budget, budget, who has the budget?

[emptystep]

I am trying to sort all this out. Like everything else in Washington it is not the most straight forward of processes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The world is going to come to an end, well maybe not quite that drastic, if a budget is not passed by March 1st. The Hill reports that the administration is going to be late, again, submitting a budget. There is a budget for 2013 on the White House web page, what is that? The Republicans have submitted the 'Paul Ryan' budget which Democrats actually successfully campaigned against. I am not sure how many Republicans actually like the Paul Ryan budget.

So with one phantom budget and one whipping-boy budget how is an actual budget for the entire federal government going to come together in the 39 days, 14 hours, 10 minutes, and 25 seconds?

 

[emptystep]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/us/politics/paul-ryan-balances-pragmatism-and-politics.html?_r=0
January 6, 2013

Mr. Ryan’s vote in support of the plan, which raised tax rates on high income while locking in lower rates for the vast majority of households, was both pragmatic and political. In what he described as a “tough decision,” he backed what was seen by most in Congress as a piece of legislation whose passage was necessary to avert a fiscal crisis. Notably, his support aligned him with Speaker John A. Boehner, who voted for the measure. But it put him in conflict with his two fellow “young guns,” Representatives Eric Cantor of Virginia and Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 2 and 3 House Republicans. The three men had been in virtual lock step on policy issues and wrote a book together.

“I understand why somebody would want to vote no, but I understand why we had to vote yes,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who voted in favor of the deal. “But leadership is voting yes when you need to, and we needed to, because if the bill had failed, the stock markets wouldn’t have gone up 300 points; they would have gone down 1,000, and all those guys pounding their chests would have folded like a cheap suit.”

He added: “I thought it was a very responsible vote.”

On Friday, in a vote that seemed to move him closer to his image as a fiscal hawk intent on lowering government spending, Mr. Ryan joined 66 Republican members to oppose a flood insurance bill that would take on more than $9 billion in debt to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Reid and Obama have no interest in passing a budget

 

[Stephanie]

so now they are making jokes about Obama and Democrats not having a budget?

Do you people live this way? If you did you'd be in bankruptcy..

oh well, see you all down the drain and our great children can thank you all for the dept

 

[emptystep]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/u...push-for-broad-overhaul-of-tax-code.html?_r=0

By JONATHAN WEISMAN
Published: January 20, 2013

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats will draft a budget blueprint for the first time in four years, and use it to clear a path for a broad rewrite of the tax code that would raise significant revenue over the next decade — and be filibuster-proof at the same time — said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York.

Democrats plan to use a budget procedure called reconciliation to give Congressional tax-writing committees instructions to work out a broad overhaul and simplification of the tax code, with a 10-year revenue target included. Under reconciliation, the resulting tax legislation could pass the Senate with just 51 votes, not subject to a filibuster by Senate Republicans. Reconciliation is “a tactic we need to go on offense,” Mr. Schumer said in an interview after the show.

Drafting a budget is something of a concession to Republicans, and a gamble. After completing a 2009 budget draft, Mr. Reid shied away from other nonbinding blueprints on spending and tax policy. The minority party has traditionally used the budget debate to score political points with minor amendments intended to put senators on record on contentious issues. Republican aides said that this year would be no different, especially since Democratic senators from Republican-leaning states like Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and North Dakota are up for re-election next year.

If both chambers pass their budgets, negotiations over the reconciliation would effectively become the next round of budget talks. If the two sides can agree to enough deficit reduction, the talks could shut off the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts.

 

[emptystep]

Sens. Cruz and Schumer dissect the fight over the national debt - Video on NBCNews.com

Two grandstanding politicians and no sign of the bipartisan effort that it is going to take to make a budget for America.

 

[Wiseacre]

Let's see if we can sort all this out. First, as part of the Fiscal Cliff deal, they extended the Bush Tax Cuts for everybody except the people making $400k and up, and some other taxes went up too. They made very few spending cuts in the deal, something on the order of 42:1, tax increases to spending cuts. BUT - as part of the deal, they extended the Sequestration Cuts ($1.2 trillion) that were agreed to back in August of 2011, which were considered so onerous that Congress would surely take action before the Cuts actually took effect. Weeeeell, no action was taken but the Cuts were postponed until 1 March.

