Doing Nothing Seems To Be A Winner

[P F Tinmore]

Your pie chart doesn't include Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

In other words, it's propaganda. It's pure horseshit.

We can therefore disregard anything you have to say on this subject.

People aren't going to take you seriously when you're such an obvious hosebag.

Those are not part of the budget. That is why they are not in there.

Yes, they most certainly are part of the budget, dipstick.

Liberals are so stupid and gullible it defies comprehension.

In early 1968 President Lyndon Johnson made a change in the budget presentation by including Social Security and all other trust funds in a"unified budget." This is likewise sometimes described by saying that Social Security was placed "on-budget."

Social Security Online - HISTORY: Budget Treatment of Social Security Trust Funds

Placing trust fund items in the budget presentation smokescreened the size of the military budget and made it seem much smaller than it is.

 

[candycorn]

Looks like the Dems have done their work. It appears that the lemmings out there don't want changes. It's safer to do nothing then do anything about the debt. Nobody really understands how serious it is. The Dems obviously don't care because their voters are so against the GOP they'll believe any lie that is told to them. Taking into account the disarray of the Republican party all it took was a lying Democrat claiming he was a Tea Party member to swing the balance of an election back to the Democrats.

The Dems broke it, blamed it on the GOP and now that the GOP is trying to fix what the Dems broke, they're catching hell for it.

This isn't the way it's supposed to work. When an irresponsible party gets caught doing this he's supposed to be the one who pays the price, but instead those who have been acting responsibly are the ones paying for this.

For awhile people got wise and started to clean out some of the Democrats but not enough to do the job. Now the Dems have found a winner with this "Kill Medicare" nonsense. You see when the truth isn't a barrier to you it's easy to mislead when you have the resources to make it seem legit.

Nothing offered is gonna kill Medicare unless we do nothing, but there's too much misinformation, too many lies out there so that nobody knows what's going on. One thing has become clear, if you try to fix it you just become a target.

It's frustrating watching this. In the past they would only gut the military so they could spread the nation's wealth to their friends, and trust me, the military is suffering. Sure, they're spending lots of cash but not wisely. Many Army posts are nearing the mission failure point because of the way funds are being spent. Billions have been spent on new barracks, new facilities, and remodeling, but next to nothing is going to repairs and maintenance of those facilities. Contractors are cutting corners on everything because nobody is making sure the job is done right. For example: They've been installing new "energy saving" controls to the heating and air-conditioning systems all over Ft Campbell the last 3 years but they don't make sure it actually works before they take off with their government cash. A one year warranty is all we get for something that was overpriced and does not do what it was designed to do.

This is the government. Inefficiency is rampant. Add to that a party that was bent on spending us into this state of debt and it seems like this is all gonna collapse. Fairly painless methods have been offered by the GOP and ridiculous methods have been offered by the President. Both failed miserably in the Senate yesterday.

Okay. Let's wait till next year, give in to panic that is sure to take place and let Obama have his massive tax-increases. That is what he wants after all.

Let's see how that feels folks. Because that's what this is leading up to. If nothing is done then that will be the only option.

Okay, go back to watching American Friggen Idol now.

I thought American Idol was off for the season. Thanks for the good news.
Maybe we can get rid of the F35 and Virginia class sub programs...it would save billions now and likely a trillion over the life of what we don't spend.

Good news about Idol though.

Health Care Reform is a mixed bag but I think that a great many Americans are going to really like what they see when the package is fully implemented. The Congressional Budget Office (the one th GOP runs) says it will save $134 Billion over 10 years. I think that many, if not most, won't see the true benefits of the reform because many of us never have to settle for the Public Health system. In other words, now that yours and my kids can stay on our insurance until they are 26, they won't have to worry about not being able to go to the doctor due to little or no insurance. They can stay on yours and mine. So they don't clog the public health agencies with check ups and the truly needy are allowed to get seen quicker. While this is a great thing, I know the GOP doesn't give a (*)(*)(*)(*) about the indigent healthcare benefits. But what they say they care about is cutting the budget. Obamacare, if you will, has something for them too. You and I aren't paying for their health care, Humana, Blue Cross, United Healthcare, etc... are until they are 26.

Now I would have liked to have seen him swing for the fences and include anybody in your family over 65 as well or a 2 for 1 as to where you can take care of 1 parent or 2 kids (your choice). Then it would have been a grand slam; right now, it was just a solo home run.

Cash for Clunkers. Again a mixed bag but the program ran out of money. The evidence shows it was popular and got a great many cars off the street that were polluting the air. I'd call this a 2 RBI single.

Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. One of the most bizarre things ever. "It's okay if you're gay and serving...as long as you don't tell us". Grand Slam in the bottom of the 9th.

We're out of Iraq. Bush, I think, did what he thought was right and went in; I wish he had not phrased it as he did with WMDs and "a new front in the war on terror" but in the final analysis George hit a home run and added to the stability of the region and the world. And the precious natural resource-oil. But after Saddam was toppled, the bungling ensued. President Obama ended our major involvement in the ITO. He re-focused on Afghanistan where our real enemies always were. Leg Double; should have happened sooner in my view but the mission was complex to say the very least.

Shuttering the Shuttle Program. I think this may have started under Bush. Credit Obama for not stealing a Kennedy moment and going with the "We will land a man on Mars by 2020"...I fully expected him to do so. Texas Leaguer.

