On Thursday, House Republicans released their “Pledge to America,” supposedly outlining their policy agenda. In essence, what they say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.” The document repeatedly condemns federal debt — 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade — about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals.
True, the document talks about the need to cut spending. But as far as I can see, there’s only one specific cut proposed — canceling the rest of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which Republicans claim (implausibly) would save $16 billion. That’s less than half of 1 percent of the budget cost of those tax cuts.
From Paul Krugman. And before you go flaming him as a damn liberal. . .at least consider the points. Discuss the points, not the personality. Is this factual what he says?
Okay, when the GOP says they want to cut spending, does that mean they are going to cut benefits, entitlements, pensions, government jobs, issue IOU's like California , etc...... ???? Are they going to cut spending on the backs of working Americans, or are they going to cut foreign spending ??
I wonder if, at any point in a drunken stuper during a wild White House kegger, anyone, in any branch of government from intern to President, even considers reducing our military exposure and budget....
True, the document talks about the need to cut spending. But as far as I can see, there’s only one specific cut proposed — canceling the rest of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which Republicans claim (implausibly) would save $16 billion. That’s less than half of 1 percent of the budget cost of those tax cuts. As for the rest, everything must be cut, in ways not specified — “except for common-sense exceptions for seniors, veterans, and our troops.” In other words, Social Security, Medicare and the defense budget are off-limits.
So what’s left? Howard Gleckman of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has done the math. As he points out, the only way to balance the budget by 2020, while simultaneously (a) making the Bush tax cuts permanent and (b) protecting all the programs Republicans say they won’t cut, is to completely abolish the rest of the federal government: “No more national parks, no more Small Business Administration loans, no more export subsidies, no more N.I.H. No more Medicaid (one-third of its budget pays for long-term care for our parents and others with disabilities). No more child health or child nutrition programs. No more highway construction. No more homeland security. Oh, and no more Congress.”
Both parties just keep giving the same old retread answers.. The Republicans were in office when the wheels fell off....and the Democrats have zero answers either....
1. The US should abandon imperialism, close down many of its bases. No need to spend more on our military budget than all other nations in the world combined.
2. End waste. Programs like SDI, bailouts, nuclear subsidies, unproven weapons systems, etc. The huge projects $100 million+ that result in nothing for the nation or Main Street.
3. Quit offering so much foreign aid. Stop sending reconstruction money to the Mideast that simply "disappears".
4. Start bringing jobs back home. When a Fortune-500 hires an army of workers in India, China or Mexico, do those people pay US income taxes? Of course not. So quit trying to balance the loss on those of us still hier in her homeland.
I get really sick of the corporate parties aiming their cuts directly at ordinary working Americans. Cut spending, sure. But let's start with the boondoggles.
A GOP 'Pledge'. A DEM "Pledge'. On and on and on it goes.
One word comes to mind to me... credibility.
GOP... you had HOW LONG at the helm?? House, Senate, White House...
DEMs... you've had HOW LONG at the helm??
Ahh, and NOW... we're supposed to trust another 'pledge'??!!
You have got to be kidding me.
"Trust us, we're really really really serious this time."
No. Can't do it. No more.
The ball is in YOUR court. YOU do something NOW... to earn even a tiny bit of trust, ok?
What might that be? That's up to you. But more Washington DC HOT AIR ain't gettin' it.
A GOP 'PLEDGE". HA!!
Do something real.... up front, ok. No promises to carry you through the next election.
We can't afford you anymore. Can't afford your pledges, promises, lies..
You have killed this country with your politics and pandering. You're on your own.
I just may never vote again, and let the (cow) chips fall where they may. Still trying to decide. I may write in 'Donald Duck' next election.
GOP "PLEDGE'... give me a frickin' break.
A GOP 'Pledge'. A DEM "Pledge'. On and on and on it goes.
One word comes to mind to me... credibility.
GOP... you had HOW LONG at the helm?? House, Senate, White House...
DEMs... you've had HOW LONG at the helm??
The last time they made such a pledge they kept their word and initiated almost everything they said they would (see the 1994 Contract With America)
Ahh, and NOW... we're supposed to trust another 'pledge'??!!
The people making this pledge are different people than those in office 10 to 8 years ago these were selected by a new grass roots movement of people sick and tired of the same old crap. I have every bit of faith these guys will initally work hard to do what they say. We will still be required to be vigilent and kick they out when they get complacent.
You have got to be kidding me.
"Trust us, we're really really really serious this time."
No. Can't do it. No more.
The ball is in YOUR court. YOU do something NOW... to earn even a tiny bit of trust, ok?
