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You could sense that talks on a budget deal were hitting a wall, but now Susan Crabtree elaborates on that. Now Republicans are backing out of the deal on the baseline level of cuts:
“Despite attempts by Democrats to lock in a number among themselves, I’ve made clear that their $33 billion is not enough and many of the cuts that the White House and Senate Democrats are talking about are full of smoke and mirrors,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). “That’s unacceptable. … If the government shuts down, it will be because Senate Democrats failed to do their job.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) followed suit. “[Senate Majority] Leader [Harry] Reid and Senator Schumer are promoting false promises and using sleight of hand budgeting to achieve an imaginary spending cut figure that is still far too low by comparison,” he said. “If the Democrats demand to defend every dime of government spending and force a government shutdown, that will be on their hands.”
They were backed up by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY): “Senator Reid is attempting to abuse the budget process and limit the ability of Appropriations negotiators to complete their work – dictating the use of gimmicks and phony accounting to sneak more spending through the Congress and by the American people,” his statement reads.
You can read Boehner’s entire statement. You can parse “their $33 billion” as a problem with the cuts Democrats want to make and not the level itself, but it certainly looks like something that negotiators wanted to put behind them.
Cantor and Rogers’ complaints are really the same – that’s about where the cuts come from. “Sleight of hand” in this case refers to efforts to cut mandatory program spending rather than take all the cuts from the domestic budget. Democrats have complaints about Republican appropriations staffers as well, particularly their aims to increase military spending and force more domestic cuts to make up the gap.
The President set up a meeting between the House and Senate leadership and the top appropriators for tomorrow, which many see as the drop-dead date for a deal. I don’t know how it will come together in the next 24 hours, so federal employees should be on shutdown watch.
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Thank God the Tax Cut Deal didn’t forecast a pattern of Democratic willingness to give in to hostage-takers to “prevent the hostage being harmed”. Like The One said at the time, it was a special circumstance that would not be repeated. And the country needed the stimulus effect of the Bush tax cuts for millionaires to boost the economy – it wasn’t something that the Republicans would offset with far more painful cuts to necessary services later. People who disagreed with these calculations were just idiots and purists for not acknowledging the genius strategy of the Crack Political squad who just lost 63 House seats to the party that trashed the economy and walked headlong into unwinnable wars.
Yes sir, giving in to the demands of Republicans who close their eyes and put their fingers in their ears just isn’t the way this Democratic President rolls…
Republicans refuse to live up to their deals???
Nooooo!!!! That CAN’T be. Gee, that’s never happened before.
Sooo, SHUT. IT. DOWN.
Lemm see, federal government has no authorized funds to operate. DoD is part of federal government. OK!
All you boys and girls in all of those far flung misadventures around the world COME ON HOME.
And if you don’t come home, the next time you’re ordered to carry out any type of mission that uses up any type of supply, simply state it’s an unlawful order since there’s been no appropriations made and therefore you don’t have to follow an unlawful order.
Sure wish that would happen.
EDIT: Just in case any actual service members read this, IANAL and am just letting off steam. Probably wouldn’t be a good idea to actually try either refusing orders or to come home. But, if you’re game…..
On Sunday, Reid was asked on Face the Nation if there was a figure agreed upon and he said, yes, 73 Billion.
Not sure if I’ve seen any indications of the Republicans actually bargaining in good faith through all of this.
But the Dems will surely find a way to cave regardless.
Once again, the lefties are making it difficult for the Teabaggers to impose their Fiscal Fascism. The President should stand tall, and give the Teabaggers everything they want, plus a bonus as a sign of bipartisany good faith.
What would be a good bonus? Abolish the FDA and the EPA since they do not regulate foods and drugs and pollution anyway. It is only fair, to allow Koch Whores to pollute as much as they want. Obama does respect Business Leaders, Environmentalists, not so much.
“The President set up a meeting between the House and Senate leadership and the top appropriators for tomorrow, which many see as the drop-dead date for a deal. I don’t know how it will come together in the next 24 hours, so federal employees should be on shutdown watch.
oops
We know how Benito negotiates. Don’t worry, he will give up everything.
‘
the political landscape is to hot for Obama to do a cave right now.
the GOP is basically being run by the tea party, so “orange man” can’t cut a deal
Obama probably thought he could get some Dem senators to do the work of the tea party, “Obama Buddies” but Gov. Walker wrecked this plan.
the Dem Base is in a full rage, no Dem senator wants to face the wrath of the Dem base, especially if they are up for election in 2012.
with Obama telling the world he wants to get re-elected today, Cave to right Obama may be leaving DC for a while, Con Man Obama is probably moving back to DC, this means Obama will probably start talking like 2008 Obama.
me thinks Dems in the senate want a Govt. shut down, I think Obama wants a govt shut down, Obama needs to find a way to call the GOP evil again.
