Tag: Spending Reduction

Those Fiscal Responsible Republicans

You know who they are….they are the ones shouting loudly for spending cuts in social programs, environment programs, just about all programs with the exception of the Pentagon which gets more than it asks for in the budget.

This past ‘debt crisis’ deal found the poor being whacked on the pee pee….and yet these same ‘spend thrifts’ have a plan….

They think they deserve a pay raise…..

After taking the global economy hostage to secure painful cuts to aid programs and other federal spending, House Republicans are proposing a pay raise for themselves and other members of Congress for the coming fiscal year.

Roll Callreported Thursday that under spending legislation approved by the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee last month, members of Congress “would stand to receive a 4.6%, or $8,000, pay increase” in 2024. Most members of Congress currently make an annual salary of $174,000, putting them in the top 10% of U.S. earners.

“Lawmakers last received a cost-of-living increase in 2009,” the outlet noted, “but House Republicans left out the traditional language blocking a cost-of-living increase for members from this year’s Legislative Branch bill.”

The Republican-led push for a congressional pay increase comes just weeks after GOP leaders negotiated a debt ceiling agreement with President Joe Biden that imposes new work requirements on older recipients of federal food aid, a change that experts say is likely to strip benefits from around 750,000 low-income people.

Congressional Republicans are also pushing for even steeper cuts to federal spending than were agreed upon in the debt ceiling deal, threatening a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the House GOP is working to pass legislation that would hand the top 1% of U.S. earners $28 billion in tax cuts next year.

(commondreams.org)

Seriously?

I bunch of lay abouts that work 3 days a week and about 5 months a year think they deserve a pay increase….if anything since they can get nothing done legislatively they owe the taxpayers a refund.

Can you believe these douche bags?

They want to cut benefits across the board for poor and low income workers and think that deserves a pay raise.

These assholes have some nerve!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Budget Of The Century

The new federal budget is making news these days…..and boy is it a whopper of a budget……and as one would think since the GOP is ruling the roost the social programs will be hit and hit hard…..

A rundown of thoughts of the new federal budget……pending budget.

President Trump’s first budget proposal was officially unveiled Thursday morning—and it delivers exactly what he promised. The proposal—titled “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again”—contains cuts that the Washington Post says could be the biggest reduction in federal programs since the post-World War II drawdown. The Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department are the hardest-hit agencies according to budget previews, with cuts of around 30%. Military spending would be beefed up by $54 billion under the proposal, $1.5 billion is earmarked for a border wall, and Homeland Security would get a 6.8% funding increase. A roundup of coverage about the $1.15 trillion spending plan:

  • The document is here.
  • Politico reports that the budget is “red meat” for Trump’s base, with deep cuts to their most disliked government agencies and programs, though it is also what’s known as a “skinny budget” because it is so short on details. A more detailed budget will be out in May.
  • The AP lists winners and losers. The latter group includes the departments of Energy, Labor, and Transportation, along with after-school programs and many independent agencies supported by tax dollars.
  • White House budget director Mick Mulvaney acknowledged that the cuts would lead to job losses, Reuters reports. “You can’t drain the swamp and leave all the people in it,” he said during a budget preview Wednesday. He said that White House officials had looked at Trump’s campaign speeches, and “turned those policies into numbers.”
  • The New York Times reports that congressional Republicans have already declared parts of the plan dead on arrival. “The administration’s budget isn’t going to be the budget,” Sen. Marco Rubio told reporters. “We do the budget here. The administration makes recommendations, but Congress does budgets.”
  • The Hill notes that such proposals tend to be “little more than guidance” for lawmakers—and that the Senate shot down Obama’s 2015 budget 98 to 1.
  • The AP reports that the budget funds Trump’s boost for the Pentagon, the biggest since Ronald Reagan’s, with cuts to conservative targets including the National Endowment for the Arts, legal aid for the poor, and the AmeriCorps national service program.
  • NBC notes that Trump’s proposal, which makes cuts to 12 out of 15 Cabinet agencies, only covers the “discretionary” quarter of the $4 trillion budget for the fiscal year that starts in October. The portion dealing with issues including taxation, Social Security, and Medicare is due in mid-May.
  • The Washington Post reports that the budget proposal’s elimination of funding for public broadcasting means that Big Bird’s doom has been predicted once again, though public broadcasting has survived previous “zero funding” proposals all the way back to Richard Nixon.

