Compromise
That’s when we all lose.
Looks like a plan has been developed to be voted on today. Debt limit goes up one trillion and cuts of a trillion over 10 years. You know, like trying to drain the ocean with a thimble. Not a done deal yet but, hey, I’m betting a hastily-written, unread bill of thousands of pages goes through.
And I knew they’d raise the debt limit.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:20 am
And remember, the trillion in cuts isn’t really a trillion in cuts.
Its a reduction in the growth rate, so instead of a $9.5T increase in spending, now we get an $8.5T increase in spending.
I feel so much better.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:49 am
All they had to do was spend more of our money, and the congressholes are real good at that.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:49 am
Who did not think they were going to raise the debt… Hoped yes but knew reality was different..
August 1st, 2011 at 9:49 am
It’s like trying to drain the ocean with a thimble, while the entire population pees into the ocean.
And no, it isn’t an $8.5T increase in spending compared to a $9.5T increase in spending. It’s a promise to try to reduce this year’s increase in spending by $0.1T – that’s all. Next year, how could you tell if they “cut” $0.1T off the “budget”? They’ll tell you they did, but….
They’re not going to “cut” a thing. They’re going to “redistribute” spending, and you can bet your bottom dollar they’re going to keep spending well above income until the train goes right over the cliff.
Expect to see our bond ratings decline within the next week or so.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:51 am
The debt ceiling had to be raised, if just a bit, for some breathing room.
The cuts are not cuts though, and we’re still nowhere near a sustainable budget. Not even close.
Ask any left-leaner about “sustainability” in regards to budgets, hilarity ensues.
It still floors me that over 50% of the country thinks we can ramp spending, out-pacing GDP forever, without catastrophe.
August 1st, 2011 at 9:56 am
What do you want to bet that that the “cuts” in the final, thousand-page bill, will more than offset by the huge amount of pork that will be necessary to ram it through the Congress?
Lousiana Purchase? Cornhusker Kickback? What shall we call this one: “Boehner’s Bennies”?
We are re-enacting, almost line by line, the tragedy of the USSR. Plan accordingly, folks.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:43 am
Well, let’s look for a silver lining: the issue has actually come up and permeated the American consciousness. I can’t remember that happening before. Maybe trying to drain the ocean with a thimble will have the effect of getting people to say “Yikes, that’s a really big ocean! We’re going to need a lot more than a thimble!”
So we need to use the tools we have and take advantage of this. Keep up the heat and keep the issue in people’s minds. This isn’t a solution, but maybe it’s at least a foothold.
August 1st, 2011 at 11:17 am
The problem is that the trillion in cuts takes ten years (and will probably never happen), but the one trillion in spending will be done before Christmas. It should be one trillion in debt increase over ten years, and one trillion cut *just this year*. Idiots.
August 1st, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Unfortunately, scum sucking politicians being scum sucking politicians, doing what’s right is gonna take 10X longer than it should….
August 1st, 2011 at 2:15 pm
And baseline budgeting is a tool of the devil and the Democratic party, but I repeat myself….
August 1st, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Gotta start somewhere. Even if it is just perception. Dems and old school Repubs aren’t interested in decreasing government or spending. So we at least have a start that could accelerate if the politicos actually see that there is a demand.
I’m not holding my breath, but trying to be optimistic. Now if the Tea Party can work strategically and increase their gains there may be some slight hope for reform. Of course that takes some discipline from those who want to run the country, so there goes the optimism.
August 1st, 2011 at 10:44 pm
At least they are sticking to strategy, so they are easy to predict. Only question is after they steal the retirements, will people who invested in gold/silver be able to get to it if they were smart enough to get it out of the country? I personally feel that this is why they implement the airport scanners and pat downs of citizens, to ensure during the collapse any travel would restrict removing these metals from the US, since the x-ray doesn’t detect most explosives, what other reason would there be?
Here is a video of their play book if you have not seen it, watch if you have not. I am sure those that have not will get the uneasy feeling most do simply because how it resembles the past to a “T” and how our .gov has already implemented the same broken and failed policies.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4353655982817317115