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Subscribe to RSSAs they prepare to take a two-week Easter break, Congress has been busy passing bills and resolutions on taxes and spending, but there are several budget paths converging all at once. What does all the action really mean? Here’s a guide to what’s happening:
Both houses of Congress this week passed a $1.27 trillion spending bill to keep the government operating for the rest of the fiscal year, that is, until Sept. 30. Was that bill part of the process of designing a budget for the government?
No. That bill – passed by the House on Thursday and by the Senate on Wednesday – was a measure to keep non-entitlement spending at current levels until the end of fiscal year 2013. That bill is separate from the plan – called the budget resolution -- for the new fiscal year which begins on Oct. 1.
This week the House and Senate have each been working on their own budget resolutions for the coming fiscal year.
Recommended: Senate votes to kill part of 2010 health care overhaul
What did that spending bill have to do with the spending reductions required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 – the so-called “sequester”?
That bill abides by the spending limits sets by the Budget Control Act. It does not try to undo those limits.
What exactly is the budget resolution which each house of Congress was working on Thursday and Friday?
The budget resolution is a blueprint for spending and for revenues. It does not specify exactly how much money will be spent in the coming fiscal year, for example, on the federal inspectors who check on meat, poultry, and eggs. Nor does the blueprint in itself appropriate money to be spent. Instead it sets broad targets and creates a framework within which Congress will consider separate revenue and spending bills.
Does the budget resolution apply only to the coming fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1?
No, it attempts to set goals for ten years, through 2023.
Can a budget blueprint that’s being voted on this week accurately reflect what economic conditions might be in 2016 or 2018 or 2023?
No. If, for instance, there were another recession in 2016, revenues would decrease since workers would lose their jobs and not be paying income taxes.
But Congress uses a budget “baseline,” a set of assumptions, prepared by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to try to forecast what employment levels will be during the next ten years, what interest rates will be, etc. The CBO baseline also assumes that current laws – such as the tax law that Obama signed on Jan. 2 -- will remain in effect and will not subsequently be changed by Congress.
If the House and Senate each pass different budget resolutions, would they need to negotiate in a conference committee a compromise version of a budget?
Yes, but since their budget blueprints plans are so different they may not try to do that. If so, there would no official budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2014. Sarah Binder, an expert on Congress at George Washington University and the Brookings Institution, said Thursday, “There doesn’t seem to be any hope of going to conference and actually doing the real budget process.”
Did Congress pass a budget resolution last year?
No. The Senate has not passed a budget resolution in four years.
Without a budget resolution, will federal spending stop?
No, spending continues under either a temporary spending bill similar to the one now in effect, or by means of specific appropriations bills for the departments and agencies.
What are the main features of the blueprint which the House passed on Thursday – and how does that proposal differ from the Senate Democrats’ plan?
Under the leadership of House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, the House passed a plan that would sharply reduce federal debt as a percentage of national income and would reduce Medicaid and other health care spending as a percentage of national income. Ryan’s proposal would also make fundamental changes in the Medicare program for people who’d become eligible for benefits in 2024 or later. Ryan’s plan would offer the choice of traditional fee-for-service Medicare along with private health care plans. His critics charge that this would lead to the demise of the traditional Medicare design.
Senate Democrats’ plan offered by Budget Committee chairman Sen. Patty Murray, D- Wash., would preserve the current design of Medicare. It would also instruct the Senate Finance Committee to come up with legislation by Oct. 1 that would raise $975 billion in new tax revenues over the next ten years. That legislation would not be subject to a Senate filibuster.
If a budget blueprint is more or less a statement of goals for a ten-year period, how much real significance does it have?
It’s a statement of the priorities the Senate or House majority has, for example, on education or defense.
But what’s especially important in the Senate is that the budget process can be used to circumvent the requirement that bills have 60 votes before advancing to final passage.
Using a process called “reconciliation,” the Senate can pass a budget measure with only 51 votes.
