You've got to know that the chances of a responsible budget deal getting done in DC are about the same as freezing to death in a Florida August, and this bill proves it. The tiny cuts of sequestration are reversed and spending increases discretionary spending by $26 Billion next year. It cuts the sequester reductions by $63 B over the next two years. There is a promised spending reduction out in in the future. They always promise to do things after they're out of office, or "in 10 years". Very few details are available. Some are here.
Most importantly, it doesn't go after entitlements or any of the real problems. It essentially raises spending by fees (a tax by any other name...) I'm sure you've heard about the TSA fees more than doubling; it also raises Customs and Border Patrol users' fees. It cuts benefits to military retirees who are still "working age". The modern definition of working age: alive. Not really. They mean under 62.
The ugly truth is that with the evil party in strong control of over 2/3 of the fed.gov, you're lucky to limit the damage to small increases in spending.
The cure for our economic problems is economic growth, and the way to get that is cut government spending and regulations drastically. Send the Fed.Gov home. There is no information I can find on the income side of the equation, but with discretionary spending of $1012 billion, that means the total spending when you include the nondiscretionary side is going to have to approach $4300 Billion ($4.3T) and with the kind of revenues we've had lately, we're still deficit spending at least half of that.
I guess I can count on not getting a Christmas card from John Boehner.
Good. I hate sniveling.
You gotta raise those TSA fees to pay for the TSA agents. Those passengers ain't gonna fondle themselves ya know. Besides now that TSA has expanded to Amtrak and roadside rest stops we gotta pay for this usurpations of our constitution don'tcha know. Don't be a tea party anarchist, be a true conservative like Boehner. you gotta go along to get reelected, nothing else matters.
ReplyDeleteThe spooky thing is that when Boner said "I'm as conservative as anybody up here" he was about right.
DeleteAnd that is a sad, sad thing.
There may be no "cure" for our economic problem. Really large numbers are sometimes very difficult to put into perspective. Our national debt is such a large number it is far, far more likely that we can never pay it off then it is that we could. In fact if it were withn the power or politicians to be honest I'm pretty sure they would admit they have no intention of payng off or even trying to pay it down even a small amount. That number is so large the only way we can ever get out from under it is to default and simply write it off.
ReplyDeleteThe second really large number that ia too big to deal with is our year deficit. Just to meet our budget committments we borrow bout $1-1.5 trillion a year. That is we must either raise taxes by that amount or cut spending by that amount just to keep our heads above water. Raising taxes by $1.5 trillion is national suicide, it would destroy what is actually left of our non-government economy. Cutting taxes by that amount would require ending welfare as we know it and most of the federal giveaway and subsidies. I don't think there are more then a handful of politicians at the federal level with the guts to do this. Short of electing a couple hundred Ted Cruz type people to office this isn't going to happen. SO this second really big number is too big to tackle. The last number that just might be too big is the QE; the $1 trillion we print every year to support the economy such as it is. This number will someday go to zero of that I am sure but when it does it will probably precipate the biggest economic disaster in history. Two of these problems are insurmountable and the other one is a trap that has already sprung and now we are simply trying to get out of it.
Need to find out when the TSA fees increase, and be sure we buy all our plane ticket for the next year before it occurs.
ReplyDelete