July 12, 2011
It's the cuts, stupid
It's tedious to follow the debt ceiling/budget deficit wrangling, I know. Around here, we have the ProJo trumpeting tax increases as the "obvious fix" and telling the Republicans "to do what grownups do" while explaining that "the health-care reform law passed last year would have begun to kick in its projected savings for the government" by 2015. Just trust Obama, right? After all, he's proposing $3 in cuts for every $1 in tax increases (or something like that). Really (and a second source)?
Sen. McConnell has been in talks with Obama and Democrats. We wanted to do something serious and big. Yesterday, he asked point blank how much the Biden-led deal would actually cut from next year's budget. Sen. McConnell has been in talks with Obama and Democrats. We wanted to do something serious and big. Yesterday, he asked point blank how much the Biden-led deal would actually cut from next year's budget. The answer he received was $2 Billion, and it's all smoke and mirrors. In exchange, [Democrats] want $1 Trillion in tax hikes. It's not the kind of deal we're at all interested in. We won't accept guaranteed tax hikes in exchange for fantasy future spending cuts. It's not going to happen. We're going to fight like hell to do what we've said we want: Real spending cuts and caps, a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment, and real entitlement reform. ">The answer he received was $2 Billion, and it's all smoke and mirrors. In exchange, [Democrats] want $1 Trillion in tax hikes. It's not the kind of deal we're at all interested in. We won't accept guaranteed tax hikes in exchange for fantasy future spending cuts. It's not going to happen. We're going to fight like hell to do what we've said we want: Real spending cuts and caps, a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment, and real entitlement reform.Got that? $1 trillion in tax hikes now and $2 billion in budget cuts. Yeah, seems fair.
The good news is you don't have to fly 8 hours anymore to visit Greece. Greece is coming here.
Posted by: Tommy Cranston at July 12, 2011 6:54 PM"$3 in cuts for every $1 in tax increases"
Do I understand political math correctly? The above statement means $3.00 in cuts over the next ten years. The tax increase is effective immediately?
Perhaps we could start with cancelling the ATF's Mexican "guns for thugs" program. Perhaps someone could explain why D.C. requires, what is it, 5 or 6, police departments? As I understand it,these exist to employee, otherwise unemployable, political relatives. If you recall the last Capitol Policeman killed in the line of duty, he was Congressman Moakley's brother in law, formerly a housepainter, and hired at age 57. That is two years past the mandatory retirement age.
These are small things, but they might give rise to a belief in integrity. I am reminded of the old political wisdom "everything is a deal, no deal is too small".
Posted by: Warrington Faust at July 12, 2011 11:46 PMAnd now Shelley silver spoon whitehouse is urging Obama not to compromise on anything
Whitehouse is the worst public official in north america
Why is there not a statewide effort aimed at unseating this ultra-rich, ultra-spoiled piece of vanity who wants to make sure no one else ever gets as rich as he has always been--so there will be less of a wait for him at the fancy golf and eating clubs
Posted by: Don Meisner at July 13, 2011 8:26 AMDon,
Worst public official ever??? Are you forgetting we produced David Cicilline too? You have to at least throw Cicilline into contention for that honor.
Good point. But a least Ciccilline is just a run of the mill dishonest politician. He is not a pretty boy who pretends to care about the little guy so he can gain power and then spends his life among the super-rich privately disdaining anyone not as exalted as he. If I have learned one thing in 44 years it is "be very wary of the very wealthy claiming to be the saviors of the poor and infirm." The irony of these do-good pretende3rs is that their policies destroy hope for the needy and unfortunate by taking away their opportunity (esp. jobs) while making them essentially wards of the state so they will contibue to vote for the "big daddy" like Shelly who promises them free handiests. Liberal Democrats are like crack dealers--keep supplying handouts to the populace and trhey have to keep coming back for more. So while Cicciline is unspeakably bad, I still say Witehouse is the worst politician in North America.
Posted by: Don Meisner at July 14, 2011 8:23 AM