Obama is begging the GOP to shut down the Govt. so he can yell from the mountains the GOP is evil.
There must be no compromise with the Republican extremists on the budget. They want a government shutdown? Let them have it, and they can deal with the consequences…
http://www.sunstateactivist.org
Republicans aren’t human beings. They don’t have souls/decency/secular morality whatever you’d like to call it.
Every last person that still supports the republican party is a terrible human being that we’d be better off as a race without.
They’re evolutionary backthrows trying to devolve us into tribes of libertarian cavemen.
This country is running a $1.6 TRILLION deficit and has a larger national debt than our GDP. Yet we’re jerking around about $33 BILLION in cuts.
Unless this Congress puts true tax reform on the table (from the lowest to the highest earners) and considers ALL spending to be fair game, this ship is going down. What happens when the Chinese decide to stop funding our debt?
Can we end oil subsidies?
No.
Can we make the rich pay taxes on the **** they’re squirreling away in swiss banks, the bahamas and ****ing lichenstein?
No
Can we end farm subsidies?
No.
Can we end the wars and warrantless surveillance and drones?
No.
Can we put the burden of paying the deficit and all of the blame on the homeless and working poor?
YES YES YES!!!!
Everyone who thinks that way is a terrible human being. Thank you for playing.
+2
I’m sorry, WTI, but where did you get that from my comment? I said put everything on the table.
Looks like Obama took the offer but it’s just on a part of his anatomy we don’t see: “Ecko Offers 20 Percent Off For Life For Anyone Who Gets Tattoo Of Its Logo” (Mar. 4, 2011). Meanwhile, the ultimate corporate whore shows to what lengths it’s willing to go: “China, Inc: Cows that produce “human” milk?.” No wonder Little Melting Jeff is so “nuts” on them all while paying no taxes in the US.
But since you and Margaret seem to have a better idea, let’s hear it. I am sure it starts with soaking the rich and evil corporations, and not doing a thing to rein in sacred cows like entitlement spending, but put up or shut up.
I wasn’t sure either and started to comment to ask, but didn’t.
But I do think I know where he got the impression that you don’t want the rich to pay their share of taxes.
It comes from your name.
“Fairtax” is anything but.
If the Dems are going to cave on cutting the budget, they ought to at least hold out for equal cuts to Defense and non-Defense discretionary spending.
No.
Not everything goes on the table.
The rich haven’t paid anything for DECADES.
They have never pulled their weight.
The wealth has concentrated to the top and the only liquid trickling down is yellow…but it isn’t goal.
Everything is NOT on the table.
We will NOT make the poor pay for the abuses of the rich.
The rich have robbed us blind and stolen our homes. They have warped and exploited the law.
**** all of them.
Screwing the poor to help the banksters, wall streeters and bahama tax sheltering pricks is NOT an option.
Anyone who thinks it is is a horrible horrible miserable failure of a human being with no moral compass.
Note I did not adress that to any specific person here. It was a blanket yet accurate generalization of the entire group of crisis capitalist exploitative ***holes.
I did not adress any specific commentator, just the looter capitalist class in general.
Then you don’t understand the Fairtax at all.
End all three wars next week.
Return the tax rates to where they were during the economic boom of the 1950′s.
Add 1 penny to the employer portion of the social security tax.
End all the subsidies to the oil companies.
That gets us a lot closer than you would like to admit, and when we’re there we can talk about what’s left to be done.
The rich haven’t been paying taxes.
They’ve been storing their money in offshore corporations.
Or do you think its ok for 14,000 + corporations each raking in millions to be located on one mailing adress in the bahamas.
Do you think thats honest?
Do you think its fair for someone who makes all their money off of stocks to pay less in taxes than their secretaries and janitors?
Ah, another one who’s not afraid to harness the power of the word “fair.”
The fair tax is regressive bull**** that will put the burden on the lower 90% while the top 10% pay less.
It’s so fair for exxon, ge and other multi billionaire corporations to pay taxes to every other country they work in but nothing to america because of our insane loopholes that certain tools refuse to consider closing.
I guess you know that’s not how the military operates. It’s by definition “essential” during a government shutdown, so everybody works without pay until the authority to spend money is turned back on.
LOL, you’re the one that doesn’t understand the fair tax.
There is NOTHING fair about multi-billionaires raping and pillaging the environment we all live in and getting those billions at the expense of their workers and enjoying the benefit of those educated workers and the transportation system etc. etc. and paying the same rate as those workers.
Those who benefit more from government, should pay at a higher rate. THAT’s FAIR.
To be fair to Democrats, their Republican friends have the easier part in the kabuki. The Republicans don’t have to pretend to give a shit about the little people while they’re screwing over the country, while the Democrats do have to pretend to give a shit about the little people while they’re screwing over the country.