SO - on 1 March the $1.2 trillion Sequestration cuts WILL go into effect by law, and there's nothing Obama and the democrats can do about it. Half of the cuts will be for defense, the other half spread across the board for discretionary things with some exceptions like Social Security and Medicare.

NOW - as you may know, we've hit the debt ceiling, and by current law the gov't cannot borrow more money until that limit is raised. Since we're running large deficits these days, we won't be able to fund everything we've already agreed to do in our past appropriations (continuing resolutions [CRs]). The republicans have recently come out and said they will vote to increase the debt ceiling IF the Senate will pass a budget, something they are supposed to do but haven't for over 3 years now. Chuck Schumer and other democrats are beginning to push for more tax revenues, probably through reforms to the tax code, something that I think is long overdue. If the Senate doesn't pass a budget, then presumeably the House will pass one and then continue to extend the debt ceiling by small amounts to avoid a possible default on our debt and a possible credit downgrade, which may happen anyway. And then they can happily bash the democrats for not doing a budget in the Senate.

How's it all going to work out? Damned if I know, we got some tax rate hikes and it looks like we're going to get some spending cuts and just maybe avoid a default or a gov't shutdown, which occurs if they can't agree on a budget or a CR. Frankly, I'm really hoping for a reforming of the tax code for both individuals and businesses, it's ridiculous that some big corps pay no taxes at all. I don't think we need to end up with significantly higher taxes than we've already got, or big spending cuts all at once either. People talk all the time about uncertainty and how it hurts growth; well here's a chance to remove some of that.

 

[Flanders]

I am trying to sort all this out. Like everything else in Washington it is not the most straight forward of processes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

To emptystep: I don’t know if this will help you, but if you want to understand anything the federal government does you need look no further than the following poem. I got it in an e-mail that did not include the poets’s name:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate TaxService Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

 

[Stephanie]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/u...push-for-broad-overhaul-of-tax-code.html?_r=0

By JONATHAN WEISMAN
Published: January 20, 2013

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats will draft a budget blueprint for the first time in four years, and use it to clear a path for a broad rewrite of the tax code that would raise significant revenue over the next decade — and be filibuster-proof at the same time — said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York.

Democrats plan to use a budget procedure called reconciliation to give Congressional tax-writing committees instructions to work out a broad overhaul and simplification of the tax code, with a 10-year revenue target included. Under reconciliation, the resulting tax legislation could pass the Senate with just 51 votes, not subject to a filibuster by Senate Republicans. Reconciliation is “a tactic we need to go on offense,” Mr. Schumer said in an interview after the show.

Drafting a budget is something of a concession to Republicans, and a gamble. After completing a 2009 budget draft, Mr. Reid shied away from other nonbinding blueprints on spending and tax policy. The minority party has traditionally used the budget debate to score political points with minor amendments intended to put senators on record on contentious issues. Republican aides said that this year would be no different, especially since Democratic senators from Republican-leaning states like Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and North Dakota are up for re-election next year.

If both chambers pass their budgets, negotiations over the reconciliation would effectively become the next round of budget talks. If the two sides can agree to enough deficit reduction, the talks could shut off the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts.

lol, the Democrats want more of you all monies..I hope they take from all of you who voted for Obama..

 

[emptystep]

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

 

[emptystep]

lol, the Democrats want more of you all monies..I hope they take from all of you who voted for Obama..

And if Obama, who apparently single handedly created this mess, singlehandedly fixes this mess you give the man his dues?

 

[Wiseacre]

Filibuster proof? So they're going to use the nuclear option? And Schumer thinks whatever they pass in the Senate will get through the House? I think it's about fuckin' time the democrats cut the crap and did their jobs instead of all this partisan bullshit. Likewise the republican House should do the same.

