for.
Therefore, under the same analysis of #1 and #2 above, the Republican Party likely also deserves the ignoble distinction of having been responsible for the largest tax increases in American history!
Posted by: Tom W at September 16, 2005 1:14 PM