Given the current political lineup, in order to enact tax reform or entitlement reform into law, Senate Democrats would need their plan to be approved by a Republican-majority House.
How can the Senate budget debate be used to score points for the 2014 elections?
Over time the Senate has developed a process called the “vote-a-rama,” which allows senators to offer a theoretically unlimited number of amendments to the budget resolution.
Some of these amendments may be simple statements of belief or perhaps might be used to put senators up for reelection in 2014 in an awkward spot explaining why they voted against it.
For example, Sen. David Vitter, R- La., said Thursday he’ll be offering amendments to end automatic pay increases for members of Congress, to require photo identification for voting in federal elections, to set up an entry-exit system to determine whether foreign visitors to the United States leave when their visas expire, and to halt greenhouse gas regulations until the governments of China, India and Russia implement similar rules to reduce emissions in their countries.
This story was originally published on Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:44 AM EDT
Leave a Comment:
So what you are really saying is the Senate may pass a budget this year but the joint committee will nothing and we will end up with another Budget Law written in secret which does not solve the deficit or spending problem.
or you can propose a fuzzy math budget like the Ryan one in which he "repeals' Obamacare but keeps all the savings that come with Obamacare.
what? are you talking about the Federal budget cycle or the actual budget? What was written in "secret"????
bayllie When is the last time that the Senate actually passed a budget thru the normal process?
News or propaganda
so was it was written in SECRET or not written at all or passed abnormally...???? you seemed to be very confused.
There IS a budget out there that will do pretty much everything we need a budget to do without throwing the least fortunate of us under the bus. But the Republicans will have nothing to do with it.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus 2014 proposed budget -- the "Back to Work Budget" -- is the closest we have come to making necessary savings while preserving policies that are in the best interest of the American people.
Have a look at this. You will understand why the Republicans hate it. It does not rob the middle class and punish the poor while catering unduly to the rich and the corporations. It is not perfect. But it is far better for our country than anything we have heard from 'Lyin' Ryan' (yes, he is still standing in front of us and trying to convince us of things that are simply not true) or any of his cronies!
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/back-to-work-budget/
The budget proposed by Peppermint Patty of the Senate Democrats did some double counting, missed some simple addition and subtraction, and ends up being increases in both taxes and spending. Just more Washington accounting gimmicks we have come to expect from Democrats. Not to mention the fact that it never balances. But when the Senate is so far out of practice actually doing an annual budget, getting it right the first time is not likely to happen.
The Senate hasn't passed a Budget Resolution in 4 years, and the House has passed one based on unrealistic fairy dust numbers each year. What is the big difference? The House Republicans know their budget will go nowhere and it is only being used to rile up their base. The point is that these Budget Resolutions are non-binding and don't control spending or revenues at all. Bush drove up the deficit by passing the Medicaire Prescription bill off budget, and starting two wars off budget. Government spending is set by Appropriations bills, not by the budget resolution.
you could think of it that way.
Or you could think of it as "since the country/government needs to continue running and be funded, and since the intransigence of the GOP led House leads them to reject anything that isn't 110% approved by the GOP and the Tea Party, the Senate, President, and American People are moving on without them."
The fatal budget plan of Paul Ryan would essentially end Medicare and the ability to pay for healthcare for most future seniors except for the wealthiest seniors. It would do this by privatizing Medicare. Private insurance does not want to take on the massive liabilities of all the age-related diseases and conditions of seniors and will again price most seniors out of the market, as they did before Medicare was started, and they do this in spite of the voucher. This is probably the true motive for this privatization of Medicare by Ryan and other republican advocates. However, there would be horrible consequences to modern American society and the American economy if most of the biggest consumers of healthcare could not pay for healthcare with healthcare being probably the biggest private employer in the US after the transfer of millions of American jobs to poor and communist countries by the greedy wealthy primarily to take advantage of the extremely low incomes they can pay there.
