I Thought Deficits Didn't Matter?

[bountyhunter]

I guess when it starts knocking on the TRILLION door....... people are starting to get scared. Even the repubs are becoming afraid.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171821,00.html

Possible Spending Cuts Cause Grief for Lawmakers
Monday, October 10, 2005


WASHINGTON — President Bush (search) says he wants Congress to cut billions of dollars in federal spending it has already approved to pay for hurricane relief (search). Republican leaders of the House say they want that too, but it's not the kind of thing that happens much on Capitol Hill.

For one, Senate Republicans are not ready to follow their House colleagues. In addition, congressional Democrats say they want to eliminate tax cuts for the wealthy, which House Republicans oppose.

The costs of cleaning up Hurricanes Katrina and Rita keep piling up. The latest disaster — the Pakistan (search) earthquake — only adds to disaster relief expenses. With the ongoing cost of the Iraq (search) war, the national debt keeps rising.

This year's deficit is expected to total $317 billion when it's all counted out. The nation's debt is $7.9 trillion.

"Most lawmakers are coming to the conclusion that the spending spree we're seeing right now is unsustainable," said Brian Riedl, a federal spending expert at the Heritage Foundation.

REALLY?

Late last week, House GOP leaders, heeding intense pressure from rank-and-file conservatives, vowed to find upwards of $70 billion in savings. Some of it could come from Medicaid (search), the federal-state health care program for low-income and indigent families. Medicaid costs have risen nearly 10 percent each year for the past five years.

That should go a long way towards erasing that image of the admin not caring about poor people...

Medicaid costs have risen nearly 10 percent each year for the past five years.

what a coincidence..... so have poor people.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Obvious solution: every federal department is required to cut its spending by a minimum of 10%.

 

[odysseus]

Standing Wolf... better check the brakes on your car.

 

[El Tejon]

They do matter! Let us eliminate this evil.

Abolish the Department of Education, Energy, HHS, Transportation, the ATFE, and FEMA, just for starters. We'll kill Socialist Security and Medicare/aid later.

We must do it, for the children! If it cuts just one dollar, it's worth it.

 

[bountyhunter]

Obvious solution: every federal department is required to cut its spending by a minimum of 10%.

Whenever they implement something like that, they always fire the one guy who knows what he's doing.

 

[El Tejon]

I don't want my government to "know what it is doing."

Don't cut it, kill it.

Do brick on top of another brick. Rip it out by the root!

Now you've done it, bounty. I'm so excited I won't be able to sleep. Think I'll count National Parks I'll sell off to the highest bidder . . . zzzzz, ahhh, sweet dreams.

 

[ThreadKiller]

Wil Rogers once said, "Just be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

Ain't it the truth.

Tim

TR bound in '06

 

[KriegHund]

Reduce welfare to people who use their work money to buy food and welfare money to but gangsta clothes and Ipods and cell phones.

Oh and i forgot, if these politicians are so worried about deficits, how bout they take a cut in pay from 2 million a year to 50,000 like the rest of us.

Pay cuts for politicians, then ill have a little faith in our governements "worry for the people"

 

[griz]

The sad thing about spending as much as we have is the government has a LOT of inertia. We are to the point where even Republicans view a reduction in the RATE of spending increases as a "cut".

 

[longeyes]

Obvious solution: every federal department is required to cut its spending by a minimum of 10%.

While they're at it, make it 20 per cent.

Borrowing does matter. We're depreciating our currency. The rule is no different for governments than for you and me: when you borrow to invest in productive assets, one story; when you borrow to consume, totally diferent story (what we're doing).

The whole country belongs in Debtors Anonymous.