Now that we know what is being said about the new budget…..how about we look at the programs destined for the trash heap……

  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting ($445 million): Funds local public television and radio stations, including PBS and NPR.
  • National Endowment for the Arts ($148 million): Funds after-school programs, art shows, musical productions, and more as part of its goal of getting Americans involved in the arts, according to Quartz.
  • Northern Border Regional Commission ($8 million): An economic development agency for New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, according to USA Today.
  • Chemical Safety Board ($11 million): Investigates and makes safety recommendations following chemical accidents at federal facilities.
  • Legal Services Corporation ($385 million): Provides free legal advice to low-income Americans, funding more than 9,000 full-time legal staff.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities ($148 million): Provides scholarships in literature and culture.
  • United States Institute of Peace ($35 million): A federal think tank with 300 employees that focuses on conflict resolution.
  • United States Interagency Council on Homelessness ($4 million): Federal agency tasked with responding to and reducing homelessness.
  • Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars ($11 million): Provides scholarships in social sciences and humanities.
  • Denali Commission ($20 million): An economic development agency for Alaska.
  • Inter-American Foundation ($22 million): Promotes “citizen-led grassroots development” in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Delta Regional Authority ($25 million): An economic development agency for eight states in the Mississippi Delta region.
  • African Development Foundation ($30 million): Encourages economic development in Africa.
  • US Trade and Development Agency ($60 million): Promotes US transportation, energy, and telecommunications exports.
  • Overseas Private Investment Corporation ($83 million): Promotes private investment from US in the developing world.
  • Appalachian Regional Commission ($146 million): Works to improve the economy in Appalachia, according to Politico.
  • Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation ($175 million): Also known as Neighborworks America, it helps affordable housing programs.
  • Institute for Museum and Library Services ($230 million): Funds 35,000 museums and 123,000 libraries around the country.

Corporation for National & Community Service ($1.1 billion): Also known as AmeriCorps, it coordinates and promotes community service around the country.

All the programs that have been hated by the GOP for decades…..but let’s say this budget passes (I do not think that it will)……how will it effect those people that supported Trump during his his to the tower?

As a candidate, President Donald Trump promised to focus on revitalizing predominantly rural and small-town industries across America, claiming that “[f]amily farms are the backbone of this country” and that “coal is coming back.” President Trump visited these small towns and rural areas promising voters he would “create massive numbers of jobs” and that he would “rebuild … your communities.” But the agenda that Trump is advancing—reflected in his “skinny budget” released today as well as in his reported past policy proposals and statements—reveals his bait and switch on voters in these very communities.

Source: 10 Ways President Trump’s Agenda Will Harm His Supporters in Rural and Small-Town America – Center for American Progress

This all leads me to thank all those members of the “Ignorati” that helped elect this person and they can oversee the destruction of the American society….Are You Satisfied? (to quote Wild Bill Hickcock)

Let me close with a quote from Press Sec Spicer…..”just because you get less money does mean it is a cut”…..I love these people….only the “Ignorati” could give us this collection of mental midgets.

Social Security: A Public Service Message

I try to keep my readers up-to-date on things that I think will effect them…….NOTHING is more important to us seniors than Social Security……

We old farts when the subject of Social Security is mentioned our ears perk up and we take notice…….I mean the GOP has got more ideas how to screw the elderly than I have hairs on my butt.

Unfortunately senior citizens seem to get the worst screwing every election……the really sad part is most of them vote for the very people that bend them over……apparently we are slow learners…….

I read an article that predicted a cut of possibly 19% to Social Security and just had to see where it lead……..

Our annual report on the state of Social Security and Medicare was issued yesterday, and from a 30,000-foot view, the AP sees Social Security’s financial health as having grown no worse in the past year. In fact, the program’s retirement trust fund is projected to be able to pay full benefits through 2034; in last year’s checkup, the prediction was 2033. But for 11 million Americans, there was bad news: Unless the dwindling disability trust fund is replenished in short order, their benefits will automatically be cut 19% late next year. That’s because as of Q4 of 2016, revenues would cover only the remaining 81%, reports the New York Times. What that looks like: Instead of an average $1,017 monthly check, disabled workers would get $824, reports the AP. That’s $9,888 per year; the Times notes that beneficiaries’ average salary before disability was $42,000.

The looming insolvency sets the stage for a potential battle between President Obama and the GOP. The president would like to see a portion of the payroll tax revenue earmarked for the retirement trust fund shifted to the disability one. That adjustment has happened before (in both directions), but only with congressional approval. Congress has indicated it’s unwilling to repeat the move without some changes, such as adjustments to the program to cut down on fraud and help the disabled re-enter the workforce. Program trustees painted the “reallocation” as needed but not a long-term solution. The report also indicated there would not be an annual cost-of-living adjustment at year’s end, though that could change. If it doesn’t come to pass, it’ll be only the third year without one since 1975.