The republican party is extremely opposed to raising taxes, especially on their rich "cronies" who could afford to pay the most, to pay for the 2 recent wars along with the doubling of the military budget for several years, a whole new Dept. of Homeland Security, and Medicare D, which cost trillions, all initiated and passed by republicans and a republican president and a republican-controlled congress. Republicans instead want to starve and harm the poorest and most vulnerable US citizens to pay for these and other massive debts by cutting food stamps, Medicaid and other programs for the poor.
Medicare, not Medicaid which the republicans want to cut immediately, is currently the biggest contributor to the federal deficit, and there are many ways to cut Medicare spending that would not privatize Medicare and cause most future seniors to not be able to afford healthcare. The Democrat plan of increasing funding for Medicare, especially to pay for Medicare D that the republicans started with no funding ever, is a very necessary plan as long as it does not require too large of payroll increases.
Citizens: You're right that our politicians absolutely will not stand in front of a camera and say plainly and simply that the typical citizen contributes about $100,000 into the medicare system during their lifetime and uses about $300,000 worth of services. The balance of the tab is being given to our children and grandchildren. Something's got to change.
Sorry but the stereotypical response of medicare is getting dismantled simple isn't true does it need overhauling? Hell yes!
But what is obvious the same ole antics of 'budget line economics" is still the order of the day in the Senate. So they can tout decreases in spending which is not the case by true economics and simple math people.
The deficit will continue to grow and soon the interest rates will go up and then we will have a real problem wiht interest payments...money won't stay this cheap forever....the Feds are printing money...fast and then monetizing our debt sooner or later this will catch up and our grandkids will be left with a more than serious problem
Glad to see our legislation process making progress, if only a tiny bit.
Repubs finally having to swallow what the majority of Americans are so called shoving down their throats. Hillarious. STILL Repubs continue to be the PHONY cry baby washrags because have not a clue how to regain simple honor. STILL have no leader representing the party. Pathetic rubes and blind sheep every damned one. lol
The Republican party is simply the biggest political embarrassment this country has EVER created. From within and from the outside looking in. A COMPLETE AND UTTER EMBARRASSMENT.
Ahahahahahaha!
George W. Bush, 2001:
Now, Washington accounting gimmicks from what party?
If one of the chambers of Congress fails to approve a budget resolution before April 15, will the debt ceiling be re-installed?
jbj, Why ask the partisan hacks in these comments? Just type debt ceiling into your search bar. Wikipedia has a good explanation of it. Good luck.
Compromise is not my way (Obama way ) or the highway.
Compromise is meeting in the middle.
Compromise is 50 % spending cuts and 50 % tax increases. (closing tax loop holes could be considered a tax increase but they are necessary, the tax code should not be used like earmarks to pay off campaign contributions)
news
The party of NO have pledged to no new revenues. Just throw the poor, kids, old folks, sick, women, hungry, homeless & unemployed to the curb. THAT (they think) would Cure All our problems.
Can't wait for mid-terms...to finish the job we started in Nov. 2012. Send them on "permanent vacation break"
praysalot, Those were some great libtard talking points. Where did you get them? From Mother Jones, Huffington Post, MSNBC or the DNC web site?
@praysalot: do you think enabling people by allowing the government to confiscate the providers money just to pay for all of this? The system is loaded with fraud and abuse. Giving foodstamps to Mexico? When you put YOUR money in the game then you can tell us what you really think. I have no problem with a hand up but a HUGE problem with a hand OUT. They could start with foodstamps, first make sure that those truly in need get them, but you should not be able to buy candy, soda, gum, pre made food, etc. just good food. Don't tell me this doesn't happen because I was behind a young woman in Winco that bought just that with her EBT card, and she could barely speak English and was chatting on her cell (maybe another perk the taxpayers paid for) in Spanish. So if you're wondering why people are getting p.o'd maybe it's because we have skin in the game and I'm sick of paying for those that don't.
...