 

[emptystep]

Senate Democrats promise to pass a budget. Why is this a big deal?
Posted by Suzy Khimm on January 20, 2013 at 4:44 pm

Republicans have turned the Senate’s inaction on a budget resolution into a major talking point. (“1,361 Days Since Senate Passed a Budget,” Speaker Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office declared Friday.) But the budgeting process has also slowed down in part because of the very reforms that House Republicans instituted in 2010 to clean up the way that Washington deals with spending. When House Republicans came to power, they passed a ban on earmarks, which have traditionally greased the wheels of budgeting. BusinessWeek explains what’s happened as a result:

Since the ban took effect, the appropriations process has “melted down,” says Sean Kelly, a professor at California State University Channel Islands… In dozens of conversations with staffers and members of Congress, he’s found that there’s now less incentive for a politician to serve on an appropriations committee because there’s nothing to hand out. As a result, says Kelly, the committees attract more partisans and fewer pragmatists–to its detriment. “There’s a human element in lawmaking that is real,” says Tom Cole, a six-term House Republican from Oklahoma. Without earmarks, “you’re removing all incentive for people to vote for things that are tough.”​

 

[emptystep]

Few details on Senate Dem budget plan - The Hill's On The Money
By Erik Wasson - 01/21/13 09:56 AM ET

Senate Democrats have bowed to GOP demands to do a budget resolution for the first time in four years, but how detailed the plan will be and whether it moves through the regular committee process by the legal deadline remain open questions.

Well that is one and one. Raising the debt ceiling and a budget resolution.

"However, we have heard similar promises before. If they intend to follow the law then they will need to act in accordance with the legal deadline to approve a budget in committee by April 1st," Sessions said. "The budget process is open and deliberative — the process the American people deserve — and we expect the Majority to produce a budget resolution in committee for public review, amendment and debate."

If sequester kicks in March 1st does that we get a month of sequester before the budget committee passes the budget? Even after it gets out of committee and passes by both the House and the Senate and Obama signs it in the shortest time possible how long is that?

Schumer said that Democrats had secretly planned to do a budget his year, since the top-line budget numbers from the August 2011 debt-ceiling deal are no longer formally in effect.

"secretly planned"

The GOP is eager for a full committee markup and full floor consideration. In past years, the minority party has sought a “vote-a-rama” that would allow it to offer amendments meant to force vulnerable Democrats into tough votes.

This should be great.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

lol, the Democrats want more of you all monies..I hope they take from all of you who voted for Obama..

And if Obama, who apparently single handedly created this mess, singlehandedly fixes this mess you give the man his dues?

how would socialism fix this mess exactly?? Red China and the USSR tried it and it killed 100 million very slowly. FDR tried it here and prolonged a Depression for 10 years.

See why we are positive a liberal will be slow??

 

[emptystep]

OK, I think this would signal there is a problem with this relationship. The first is the Senate Budget Committee home page. The second is the Senate Armed Forces home page. From the most worst to the best, and yes I checked them all.

 

[emptystep]

House Budget Committee home page. Just in case you forgot who was in charge. I named the second one 'RyansPage'.

 

[emptystep]

This guy has got to get over himself. In the YouTube section of the House Budget Committee all but four of the first 50, I gave up counting after that, has Paul Ryan as the only or prominent person in the video. Of the four that do not feature Paul Ryan there is a 12 sec one with House Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) saying something which is not clear but the title is, "Apparently, This House Democrat Doesn't Know Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi ", there is also a video from Fox News Sunday attacking the President's record. The titles of the other two are "Watch President's Budget Director Contradict President's Legal Argument for Obamacare" and "When does the President's "balanced" approach balance the budget? Answer: Never".

 

[emptystep]

I guess the House Budget Committee web site is more balanced the it first appears. If you look at the screen shot of the page the last item on the list on the left of the page list there is a link to the "Minority Website".

The video the front page of the "Minoriy Website" is:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ujCVZomKKc&feature=player_embedded#]Rep. Van Hollen's Floor Statement During Debate of Sequester Replacement Transparency Act - YouTube[/ame]!

 

[emptystep]

Can't wait for the 2013 House Budget Committee website to go live? Well get the first look here. Fiscal Year 2013 Budget | Budget.House.Gov
Nice of them to keep that link to the Minority website.