All we can do is keep our chin up and vote for those that will protect what little benefits we seniors receive……

Feel The Bern!

Trim With A Clever

I took a wait and see attitude to Mr. Ryan’s new plan……wanted to see what was said in defense or opposition…….

We have had the prez budget and now Mr. Ryan has yet another one for us to worry about…..his idea is to cur $5.1 trillion from the budget in ten years……and of course it will fall on the backs of the poor and middle class to do all the sacrifice while corporations get an almost free ride on everything…….

Paul Ryan unveiled a Republican budget plan today that would slash $5.1 trillion in federal spending over the coming decade and balance the government’s books with wide-ranging cuts in programs like food stamps and government-paid health care for the poor and working class. About 40% of Ryan’s projected savings would come from the repeal of ObamaCare, reports the Wall Street Journal. Ryan’s budget claims balance by 2024, but relies on $74 billion in savings in that year from the macroeconomic effects of cutting deficits, which CBO says would have a long-term positive effect because it would free up savings and investment capital. Democrats are sure to seize on the maneuver as phony math; without these projections, however, Ryan’s budget plan would fall almost $70 billion short of balance.

The New York Times writes that Ryan’s plan “will serve more as a 2014 Republican campaign manifesto than a legislative agenda.” And the Washington Post says it “amounts to personal manifesto on government austerity from a man who has emerged as the GOP’s leading light on fiscal policy.” The Post also notes that Ryan wants to replace the outgoing Dave Camp as the next chair of the Ways and Means panel while still keeping his options open for a 2016 run for the White House. His complete budget blueprint is here via the Hill.

In his 2014 budget proposal, Ryan backed cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) – the program colloquially known as food stamps – and called for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s benefits. According to the CBPP, these cuts, which accounted for 72 percent of the budget’s total program cuts, would have “resulted in large increases in poverty and deprived many millions of affordable health insurance.”

Read the proposal and tell me if you think it is more for political campaigns than reality……..yes, this will be a manifesto for elections in November and most likely will also be used for the 2016 ones also……..

Does it sound like Trickle Down 2.0?

You think it sucks now….just wait for the results in 2014 and see how quick they start trying to implement these cuts……the election results will dictate their actions……..

Are You Sure You Want Cuts?

College of Economic Knowledge

Class is in session……..

Here a cut….there a cut….everywhere a cut, cut……..the news is just crammed with this story or that….this program needs a cut or that…….nut what is the truth?

A little history from the way back machine (a time machine of TV fame)…..

We all know the story of the days before and after the Great Depression, whether you think FDR was right or wrong, we did come out of the depression in a much better place than it began….But…….

In economic terms, it’s the New Deal on steroids. The top tax rate goes up to 91 percent. Nonetheless, government spending is so high that by 1945 the deficit is 123 percent of GDP. Unemployment is ended by employing 16 million people directly in the armed forces and millions more producing war material and supporting the military.

The Great Depression is finally over.

When taxes were raised the economy improved. Every time. Deficits had no negative effect on the economy. Indeed, when deficits were at their highest, the economy boomed.

After spending was cut — to balance the budget — a recession immediately followed. When taxes were raised and government spending resumed — with deficits — that recession ended.
When taxes were raised again, and government spending went sky high, the Great Depression finally ended.  (Thanx to Political Wire for the reports)

Most creditable economist say this is not the time for massive spending cuts….and the nickle and dime stuff of the GOP is just plain moronic……you will NOT get the deficit under control by attacking NPR or Planned Parenthood or a program for infant children….in other words this is all a pack of tightly packaged CRAP!

The GOP promises of deficit reduction is a FRAUD!  Why else would abortion, marriage, etc be more important than immediate work on the budget?  People!  It is a FRAUD!

Recently a company that got its “fair” share of the bailout money, Goldman-Sachs, has said in a report that spending cuts would hurt a fragile recovery….and they are not alone in those findings……

Just after a Goldman Sachs report predicted that proposed House Republican budget cuts would hurt economic growth, a new Moody’s report finds the same.

Key finding: “The House Republicans’ proposal would reduce 2011 real GDP growth by 0.5% and 2012 growth by 0.2 percentage points This would mean some 400,000 fewer jobs created by the end of 2011 and 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2012.”