It's funny you mention that, cause Obama has offered MORE than 50% spending cuts to tax increases, and the GOP refuses as they want 100% spending cuts and 0% tax increases.
Yet you accuse the President of wanting "my way of the highway."
There is a disconnect from reality here, perhaps you should reconsider which side is demanding "my way or the highway" (cause it certainly isn't the President OR the Senate Democrats)...
The CBO Director was asked how much additional deficit reduction was needed over the next ten years, after taking into account the 2011 budget caps, the fiscal cliff deal and the sequester spending cuts, to get the federal budget on a sustainable financial track. The CBO Director answered “$5 trillion” over the next 10 years
Got your $5 trillion right here;
Means test Social Security and Medicare savings $31 billion
Tax Capital gains as ordinary income $100 billion new revenue.
Eliminate payroll tax cap $375 billion in new revenue.
End tax subsidies to oil companies $5 billion savings
End carried interest loophole $10 billion new revenue
Enact the Buffet rule $37 billion new revenue
Total $558 billion
$5.58 Trillion 10 year debt reduction. Wallah!
Well said. W J Marriott. But the Congress/House children aren't willing to stop the games and LOOK at a Logical fix.
Why only the oil companies? Every major company gets this, so why only target 1 industry? Do we no longer have "EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW", and the government can just target whom ever they don't like?
Why means test for SS and Medicare? Do those people no longer have the same rights as the rest of us?
Were they not promised benefits just like the rest of us?
And if you want to remove the cap, are you also willing to see benefits go up for those having to pay in more? SS benefits are figured on how much you have contributed over your working career, so the benefits would have to be more for those paying more. You wouldn't want your brother to subsidize YOUR retirement merely because he was more successful than you, would you?
How about a fair tax?
JWM- looks very much like the only people who deserve to be taxed according to you are the people who are already paying more than their "fair share".
J.Willard so you think it is ok to just go into the lock boxes in West Virginia and take peoples money and say Thanks you really dont need this as much as the Goverment does.Lets do away with Farm Subsidies as well and the Tobacco industry as well better yet lets outlaw tobacco it is devastating to our bodies and healthcare costs and with your decision to just confiscate peoples money invested into Social Security that was promised to them I am sure you wouldnt mind doing that either to the Tobacco industry just think of what that will do to statets budgets who rely so heavily on the sin tax from Tobacco
We simply cannot afford to give SS and medicare benefits to people that don't need it.
JWM I see people on here saying "do not eliminate SS and Medicare because I paid for it". So you believe that as someone who has paid Medicare tax on 100% of earned income (a lot of income) and paid the maximum into SS for 30+ years, I should get no benefits because I am considered "wealthy"??!! This is the wealth redistributer's wet dream!!!
We already have a means test of a kind on Social Security since part of it, depending on your other income, is taxable. So, you may get $1000 a month but give back up to 40% of it as taxes.
I forgot you also want to "double down" by making me pay SS tax on ALL of my earned income and then receive no benefits!! What a turd you are! I can tell you are one of the takers and not a giver!!!!
So let me get this straight. They have withheld my Social Security and Medicare taxes for decades. Now, since I still work and support myself, they want to institute 'means testing' in order to transfer my 'savings' to slugs who refuse to work.
You just have to love our liberal, big-spending government.
Willard loves it!!
JWM who decides that? Some rich politician after someone has paid in all their working life? Liberalism at it's best.
J Willard,
Wallah? I love it when smart people use French. You could have spelled it right, I still would have known what you were trying to say.
Buffett Rule is an election cycle gimmick, they need to rewrite it so that it states that Warren Buffett and his company (Berkshire Hathaway) will pay up on the $1 Billion in back taxes he is fighting not to pay.
Buffett is contesting CORPORATE taxes, not personal income taxes! He has an obligation to his shareholders to contest any tax he thinks is not correct. I suspect he thinks he has a case since his company will be subject to penalties and interest if he is wrong!! These are extremely complex issues and if the IRS had an open and shut case, it would have been settled by now. It is not rare for the courts to rule against the IRS in these cases.
