The only thing sorrier than Obama’s effort at fiscal restraint is the reaction to it in Congress. Republicans derided Obama’s proposed cuts, but where were they when spending went out of control on their watch?
Democrats, meanwhile, built a hard-earned reputation for fiscal responsibility in the 1990s. Now they’re frittering it away. House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., essentially told Obama to forget his cuts, saying that “Congress is unlikely to agree with” all of them. Democratic lawmakers immediately vowed to oppose some of the proposed reductions. To name just a couple, Rep Maurice Hinchey of New York protested cuts in the presidential helicopter fleet, and Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas sought to protect farm subsidies.
This sort of reflexive parochialism leaves us deeply concerned about whether either party, or Congress as an institution, is capable of addressing the nation’s dire fiscal circumstances, which will only worsen as Baby Boomers hit retirement age. Radical deficit reduction isn’t desirable at a time when the administration is spending massive amounts of money in an effort to stimulate the economy. But this is exactly the right time to hunt down serious savings from weak and wasteful spending programs ”” and to signal the financial markets that huge deficits won’t be tolerated once the economy recovers. Instead, Obama’s budget predicts deficits topping $500 billion for each of the next 10 years, adding almost $7 trillion to the national debt.Perhaps by forecasting godawful deficits now, the administration is positioning itself to claim credit for cutting them to slightly less awful levels down the road. If that’s the case, it’s cynical game playing. If that’s not the case, then it’s simply irresponsible.
At the risk of being redundant, please let me repeat my comments from an earlier article as I believe it is so very important. The way to stop this Fascist coup is to lop off its head and the way to do that is to abolish the Fed and re-institute a hard (backed) currency. Without the Fed’s ability to print any amount of money it wants and do with it whatever it wants, this Fascist coup by the international financial elite could not have taken place. The Fed was created by an act of Congress and it can be killed by an act of Congress. This can be accomplished if the American people will stand up and forcefully demand of their Representatives that this be done now and just as forcefully let them know that if they don’t do this they will be voted against in 2010. If the people will really show their anger and frustration in this way and really mean it, it will happen. It’s time to fight back!
Not a bad idea, TGS, but about as likely to come about as 815 taking up Christian orthodoxy.
The author is correct about the Republicans’ spendthrift ways under Bush II, but blinkered about the Democrats in the 1990s. It was not they who held Clinton’s feet to the balanced-budget fire. The real neck-snapping turnaround has been that of the Pelosi brigade, who wailed and gnashed their teeth about $300 billion deficits under the evil Bush, yet salivate at the prospect of $1.7 trillion (and likely higher, given collapsing tax receipts) deficits under Obama.
I really am tired of “well Bush had deficits so we can double them because Bush had out of control spending we can have more out of control spending” Would the adults please stand up!
What news! When was the last evidence of any fiscal responsibility by the US congress?
[blockquote]I really am tired of “well Bush had deficits so we can double them because Bush had out of control spending we can have more out of control spendingâ€[/blockquote]
Correction: Obama has quadrupled, not doubled, the deficit. But it was important to because of the stimulus. If we didn’t have that, we’d have, uh….oops: http://michaelscomments.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/the-april-numbers-are-in-its-official/