Furthermore, the report claims “a government shutdown lasting longer than a couple of weeks would do much more damage to the economy.”

We can ignore a lot of things but this report CANNOT be ignored…..

The spending cuts in the Republicans’ budget proposal would cost the country up to 700,000 jobs and hurt the country’s economic growth, according to Moody’s chief economist. Mark Zandi estimates that the proposed budget would reduce GDP growth by 0.5% in 2011 and another 0.2% in 2012, hurting job creation, Politico reports. “While long-term government spending restraint is vital,” Zandi wrote, “too much cutting too soon would be counterproductive.” The economy is currently adding 100,000-150,000 jobs a month. But Zandi says that until that figure hits 200,000, significantly cutting spending “would be taking an unnecessary chance with the recovery.” John Boehner scoffed at the report. “The fact that a relentless cheerleader for the failed ‘stimulus’ refuses to understand that ending the spending binge will help the private sector create jobs is sad, but not surprising,” he said. But Zandi isn’t the first economist to make the case. A Goldman Sachs analysis last week concluded that the House plan would cut economic growth by 1.5%-2% this year.

How much more evidence do you need?  Cuts bad…to put it in terms that are easily remembered…..but if you need to do some research (and God I hope you will) then try this…..politifact.com/subjects/feder…..

These companies have NO reason to lie….ergo the GOP plan is a FRAUD!  The world will NOT end!

Pay attention!  Things can get worse and they probably WILL!

You Want Cuts? Where?

We have heard all the back and forth on the subject of spending cuts……..the GOP had two main promises that propelled them to the top….Jobs and spending cuts……so far they have produced about ZERO jobs and they have started their attacks on spending…….but where do they start this attack…….where do the people think the cuts should start?

NO one has an idea……they said in a recent poll that were should start with foreign aid…the problem there is that the aid makes up about 1% of the total spending so that will NOT be a big help…..so what is the beginning of the attack on spending?

Good question…..and the GOP has an answer for you…….

http://t.co/VoYjTFL.

Really good ideas……NOT!  Cuts come from social services, energy and hi speed rail, law enforcement, development projects…..to the tune of about $50 billion……a lot of cash, eh?  Well in the scheme of things it is a pimple on an elephant’s ass……that is right……chump change!  Does NOTHING to cut the spending but everything to do with the continuing attacks on the middle class and working poor…..the position that the GOP is ALWAYS in…….

Nothing the GOP is proposing will do anything to balance a budget……you asked for it and now you have it……by voting for the GOP in the last election you have condemned many people to a more miserable life than they have…..and quite possibly have even condemned yourself….typical of American voters…..always voting against their best interests…….

Brings to mind one of my fav quotes…”Stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance”….American voter in a nutshell!

 

We Are In Debt Now!–Part One

So you think that this is a problem for the next generation, do you?

This could very well be a post on the problems that average Americans are facing because of their addiction to deficit spending known as CREDIT….but ….Not now……this is about something that every politician has on his lips these days…..both Dem as well as repub….it is the National Debt…..the bane of the country…..

The Federal deficit is NOT necessarily the same thing as the National debt……I know…I know…according to the windbags on the tube and radio…it is the same thing……if you believe that…YOU ARE WRONG!

That is another post…..let us talk about the debt……and we all know what the Repubs think about the debt and who put us in the shape we are in….it is those despicable Dems that are at fault…..right?

This phenom is NOT something new…as a matter of fact it began with Alexander Hamilton from the very beginning of the country and it has NOT slowed down since…just an occasional hiccup now and then….

To answer that question let us look at a little history of the US debt……..this from the cedarcomm.com website…….

Since 1938 the Democrats have held the White house for 35 years, the Republicans for 36.  Over that time the national debt has increased at an average annual rate of 8.5%.  In years Democrats were in the White House there was an average increase of 8.3%.  In years the Republicans ran the White House the debt increased an average 9.2% per year.  Those averages aren’t that far apart, but they do show a bias toward more borrowing by Republicans than Democrats even including World War II.

If you look at the 60+ year record of debt since the end of WWII, starting with Truman’s term, the difference between the two parties’ contributions to our national debt level change considerably.  Since 1946, Democratic presidents increased the national debt an average of only 3.2% per year.  The Republican presidents stay at an average increase of 9.2% per year. Republican Presidents out borrowed and spent Democratic presidents by a three to one ratio.  Putting that in very real terms; for every dollar a Democratic president has raised the national debt in the past 63 years Republican presidents have raised the debt by $2.84Prior to the Neo-Conservative takeover of the Republican Party there was not much difference between the two parties’ debt philosophy.  They both worked together to minimize it.  However the debt has been on a steady incline ever since the Reagan presidency.  The only exception to the steep increase over the last 30 years was during the Clinton presidency, when he brought spending under control and the debt growth down to almost zero.