Budget battles - how about ending ObamaCare which will ruin our healthcare, raise taxes, lower full time employment and cost a trillion dollars every 10 years. This is all you have to know. If it's so wonderful, why is Obama and his family and Obama's cabinet and their families exempt from ObamaCare. Because it's so wonderful?
wow, that's all? Cause the cost of the alternative (that is, doing nothing) is many times larger than that. You should consider it a win-win.
They are not "exempt" from Obamacare, just as the members of the House and Senate are not "exempt" from it.
They will be buying their insurance coverage through the same exchange as the rest of us.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/network.asp
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/12/08/congress-exempted-from-obamacare/
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120327203955AA6Q6kN
http://mediamatters.org/research/2010/03/25/media-falsely-claim-obama-and-staff-are-exempt/162248
I could continue. Just google "Obama exempt from Obamacare" and be prepared to recant your statement...
George, Too much fox for you. The real facts are out there if you will spend some time seeking them. Drowning gave you a few. The ACA has already saved seniors over 4 billion on prescription. The fraud provisions recovered over 4 billion just last year. Health insurance companies have rebated 1.1 billion to customers and saved over 360 million in admin cost due to provisions in ACA. Health ins co profits increased 466% under Bush while their CEO were getting 20+million bonuses each year and he gave pharma a multi trillion gift(donuthole) at the citizens expense. The ACA is reigning in cost, it strengthens medicare. The people fighting ACA are the same people wanting to enrich the rich at the expense of the citizen. Healthcare cost are a major threat to our future economic well being and the ACA is addressing that problem. It also protects us from unscrupulous practices of ins cos like canceling ins when we get sick and fraudulently denying claims the list goes on but my time is up. The ACA is available on line if you care to read it.
We should just freeze all American bank accounts and means test everyone! If they have too much money the Democrats could take the excess and give it to the needy. I am sure most of our voters are eligible for a upgrade on their smartphone and the rest of the greedy Americans who worked and saved really don't need that extra money. Forward! Oink!
I agree. Let's start with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
You just keep getting better and better by the day Pigitry. I finally have come around to your side. Oink!!!!
Thank you Alan! I finally realized that I had been living a lie, and I needed to live up to the fact that everyone loves bacon! I will try and be a better role model for my fellow lefties. Forward, Oink!
Pig it ry, a con or lie born in March 2013.
When Reagan was president 19% of wage earners didn't pay income tax. It's gone steadily up and recently rocketed up to 47%. We will never balance the budget until everyone has some skin n the game - even if it's one dollar.
Share of federal revenue…1980………..………… 2008
Individual income tax……… 45% …………………..42%
Corporate tax…………. 15% …………………….7%
Payroll tax …………… 30%...................... 42%
As you can see corporations are paying less tax, while workers are paying more.
Reagan and Tip O'Neil agreed on a plan to keep SS solvent that included a hike in the SS Payroll Tax. That money does not fund the federal government. It pays for what is a "pension system" where your benefits are determined by how much you pay into the system. Demographic shifts caused the need to modify the program back in the early 1980s. SS should NEVER be allowed to become an entitlement program.
What about the corporate tax rate?
the two biggest drivers as to why 47% pay no income taxes are the recession (obviously) and the {wait for it... wait for it...} BUSH TAX CUTS!!
It turns out, that when you cut everyone's taxes, the people at the bottom of the scale drop off the rolls. Shocking... I know...
When the Republicans achieve their wetdream of eliminating the income tax, will they then decry the 100% of the nation that are "takers" and "pay no taxes?" I wouldn't be surprised by that at all.