That is what they are doing we must as Regan Said "Trust but verify!"
What might that be? That's up to you. But more Washington DC HOT AIR ain't gettin' it.
A GOP 'PLEDGE". HA!!
Do something real.... up front, ok. No promises to carry you through the next election.
What is more real than putting what you are going to do in the next two years in writing BEFORE you are elected?
We can't afford you anymore. Can't afford your pledges, promises, lies..
You have killed this country with your politics and pandering. You're on your own.
There is still no better way. Find a better way and I'll listen.
I just may never vote again, and let the (cow) chips fall where they may. Still trying to decide. I may write in 'Donald Duck' next election.
GOP "PLEDGE'... give me a frickin' break.
From Paul Krugman. And before you go flaming him as a damn liberal. . .at least consider the points. Discuss the points, not the personality. Is this factual what he says?
I call BS on this. The Pledge is to cut government spending, beginning from before the TARP act, and continuing on from there. The money they talk about spending is the immediate savings, but only the start.
This was NOT a complete manual of what the GOP plans to do...only guidelines for future action...that's all it is. In 20 pages, you can't get too specific, and they didn't try to be.
Yes, tax breaks do help decrease debt because it causes more businesses to start earning more and hiring more. Right now, every business is sitting on whatever money they have because of the uncertainty about the business climate and expenses, fees, and taxes mandated by congress. Continuation of the Bush tax cuts will help reduce some of the anxiety and make it possible to start expanding again.
Since Obama started in, tax revenues have plummeted. Businesses are not expanding, thus not paying as much in taxes as before.
From Paul Krugman. And before you go flaming him as a damn liberal. . .at least consider the points. Discuss the points, not the personality. Is this factual what he says?
For one think he s WRONG. They mention returning any unspent mone from the stimulus packages to the treasure (over half has not been spent.) The Pledge also promises to repeal Obama Care before it becomes law in 2013. Finally the pledge says they will make it mandatory to cite the authority from the constitution for any spending in each bill considered by the house (this will save money in droves as future non-military and infrastructure spending will all but cease entirely).
It is Obvious Paul Krugman has not read the Pledge or the US Constitution.
This is what amazes me. The healthcare bill was over 2000 pages long, written in unreadable legaleese. The Pledge is 20 pages of plain English. You'd think they'd read it before mouthing off about it.
From Paul Krugman. And before you go flaming him as a damn liberal. . .at least consider the points. Discuss the points, not the personality. Is this factual what he says?
FACT: People produce because they expect a reward. Confiscate the reward, and the incentive to invent, innovate, toil, labor, or even show up starts to disappear.
FACT: Every dollar collected in taxes is taken out of the economy. it is a dead end that ceases to produce.
FACT: There is a "Law of Diminishing Returns" with taxes. Doubling the tax rate does not double revenues. As the higher tax rates rob the economy of capital, and steal the peoples' incentive to produce, the additional amount of taxes collected shrinks. The benefit to government is lessened, even though the damage done to the economy and the people has full effect.
FACT: This Law of Diminishing Returns is extreme that the higher rates can decrease the federal tax revenues. PAUSE A MOMENT AND RE-READ THAT. Consider the Laffer Curve: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curvePast a certain point, every time taxes are raised both THE PEOPLE and THE GOVERNMENT get less money!!!
FACT: The Laffer Curve demonstrates a principle that has been known to economists and natural philosophers since the early Middle Ages, if not earlier. Every economist has been schooled on it, and the evidence of its effects is ubiquitous. Any economist who argues taxation beyond the Laffer Maximum is guilty of treason against both his country and its people, as there is NO benefit to ANYONE for exceeding that rate.
FACT: The Bush tax cuts INCREASED federal tax revenues.
FACT: The Reagan tax cuts INCREASED federal tax revenues.
FACT: The Kennedy tax cuts INCREASED federal tax revenues.
FACT: The Hoover tax cuts INCREASED federal tax revenues, AND STAVED OFF DEPRESSION IN 1920/1921.
FACT: ALL OF THESE TAX CUTS LET PEOPLE KEEP MORE MONEY. THE PEOPLE BECAME RICHER.
FACT: Raising taxes now will decrease federal tax revenues. The people will be robbed, but so will the government!
CONCLUSION: ANYONE WHO ADVOCATES RAISING TAXES OR LETTING RATES EXPIRE TO ANYTHING ABOVE THE LAFFER MAXIMUM IS GUILTY OF TREASON AND SHOULD BE HANGED.
John Kerry claimed "We have a plan" and those four words convinced the media and half the country that he was well-equipped to run the country. Nobody questioned the fact that he wouldn't elaborate beyond those four words.