Comparing the borrowing habits of the two parties since 1981, when the Neo-Conservative movement really took hold and government spending raced out of control, it is extremely obvious that the big spenders in Washington are Republicans and their party’s presidents.  The only Democratic president since then, Mr. Clinton raised the national debt an average of 4.3% per year.  The Republican presidents (Reagan, Bush, and Bush II) raised the debt an average of 10.8% per year.  That is, for every dollar a Democratic President has raised the national debt in the past 30 years, Republican presidents have raised the debt by $2.52.  Any way you look at it Neo-Conservative Republican presidents cannot or will not control government spending.

The fact is that Reagan was able to push his tax cuts through both Houses of Congress, but he never pushed through any reduced spending programs.  His weak leadership in this area makes him directly responsible for the unprecedented rise in borrowing during his time in office, an average of 13.8% per year.  The increase in total debt during Reagan’s two terms was larger than all the debt accumulated by all the presidents before him combined.  From 1983 through 1985, with a Republican Senate, the debt was increasing at over 17% per year.  While Mr. Reagan was in office this nation’s debt went from just under 1 trillion dollars to over 2.6 trillion dollars, a 200% increase.  The sad part about this increase is that it was not to educate our children, or to improve our infrastructure, or to help the poor, or even to finance a war.  Reagan’s enormous increase in the national debt was not to pay for any noble cause at all; his primary unapologetic goal was to pad the pockets of the rich.  The huge national debt we have today is a living legacy to his failed Neo-Conservative economic policies.  Reagan’s legacy is a heavy financial weight that continues to apply an unrelenting drag on this nation’s economic resources.

So now you see where the yelling and screaming about the deficit came from and where it has gone and who is more responsible for the problems than others……but they have seen the light….they will work hard to bring done the deficit and control spending….and you believe these notorious liars?  Why would you…this has all been said before and look what they have accomplished after promising different….Why would you believe them again and again and again…..and re-elect them again and again…..and have their promises broken again and again?

Where have we gone wrong?

You first mistake is putting your trust in a group of people that could care less about your future or your family….regardless of the smoke they blow up your ass…..second…you are just plain lazy, if not stupid, and cannot be bothered with issues….and thirdly…nothing will get better or different as long as you walk around with your head shoved up your ass……

To Be Continued………

From Rep. Ryan: GOP Spending Reduction Proposal

From the Scriptorium

Federal Budget Deficit Reduction:

Paper #1

There are not many in the Congress that I think should be there because most or inept at governing past their own interests….however….I appreciate Wisconsin’s Rep. Paul Ryan, a Repub…he is young and sharp on financial and budgetary issues…..he has authored a couple of proposals for cutting the budget deficit, while some are good and others I differ with what he see…..I will analyze these proposals…there are 8, I believe….I will give my take on each of his proposals…..(I know you did not ask, but you will get it anyway)

First up is his Cancel Unused TARP Funds and it reads like this:

The proposal would prohibit the Treasury Dept. from exercising authority under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to disburse funds for new commitments.  Only those funds pursuant to legally binding contracts entered into on or before enactment the enactment of this legislation will be disbursed.

All TARP Funds returned to the Treasury–including dividends, interests or other payments–will go tp deficit reduction and will not create headroom for the Treasury to exercise additional authority.

All this sounds all to simple, huh?  While I may agree with Ryan somewhat, I cannot jump on this bandwagon…..this part is just a political game being played now that auto makers are fairly stable, I will agree that the fund was basically a blackmail payment to AIG, Goldman and the other Banksters….but there are still banks that are in real trouble, banks that have people’s lives deposited in them and they may need some help secure the people’s savings and other personal things.

I will agree that using the TARP fund for other spending is not doing us any good and that part of it can be shut down……but to totally shut it down while the banks are in trouble, about 700 so far, is just irresponsible and NOT in the best interests of the country.  But all this seems suspect to me….why?  Now that the gamblers on Wall Street have gotten there money from the taxpayers it is some how good policy to start trying to cutting spending.

Deficit spending was originally used to generate demand, not liquidity…..this plan did the opposite….since it is NOT being used for what it was designed to do…then I will agree with Rep. Ryan….reluctantly……