Actually, SS is truly an entitlement program because those who pay in all their lives, especially on 100% of their incomes, are truly entitled to the safety net they will desperately need in old age. With the steadily and greatly increasing cost of living over the course of a working lifetime (a pattern that has been around for around 200 years) where the cost of shelter and healthcare increases many times, and even food increases in cost several times, most middle and low-income people will desperately need their entitled and promised and safety nets that they have paid 15% of their incomes for all their working lives when they are old and ravaged with many age-related diseases and conditions. With all these factors and others, it is impossible for most seniors to save enough to pay for basic and adequate food, shelter and healthcare when they are aged without a program like SS, where the younger generation working at a higher wage to match the current inflation, pays for the current older generation's Social Security.
Real numbers:
When Bush took office in 2001, 34% did not pay income taxes. In 2003, after 2 tax cuts, the number had risen to 43%.
From Sept, 2008 until Oct, 2009, 7 million people lost their jobs. Since there are approximately 150M workers in this country, that represents only about 0.5% increase in the number of people not paying taxes.
End Oblamacare
That would be completely unAmerican! How dare you suggest that 47% of Americans actually pay into this country? We all know for a fact that it is the responsibility of the greedy 1% to pay everyone else's way! Forward, Oink!
I know it's totally unfair, slimey, morally disgusting and uncaring. Instead, can I just deport the 47% to Syria. That way they can live off our foreign aid dollars but the least the highways would be less crowded on my commute back and forth to work.
dont we love how the christian right has infiltrated the RepubliCON party and imposed the golden rule on all its adherents
I do not see why not, unless they do not get 3G there on their Obamaphones? Dear Leader would have to install more cell towers for his followers! But since they would be receiving
welfare, sorry foreign aid we can make that happen! Forward, Oink!dear piggy- go oink oink on fox
Pigot try has gone over to the dark side!!!
I used to like you, now you can go suck a pigs hind leg!!!!
But, Sen. David Vitter doesn't have enough common sense to stay out of all of the whore houses in DC. Even so all of the good Christian religious right in Lousyana still vote for him.
Budget battles: What you need to know
Here are NBCNews editors telling us what we need to know. What needs to be known is that the national debt (approx. $17 trillion) needs to reduced down to zero. There's no pleasant way to do this. But it must be done.
The defense contractor entitlement program needs to end.
Biden's five-star London hotel bill was almost half a million bucks- Why isn't MSNBC reporting about this? AN they say we do not have wasteful spending and we can't make cuts. They want to raise our taxes so they can spend more of our money. Bull $HIT!
Because it never happened.
Sorry J. Willard - here is the article and no, its not from fox news.
Here's the headline from CBS News (they won't let me paste the link)
Hotel Contracts for Biden Trip to London, Paris Totaled $1 Million
You can't post the links because the links are false. CBS News isn't stupid, but you might fit that description.
No company on earth would ever succeed running things in this way. I guess it is amazing that we are still functioning at all as a country - however dysfunctional. I am amazed at this charade.
Strange how Paul Ryan is so eager to end the ACA instead of fixing its flaws and making it much more viable, so it could truly eliminate the 50 million and ever-growing number of uninsured whose unpaid bills add so much to healthcare cost inflation today. Strange how Paul Ryan and other republicans are so eager to privatize Medicare and essentially mandate a payroll tax to fund something that most future seniors could not afford because the private insurance companies who do not want the massive liability of seniors and would price them out of the market, and thus most would never get much if anything from their investment. Strange how they want to use a voucher through ACA (Obamacare)-like exchanges of private insurance companies to do this. Strange how so many republicans would like to mandate that all lower-income workers pay investment companies a stipend of 15% of their incomes to "keep Social Security around for the future." Very strange and very wrong and definitely not a conservative budget, just con.
what a joke you are. there are so many of those FLAWS in the ACA that it IS being dismantled piece by piece on a BI-PARTISAN basis
Please stop responding to the Liberals on here. I read the Socialist/Fascist/Nazi propaganda and it saddens me.