He’s a product of the Orwellian Party of the Corporate States of America.
OT (some)
I asked this in another thread but it’s so EPU’s now I don’t expect an answer.
Can someone tell me how the Republican plan to give
subsidiesvouchers to the seniors to purchase private insurance off the market is any different from Obamacare that givesvoucherssubsidies to everyone else to purchase private insurance off the market???How the hell can the Republicans claim to support this when they hate Obamacare, and how the hell can the Democrats claim to oppose this when this is just extending Obamacare to the seniors??
Would love answers to those.
Not reallye expecting any, of course.
Jeez, tell us how you really feel. I like the broad classifications that you use.
Wealth concentrates to the top despite the top paying almost all of the revenues this country generates.
We frankly have a nation of people who want everyone else to pay more so that they can pay less, and yes you can say that about the upper class as much as you can the lower tiers of the enonomic ladder.
Unless we wipe out all tax breaks and levy taxes in a way that does not distort business decisions as they do now (and yes, I am talking about GE and leaving profits offshore as much as I am talking about other abuses os the tax system), there will always be a way to game the system.
But this is not a revenue-only problem. Spending is way out of control – defense as well as social programs and entitlements. And some of those entitlement programs will only get worse if not addresses now.
Now I’m sorry someone pi**ed in your Cheerios this morning, but unless you look at every component of spending and revenue, breakfast is just going to taste that much worse in the future.
To each according to his need, form each according to his ability?
They don’t know the definition of hypocrisy.
Their favorite people are family values moralizing douchebags that
1) Murder their madames when they threaten to leak their little black books
2) Dress up in diapers and **** themselves for dominatrixes
3) Cousin****ers (lookin at you rudy!)
4) Talk about how the tradition of marriage is in jeopardy while they’re on their fourth wife
5) bitch about socialism while taking millions in farm subsidies.
They don’t know the definition of hypocrisy.
These tools shouldn’t be able to say ANYTHING they’ve been saying with a straight face.
They don’t pay less. They may pay a lower percentage of their “income” but they pay more in total.
Don’t recall saying anything about the TO part.
Perhaps you could highlight that part of my post because I’m sorry, I’ve obviously forgotten.
Oh, and by the way, though I’m sure you won’t like to admit it, that commie pinko saying is at least more fair than fairtax.
In other words we need to hurt the poor because the rich are getting pissy at the horribly high tax rate when their businesses pay 0 dollars in taxes.
I sound angry because I argue with ***holes that use that same argument all the time.
In the end the poor take the majority of the hit while the rich pretend to take a hit but it actually doesn’t affect them.
The rich have been robbing us of billions of offshored funds for decades and their multibillion dollars businesses pay no taxes but for some reason its the medicaid patients fault.
I sound angry because your argument is inhuman.
Tell you what, let’s fix all the loopholes and all the abuses of the current tax system first. Once that’s done, we can talk about implementing your “fair” tax.
So we take more from the people who need it to live and less from the people who could smoke cigarettes rolled in hundred dollar bills til the day they die.
The rich people need a new yacht so fork it over medicaid guy!
Can somebody tell me what the fuck an entitlement is? Rebranding is for shit. Entitlements my ass. These programs are moral social contracts.
The american dream is worthless when you compare it to the european reality.
Well, you said:
Those who benefit more from government, should pay at a higher rate. THAT’s FAIR.
So maybe it’s not purely Marxist. So tell me this, how does someone who has made more money, yet uses the exact same level of government services, rate a higher tax bracket? Take two people, one making $10k a year and one making $1mm a year. They live in the same town, use the same roads, use the same water and sewage systems. But you would have the “rich guy” pay the lion’s share?
That’s fair?
You mean “inhumane”
If you take out interest on the debt, our spending is not outrageous and doesn’t even come near the democracies of Europe.
This is, always has been, and for forever will be the rich crying WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I don’t wanna pay no taxes.
I’d pass you a kleenex if your close.
Yeah, and Warren Buffett has pointed out precisely how ludicrous it is that he pays a lower percentage on his income than his secretary pays – even though he pays far more in actual dollars than she does.
The percentage paid is just as important as the actual dollar amount when you are talking about the (un)fairness of the tax system
Why do you think that the abusers of the current system wouldn’t abuse your “fair” tax system and abuse it with impunity?
See my comment @ 35.
“If you take out interest on the debt” is not a realistic approach, is it? The debt is there, it runs an interest tab, and to ignore it is idiocy. (Note to WTI, i did not call anyone an idiot).
Don’t tell me you buy into that argument that only some of the debt is held by the public, or differentiate between debt to foreigners and debt to the social security “lockbox”. It’s all debt, it all has to be repaid and it all comes out of your pockets and mine.
Now I must leave for the evening. Go ahead and call me names behind my back.
YES! The rich guy can AFFORD IT.