Appointing a Latina to the SCOUS....under heavy pressure to put another African American on the bench. Line drive up the middle.

Bailing out GM. Wasn't really an option. How he did it was masterful though; purchasing stock. Call it working the count for an intentional walk; hell GWB could have done it. He also used GWB's TARP money to do so if memory serves. Money was printed anyway; he just used it to save jobs instead of propping up some dude in the Middle East.

Thank you for that positive spin on Obama's policies.

If you believe all of that garbage then you need to go back to watching A.I. re-runs, because you're hopeless. Maybe that way you will forget about voting and thus do less damage.

Largely a mixed bag but it is noted that you're not arguing any of them....

Kids on Insurance to age 26 means fewer people using public facilities so less spending by the public sector....TRUE.

Cash for Clunkers took cars off the street that were polluting the air....TRUE.

GM and Chrysler TARP monies (already allocated by GWB) saved jobs of both union and non-union workers....TRUE.

We're largely out of Iraq saving monies and American lives....TRUE

We're re-focused in Afghanistan where we should be...DEPENDS but I think theres more TRUTH in that than not (I'd prefer to be almost totally out of there.

A mixed bag; I would have liked to have seen more action.

Feel free to assail and I'll likely agree with you but "doing nothing" is a silly stance you are taking; he's done quite a bit in 2 years.

 

[Greenbeard]

Neither has offered a viable solution.

Acknowledging that the Republican budget is a cruel joke is a good start. You're on the road to reasonableness.

 

[rdean]

Obama got Bin Laden. Republicans used him as an excuse to invade Iraq.

How many times have we asked what Republicans have done in the last 10 years and no one could name one positive thing? And for 6 of those years, Republicans completely controlled the government.

Remember "Jobs, jobs, jobs"? What happened with that?

The "selective memory" is shameful.

What the heck has Obama done so far?

 

[mudwhistle]

Neither has offered a viable solution.

Acknowledging that the Republican budget is a cruel joke is a good start. You're on the road to reasonableness.

The Obama budget is nothing to crow about for sure. It's a joke. A literal slap in the face.

At least the Ryan plan was an attempt to work toward a solution where as nothing the Dems have offered even comes close.

 

[candycorn]

Obama got Bin Laden. Republicans used him as an excuse to invade Iraq.

How many times have we asked what Republicans have done in the last 10 years and no one could name one positive thing? And for 6 of those years, Republicans completely controlled the government.

Remember "Jobs, jobs, jobs"? What happened with that?

The "selective memory" is shameful.

What the heck has Obama done so far?

Well....plenty of shame to go around using that barometer.

However to say Obama has done "nothing" is silly to the point of being stupid.

I wish he had done more but the margin was so thin it was transparent.

 

[bripat9643]

In early 1968 President Lyndon Johnson made a change in the budget presentation by including Social Security and all other trust funds in a"unified budget." This is likewise sometimes described by saying that Social Security was placed "on-budget."

Social Security Online - HISTORY: Budget Treatment of Social Security Trust Funds

Placing trust fund items in the budget presentation smokescreened the size of the military budget and made it seem much smaller than it is.

You just posted the proof that SS is part of the budget, but you're still claiming it isn't. There has never been any SS "trust fund." That's a fiction designed to fool the gullible. furthermore, even if there was one, that wouldn't mean SS wasn't part of the budget. Every dime the government spends is part of the true budget. Placing spending "off budget" is phony book keeping. The financial officers of a private corporation would go to jail if they engaged in similar practices.

 

[bripat9643]

I believe what the chart represents are those items which BY CURRENT LAW, actaully can be cut.

Congress can change the law any time it likes, so that argument is specious.

Did you note the other expense that are not on that pie chart, BiPat?

The interest on the debt/

That's equally dishonest. However, interest on the debt is the one item that truly cannot be cut because if the US ever stops paying it, no one will ever lend it money again.

I think that paying the interest on the debt is about 25% of the current cost of our government, and that cost isn't there either.

No, it isn't anywhere close to 25%.

That's because that debt must be paid....by law and cannot be cut back

The reason it must be paid has nothing to do with the law. It has to do with economic realities. Those same realities are the reason that SS and medicare must be scaled back.

Likewise Social Security must be paid because it too is a DEBT owed (remember the SS system owns $2.7 trillion dollars worth our governments T Bills?)

The Supreme Court has already ruled against that legal theory.

So nobody is a liar, but the chart didn't clearly explain what it represented.

Those are the line items that CAN be cut.

The chart is a lie. It's based on a collection of lies, a few of which you have posted here.

 

[P F Tinmore]

In early 1968 President Lyndon Johnson made a change in the budget presentation by including Social Security and all other trust funds in a"unified budget." This is likewise sometimes described by saying that Social Security was placed "on-budget."

Social Security Online - HISTORY: Budget Treatment of Social Security Trust Funds

Placing trust fund items in the budget presentation smokescreened the size of the military budget and made it seem much smaller than it is.

You just posted the proof that SS is part of the budget, but you're still claiming it isn't. There has never been any SS "trust fund." That's a fiction designed to fool the gullible. furthermore, even if there was one, that wouldn't mean SS wasn't part of the budget. Every dime the government spends is part of the true budget. Placing spending "off budget" is phony book keeping. The financial officers of a private corporation would go to jail if they engaged in similar practices.

No I didn't. This was a change in the budget presentation. SS is a separate revenue stream, in and out.