Labor strife continues to captivate the nation as Democrat lawmakers in Wisconsin are hiding out. Similar actions have taken place in Indiana with their Democrat lawmakers heading to Illinois as well. Votes are either underway or are being considered in a number of other states.
The movement is afoot.
But is it worth it? Continue reading
Posted in Education, Government, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National, States Behaving Badly
For better or for worse, it’s done:
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) on Friday evening introduced a revised 2011 government spending bill that the GOP said will cut at least $100 billion in spending this fiscal year, bowing to demands by Tea Party-backed House freshmen.
Kickin’ and screamin’ we’ll keep tryin’ to get this country back to where it needs to be!
Just when I thought it couldn’t get better….it got better.
Republicans abandoned a bill to slash $74 billion in federal spending Thursday after coming under heavy pressure from Tea Party-backed freshmen to fulfill the party’s pledge of cutting $100 billion this year, House aides confirmed.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) had intended to release a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government after March 4 that would have cut $32 billion from current spending levels and $74 billion from Obama’s 2011 budget request. He outlined some of the major cuts in the CR on Wednesday.
But the GOP’s large bloc of Tea Party-backed freshmen resisted that plan, instead calling for the full $100 billion cut the party had promised in their “Pledge to America.”
We want this budget reduced. We want spending reduced. We want government reduced.
Do it.
Posted in Economics, Elections 2010, Lobby/PAC, Politics: National
Tagged Budget, Republican, Tea Party
Only caught a little bit of the boys from Greensboro this morning. What I did hear caught me by surprise.
I’m accustomed to the typical view from the Left with a bit of arrogance thrown in for spice; that’s my breakfast. But this morning I found myself agreeing with ’em. And twice!
They began the hour discussing the House Republicans promise to reduce spending by $100 billion dollars in the first year. Since they’ve won and especially as they begin to take office, they’ve scaled that back by half, and possibly even more. Some folks have ’em saying that they’ll only be able to achieve $30 billion.
1 word for ’em:
Un-effin-acceptable.
We didn’t do what we did to get you in office to act like Democrats at worst and old-time Republicans like best. You stood there, looked us in the eye and PROMISED us you would cut spending this first year.
This nonsense that we’re half way through the budget year ain’t cuttin’ it. Either you were so shortsighted to NOT know that was the case or you DID know and know you’re just shinin’ me. Either case gives me pause for concern.
Cut the spending.
Okay, that felt good. Now, the second case we agreed this morning came during a conversation surrounding social security. We all know it’s not sustainable. A combination of all the money being spent AND the fact that we are gonna retire a ton of people in the coming years means we just don’t have the money. And we’re gonna have to change the way we pay out.
During the conversation, Britt offered the insight that no one is able to make suggestions with respect to social security because the election ads will demonize him for “cutting social security benefits”. Further, Britt acknowledged that that strategy is one that has been perfected by Democrats.
Wow. I couldn’t believe it. It was nice to hear.
Keep it up fellas!
Posted in Politics: National, Republicans Can Be Leftists Too
Tagged Brad and Britt, Budget, Social Security
Like a drum beat in the background for nearly three years now we’ve heard that we need to pass stimulus bills to fund “shovel ready infrastructure” . Somehow we have left our roads and bridges in such disrepair that failure to raise taxes to spend money on their repair is simply…is simply…is simply too much for words.
That idea has always left me a little unsatisfied. I mean, how do we budget for and then pay for the repairs of bridges and roads normally? I mean, does it take a stimulus bill to pay for this maintenance?
Look, an asteroid shower hits roads and bridges Kentucky, I’m all for a spending bill that repairs those bridges and those roads. But the routine upkeep. That CAN’T require stimulus. Right?
Federal highway programs are funded not from general tax revenue but from various highway user taxes, mostly the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. Legally, all those monies constitute the source of funding for the Highway Trust Fund. When Congress decides on spending for highways (and since the Reagan era, for mass transit), the dollars are supposed to come from this Trust Fund.
What the appropriations committees used to do was to approve funding for those purposes that was less than the user-tax revenues coming in. That meant federal revenues for surface transportation exceeded federal spending in that area, which made the overall budget deficit look smaller than it really was—and was manifestly unfair to the highway users who were paying the bills.
Nice.
See, they tax us on usage–which is AS IT SHOULD BE- for the infrastructure that we use. Then they don’t use that money to keep the infrastructure up. Then they claim that we need to pass massive stimulus bills to fix the infrastructure that they didn’t fix with the money they spent somewhere else.
Damn it!
Posted in Government, Politics: National, States Behaving Badly
Tagged Abuse of Power, Budget, Deficit, Roads and Bridges
So, lemme get this straight.
We’re in debt. All of us. And by a TON.
So we have to make cuts. A LOT of ’em.
Tough decisions to be sure.
Or is it?
Posted in Economy, Education, Politics: North Carolina
Didja know that politicians have been lying to us for years now?!?
Serious.
What they call one thing you and I would call another.
And because they use words differently than the rest of us, they have been able to shape how we think about the things they are talking about.
Look, I get it. The new popularity of the conservative movement is that we have to reduce the size of the government. We have to Spend Less, Tax Tess. Reduce spending and reduce taxes.
I get it. I do.
But we can NOT reduce taxes right now UNLESS we reduce spending.
Now, I AM a proponent of the idea that when taxes are raised it acts as an economic inhibitor. That businesses will grow slower or even shrink. That as taxes rise, the amount of money we bring in is actually less than the amount we could have brought in.
But there is a limit.
So, where would you cut?
Posted in Politics: National
Tagged Budget, Conservative, Defense, Democrat, Liberal, Medicaid, Medicare, Republican, Social Security, Taxes
In this morning’s News and Observer, Opinion writer Alexandra Forter Sirota from the N.C. Budget & Tax Center had this to say:
Late last week the U.S. Senate failed to move a bill that would extend essential fiscal relief to states, as well as fund temporary unemployment insurance provisions passed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
As a result, the Employment Security Commission estimates that 20,000 North Carolinians will lose unemployment benefits that they would spend quickly and close to home, boosting the local economy and helping local businesses avoid layoffs.
In addition, North Carolina won’t receive more than $340 million in federal assistance, forcing even deeper spending cuts than we’ve already endured in the face of an unprecedented drop in revenues brought on by the recession.
Basically what she’s saying is that it’s good economic policy to continue to remove money from the hands of people with jobs and continue to shovel into the hands of people who’ve been out of work for more than 99 weeks. Now, I’m not saying that these aren’t good folks. That they don’t deserve the money or wouldn’t appreciate the help. All I’m saying is that Ms. Forter Sirota thinks it continues to make sense to shift money from “A” to “B”.
Further, she mentions in the 3rd paragraph, that she feels it’s wise to continue to tax people in States other than North Carolina to help the state of North Carolina pay our bills. I, for one, resent having my tax money sent to California for them to continue to spend foolishly. I imagine that somewhere, someone feels the same about their money and our State.
If we don’t have the money, then we need to cut our spending.
Period.
When, Ms. Forter Sirota, will enough spending be enough for you?
I see it all the time.
North Carolina has massive budget shortfall. Highways to major area hospitals to close!
Posted in Economy, Liberty, Politics: North Carolina
Tagged Abuse of Power, Budget, Government Inefficiency