Then, on the other extreme, Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would have to pass a 2500 page bill without reading it in order that we might find out what's in it. Nobody questioned that the country was committing to 2500 pages of abusive new law without reading it.
But when the Republicans give a detailed 20-page outline of their policy platform in a detailed but concise manner, the hit squads come out of the woodwork. The detractors are too lazy to read 20 pages (vs 2500+), yet demand more details? This is like the Twilight Zone on crystal meth.
I'm sick of all of it. It's a house party that's gone on too long. The Republicans broke the TV, Dems puked in the pool, the Libertarians drank all the beer, Independents keep playing bad music......THE PARTY'S OVER, EVERYONE OUT!!!
And to be balanced -- here is quote of a conservative op-ed piece yesterday that I think nails it pretty well.
David Brooks
THE RESPONSIBILITY DEFICIT:
Unable to do anything in the short term, both parties will devote their energies to nothing but campaign gestures for 2012. The rhetoric will fly. Childishness will mount. Public nausea will hit an all-time high.
The heart of any moral system is the connection between action and consequences. Today’s public anger rises from the belief that this connection has been severed in one realm after another.
Financiers send the world into recession and don’t seem to suffer. Neighbors take on huge mortgages and then just walk away when they go underwater. Washington politicians avoid living within their means. Federal agencies fail and get rewarded with more responsibilities.
What the country is really looking for is a restoration of responsibility. If some smart leader is going to help us get out of ideological gridlock, that leader will reframe politics around this end.
It's election time.
Time to trot out the pledges and promises.
Oh, I see... the GOP really means it this time.
Sorry if I'm a cynic,.. it's their doing, not mine.
It's election time.
Time to trot out the pledges and promises.
Oh, I see... the GOP really means it this time. Sorry if I'm a cynic,.. it's their doing, not mine.
1. Welfare
2. Food Stamps
3. Section 8
4. SSDI except for people that are REALLY DISABLED
5. Social Security for everyone under 55 years old
6. Minimum Wage
7. Department of Education
8. Department of Energy
9. BATFE
10. Department of Commerce
11. Close most foreign military bases
12. Federal unemployment benefits
13. EPA
14. OSHA
15. Department of Homeland Security
16. IRS (in favor of a flat tax)
17. All further stimulus
18. FEDERAL RESERVE!!!
19. Freddie and Fannie
20. FDIC
I meant 25% of EVERYTHING. Congressional salaries. Federal employees (# of and salaries). EVERYTHING.
I know. I know. YOU CAN"T DO THAT>
BS! The only thing that can't be done is sustain the current level of spending and debt generation and expect the country to survive.
ANYTHING else is just difficult and distasteful to the people doing the cutting. BUT it can be done. Not easy but it can be done.
The pledge to America is a band aid, the democrat's plan to cut open the wound deeper. The choice is throw them all out and find 1 mom or dad from each state that has never bounced a check and had no credit card debt and have them run things. Washington doesn't even know what a budget is let alone how to balance one!
The federal government should deal with disputes between states, national defense, and international treaties. they can do that on a 2% flat tax. Everything else the states should do. They can do all the social programs they want but must get the money from their own state. Personally I would move to the state with the least government. Let people vote with their feet and business.
That's happening to a lot of places, especially the Northeast states...there's a real drain where people and businesses move out to somewhere more tax friendly and less government. And, of course, California too. In 2012, these states will have less electoral votes and representatives because of it. The drain of those who have the ability to create jobs and the willingness to work is one of the reasons they are broke. The South and the West are picking up nearly all of those electoral votes as the population shifts.
And, still, the libs don't get it.
First we need to cut unconstitutionally mandated spending. If we get back to pasics then we can pay off our debts and balance the budget.
Does the government have a responsibility for social programs?
It is not enumerated in the US Constitution.
Does the Government have a responsibility to provide foriegn aid?
It is not enumerated in the Us Constitution.
Must the government allow immigration? We could cut a lot of social spending just by stopping immigration for 10 years or so.
First the Republican pledge requires a Constitutional authority to be written into each bill. If this were in place in the final days of the Bush Presidencey we would never have passed the 700 Billion Bank Bailout, bailed out the Auto industry, passed the stimulus, OBama care or even talked about the Cap and Trade bill.
This adds up quite quickly. In 2 years time (since the bank bailout) our congress has spend more money than in the entire history of all congresses before it combined. This can be done simply by forcing our congress to abide by the US Constitution.
The pledge takes the "blank check" of which you speak out of the hands of Congress and back into the US Constitution where it belongs.
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