These people are 1 of 3 things. 1) media propagandists working for the new socialist government. 2) Socialist leeches determined to continue helping steal YOUR money so they can live for free. 3) absolute blind, ignorant people such as have not been seen since Hitler led his sheep to slaughter.
I simply refuse to believe any real American could be as ignorant as these people, so there has to be more to it.
By responding you are giving them a sense they are achieving thier goal and helping a Liberal propaganda machine rag continue to operate.
Have you ever come on after work. The leeches are crying because they have no one to feed off of. They don't work so they are just salivating waiting for the people who feed, cloth and house them to get home so they can tell them how stupid they are for not loving the fact that they feed off of you.
Please, I know these are easy, stupid, Liberal targets. But you will never change thier minds. So spend your time more wisely on a Non liberal site or better yet writing your government. Think about it. Without you they have nothing and thats what they deserve nothing.
Poor, sad, deluded, sheep!!! You will never wake up as long as you live!!! You are a mindless moron!!! You are a follower of Hitler, he must be your idol, eh?
Idgit, please stop drinking the TEAPISS, it has destroyed your mind, oh wait, you would of had to have one first!!!
boo, Obviously you are a troll; no one could actually be that stupid. You say you come home from work. Do you work in a glue factory as official sniffer? You mind is obviously mush. Your soul is dark and your future is filled with darkness.
Many of the people you slander have more worth in their little finger than you obviously have in your entire environment. You ignorant, fascist POS.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
look at Baby Ray cry!!1
lol
The Senate passed a joke of a budget. $100 billion in new spending and only $1.85 trillion in cuts OVER 10 YEARS.
Sure wish one of these news sites would actually do some reporting, instead all they do is repeat talking points (from both sides). What I want to see is projected deficits for each year. When you give us this detail, we can determine which one actually makes a difference. We've got Congresspeople spouting "Trillions" in savings from years back. Well great, but what have you done for us lately?
Balance the freakin budget!
Feisty, Pigotry -- where have you gone?
We are spending ten billion per day and borrowing four. The so called sequestration is around a 2% cut.
No freakin' 2 week vacation for people who can't get their job done. If they do want to go on vacation w/out getting their job done then by all means take an UNPAID vacation.
Let's see MY boss wouldn't let me take a vacation in the middle of an unfinished project for 2 weeks.
No job is about to be done as long as we have that loon in the White House and we continue to fork over billions for insanity.
wild, Consuming too much fox crap causes severe mental problems. Losing touch with reality is a symptom. Get help.
What's interesting to note here is that Washington is taking a two week vacation for Easter? Now, are they using their annual leave like we are required to do, or are we, the taxpayers, still paying for their time off?
There will never be another balanced budget in this country! Both sides know they can get away with murder, so, why balance a budget they have no intentions of following???
Our government has become soooooooo corrupt, there is only one way to fix it, boot them all out! Vote for the new guy on the ballot, not the stale and pale we already have, no, we need new blood!!! Vote for the independants who run, if there isn't one for your state, get one motivated to run, and then make sure everyone votes for him/her!!! Its our only hope!
We need to rid ourselves of this two party do nothing government of the rich, for the rich!
We need the "PARTY OF THE PEOPLE"!!!!!
Ray,
"wild, Consuming too much fox crap causes severe mental problems. Losing touch with reality is a symptom. Get help."
Well, then let's consume some MSN crap. A recent article reported that just the hotel bill for Joe the Ho's latest "junket" in Europe was over 1 million dollars. He required 136 hotel rooms for his "Entourage". That certainly sounds reasonable to you I'm sure. He needed at least 136 people to ensure he didn't say something else stupid.
Hers is what you need to know.
The Leftists will not be happy till they take all of your money and you are in a line where they dole out "What you need"
How many time do they ask what do you need that for?
here's what you need to know; rabid liberal nutjobs are WAY too cowardly to make the tough decision;. and way too addicted to spending other people's money.
any budget they try to passwill be smoke, mirrors and lies