- Jun 6, 2007
- 852
- 483
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Congress's behavior is utterly ridiculous, absurd and reprehensible on raising the nation's debt limit. Essentially what is going on here is Congress won't raise the nation's debt limit until the Republican and Democrat party leadership reach an agreement that will automatically trigger budget cuts and/or revenue raising if the national debt continues to grow to unacceptable levels. Everyone knows that there is no way on God's green earth that Congress is going to get a meaningful automatic debt control system in place in this agreement. The only way any type of bi-partisan agreement is going to be reached on this subject (and one has to be reached because it would be utter insanity to let the nation's full faith and credit reputation be damaged by not increasing the limit) with respect to the Democrats is if there is revenue raising mechanisms along with budget cut mechanisms when the national debt level triggers are hit and there is no way that Republicans are going to allow for meaningful revenue raising mechanism because their most important policy for their party is that they believe taxes are too high and that lower taxes is the solution to restoring America's middle class (trickle down economics which hasn't a prayer of ever working) and there is no way that Democrats are going to allow for a meaningful budget cutting mechanism because that would entail substantial cutting of vital programs to middle and lower income Americans and this is counter to the Democrat Party's core mission to look out for these segments of America. All this jockeying and public advocating by members of Congress on this debt ceiling issue is all political theater, its all political face saving, their all seeking to position themselves for success in the next elections, if they were to tell the truth they would have to say a meaningful automatic debt control bill can't be passed because to do so would be like signing a blank check and rank and file members will never support such a bill!
If Congress really wanted to be working for the American people on this issue, they wouldn't try to solve the national debt problem in one fell swoop, but make some meaningful cuts in federal spending that are achievable and with that legislation also pass legislation raising the nation's debt ceiling. One area for meaningful cuts can be seen by making the following considerations. In January and February, President Obama in his State of the Union Address and in his budget for FY 2012 left out significant cuts in entitlement programs and the sound of his silence on this issue was deafening because if the country is to get out of its debt crisis these programs are going to have to be significantly cut and when asked about this absence he made it clear he was open to significant cuts but it has to be negotiated with Republicans he wasn't going to go out on a limb. At at that time when House Speaker John Boehner was asked why don't you negotiate on significant entitlement cuts, he emphatically said we first have to make significant non-entitlement cuts in the current year 2011 budget. Well the 2011 budget was passed with significant cuts something like $70 billion over a fiscal year. The big question which remains and it is a real mystery why the media isn't making a big deal about it, is that why aren't Democrat and Republican leaders being held to their words, they in short said their prepared to negotiate on entitlement cuts and it would take place after the 2011 budget was passed. The facts beg the question why aren't they at least seriously negotiating about fixing the Social Security program. One could create a book with all the quotes of politicians and experts who have come out over the past year that have said that a reform of the Social Security program is a doable thing, of course it would require significant compromise on both sides but compromise that both parties could live with. The amount of money involved from a good deal fixing the finances of Social Security would dwarf the money involved from a practical standpoint from any automatic national debt control system that passes into law. One can understand not negotiating on Medicare because the Republicans have traveled too far down the path of the Paul Ryan "premium support, not voucher mind you" Medicare fix, the gap between Republican and Democrat positions is to large to bridge it would be a futile effort.
This negotiation attempt by August 2 suggested here not only refers to the Social Security program that provides essentially a pension benefit to seniors but also the Social Security program that pays a monthly stipend to disabled Americans. If the article in the Wall Street Journal about the Social Security Judiciary is true, this system is a scandal and needs to be fixed. This article identified a Social Security Judge David Daugherty who ruled for the petitioner in all of his docket cases for the first six months of this fiscal year and ninety-nine percent last year, sometimes doesn't even talk with the petitioner, scheduled twenty cases for one favorite lawyer on one day scheduling one case every fifteen minutes, says he can only schedule cases on four to five days a month because he is dyslexic implying he is a slow reader causing need for a lot of office schedule time but how can he be big into karaoke singing if he is such a slow reader? It sure seems that Congress should be scrapping life-time appointment for these Judges, try ten-year terms where a judge is automatically retained for a new term unless the Senate Judiciary committee votes sixty percent against retention and the committee must hold a vote, it should be mandated these Judges must talk with petitioners unless their not ambulatory, how about contracting out to private contractors they investigate these program recipients to see if their really able to work or in fact are working the contractor gets to keep half the federal government savings for four years on cheaters they catch that get thrown out the program.
If Congressional leaders are really serious about tackling the budget deficit and national debt problem, scrap this trigger mechanism idea and hold a constitutional convention this summer on three amendments to the constitution. First, have an amendment that gives the President the line item veto (have a mechanism where for each departments budget the Congress can override the vetoes w/ sixty percent votes in both chambers). Second, have an amendment that bans budget earmarks (unless the specific department budget containing the earmark has only increased by less than one hundred and thirty percent of the inflation rate compared with the prior years budget). Third, have a balance budget amendment (don't have in kick in for ten years because America's budget situation is so bad that the hardship that would occur on many ordinary Americans from balancing the budget before then would be unconscionable). Congressional leaders need to take note that the budgetary process that has developed in current times isn't real promising for fixing America's finances, do you folks want to save America as we have known it or not? If so changing the constitution in this area is going to have to be done some time, there no time like the present!
If Congress really wanted to be working for the American people on this issue, they wouldn't try to solve the national debt problem in one fell swoop, but make some meaningful cuts in federal spending that are achievable and with that legislation also pass legislation raising the nation's debt ceiling. One area for meaningful cuts can be seen by making the following considerations. In January and February, President Obama in his State of the Union Address and in his budget for FY 2012 left out significant cuts in entitlement programs and the sound of his silence on this issue was deafening because if the country is to get out of its debt crisis these programs are going to have to be significantly cut and when asked about this absence he made it clear he was open to significant cuts but it has to be negotiated with Republicans he wasn't going to go out on a limb. At at that time when House Speaker John Boehner was asked why don't you negotiate on significant entitlement cuts, he emphatically said we first have to make significant non-entitlement cuts in the current year 2011 budget. Well the 2011 budget was passed with significant cuts something like $70 billion over a fiscal year. The big question which remains and it is a real mystery why the media isn't making a big deal about it, is that why aren't Democrat and Republican leaders being held to their words, they in short said their prepared to negotiate on entitlement cuts and it would take place after the 2011 budget was passed. The facts beg the question why aren't they at least seriously negotiating about fixing the Social Security program. One could create a book with all the quotes of politicians and experts who have come out over the past year that have said that a reform of the Social Security program is a doable thing, of course it would require significant compromise on both sides but compromise that both parties could live with. The amount of money involved from a good deal fixing the finances of Social Security would dwarf the money involved from a practical standpoint from any automatic national debt control system that passes into law. One can understand not negotiating on Medicare because the Republicans have traveled too far down the path of the Paul Ryan "premium support, not voucher mind you" Medicare fix, the gap between Republican and Democrat positions is to large to bridge it would be a futile effort.
This negotiation attempt by August 2 suggested here not only refers to the Social Security program that provides essentially a pension benefit to seniors but also the Social Security program that pays a monthly stipend to disabled Americans. If the article in the Wall Street Journal about the Social Security Judiciary is true, this system is a scandal and needs to be fixed. This article identified a Social Security Judge David Daugherty who ruled for the petitioner in all of his docket cases for the first six months of this fiscal year and ninety-nine percent last year, sometimes doesn't even talk with the petitioner, scheduled twenty cases for one favorite lawyer on one day scheduling one case every fifteen minutes, says he can only schedule cases on four to five days a month because he is dyslexic implying he is a slow reader causing need for a lot of office schedule time but how can he be big into karaoke singing if he is such a slow reader? It sure seems that Congress should be scrapping life-time appointment for these Judges, try ten-year terms where a judge is automatically retained for a new term unless the Senate Judiciary committee votes sixty percent against retention and the committee must hold a vote, it should be mandated these Judges must talk with petitioners unless their not ambulatory, how about contracting out to private contractors they investigate these program recipients to see if their really able to work or in fact are working the contractor gets to keep half the federal government savings for four years on cheaters they catch that get thrown out the program.
If Congressional leaders are really serious about tackling the budget deficit and national debt problem, scrap this trigger mechanism idea and hold a constitutional convention this summer on three amendments to the constitution. First, have an amendment that gives the President the line item veto (have a mechanism where for each departments budget the Congress can override the vetoes w/ sixty percent votes in both chambers). Second, have an amendment that bans budget earmarks (unless the specific department budget containing the earmark has only increased by less than one hundred and thirty percent of the inflation rate compared with the prior years budget). Third, have a balance budget amendment (don't have in kick in for ten years because America's budget situation is so bad that the hardship that would occur on many ordinary Americans from balancing the budget before then would be unconscionable). Congressional leaders need to take note that the budgetary process that has developed in current times isn't real promising for fixing America's finances, do you folks want to save America as we have known it or not? If so changing the constitution in this area is going to have to be done some time, there no time like the present!