The rich guy won’t be forced to live in the street and eat cup ramen if his taxes are raised.
It was so peaceful for a couple of days – no trolls. I guess they only work Monday through Friday,
I struggle with this libertarian mindset that the rich shouldn’t be more responsible for this country than the poor.
The United States of America has a finite number of dollars in circulation. There is only so much money. If the United States provides a market to support your business, sell your product, manufacture your product, or develop your product, you owe the United States for that right.
Just like leasing my apartment from my landlord. You’ve got to pay to play. The more you make in that environment (or the more space I get to live in) the more you pay for it. It’s really simple.
A corporation like GE, that has $14 billion in profits and does not pay taxes, can certainly afford to pay $7 or $8 or even $10 billion in taxes. What else are they doing with the money except privatizing it?
Is everyone on the Randian side of this equation blind to the fact that when that money is privated, offshored, or banked without re-investment, it virtually leaves the economy and the finite number of dollars in the United States shrinks?
This is simple mathematics. You have to fund the country to have the country. The money must keep moving or we all fall.
On edit – I’ll add the poor side of the coin.
The poor are forced, by circumstance, to spend all of their earnings and rack up debt just to survive. They’re not banking their money or offshoring their money to tax havens. Every dollar they earn finds its way back into the economy, usually locally, within a very short period of time. Thus there is no need to tax them more heavily.
I dropped out of highschool. Twice. And I can still figure this shit out.
Yes it’s entirely fair because if those exact same circumstances turned around the next year, so would their tax bills. If the million dollar a year guy only makes 10K next year, his tax bill will be the exact same as the 10K guy tax bill this year. And if the 10k guy this year makes a million dollar next, his tax bill will be the exact same as the million dollard tax guy this year.
No preference, both treated EXACTLY the same. FAIR.
No.
It’s cruel and inhuman to believe that crap.
I don’t acknowledge those people as human beings.
Lizard brained hairless apes yes. Human beings no.
Excellent point. Warren Buffett knows that he benefits big time from the system we have and understands that he has to contribute to it in order to sustain it.
Judging from the comment @ 39, I’d say “Fair”taxbob doesn’t get it.
Yup. Let’s take a moment to thank the paid trolls for all they do around here. I’m sure FDL is perfectly happy to have them around!
That is called WATB. Thank you rich people. I am sorry for being so unkind to you. Those rich billionaires work hard to give us wars, and financial fraud.
But the latest contribution for us lesser people, is the TeaBag Party, created by Koch Whores. This new Fascist Party, will solve the Deficit problem by giving the rich people all the money. They will solve the war problems with more wars. They have solved the problem of leftist public officials. Shoot them with a 30 clip magazine.
The future looks bright with Democracy replaced with Plutocracy. We should show our corporate overlords more love. Specifically, support the rich. Support their right to not pay taxes.
There would be no loop holes. It would be much simpler. You would not be able to game the system.
And by the way, the Fairtaz does not limit spending. It simply ensures a mechanism for raising revenues that eliminates these loop holes. You could still spend an outrageous sum on (choose your favorite social program), but when you do so, more people would have to pay for it.
Sounds fair to me.
The increased site traffic drives ad pricing, right? ;)
At least they have a job.
Exempt people that make 15-20 thousand or less and I might be inclined to agree on it being slightly more fair.
And a lower percentage of their income IS less.
So you think you’ve advocating a utopian tax system that can’t be abused? If you’re right, then you’ve laid out the case for why it’ll never happen, i.e. the rich won’t allow it.
I’m sure they’re not paid nearly enough to justify selling out the American people the way they do. At least the rich are making more money than God…
Just plain bullshit.
The only thing out of control is health care costs, and that will bankrupt the country, not just blow up the budget.
Lower costs to the same level as any other industrialized nation and we will have a surplus.
America isn’t a modern nation nor an industrialized nation.
It’s a bananna republic ran by bananna republicans.
Thanks to the Democrats’ bullshit health care “reform” that benefits the health care industry and especially the insurance companies, health care costs will just keep getting higher.
The Roman Empire had a Flat Tax. It didn’t work. The rich didn’t pay enough taxes. The Empire Collapsed.
The Fair Tax and Flat Tax Proponents are often unwitting jobless dupes for people like Immelt and Koch Brothers.
The MSM has convinced unemployed blue collar workers that the biggest problem they face is that their federal income tax is too high. (In fact, Federal Tax Rates are lowest in history). And that Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme and an Entitlement (implied: Welfare).
I suppose they believe that they will get along great with their penniless mothers-in-law when they’re forced to live together. Social Security rules.
Yeah, 3rd world and still heading down.
Dividing by a billion, it’s as if a couple had a budget deficit of $1600/month and this month they’re bickering over whether they should cut $3.30 worth of spending or be really bold and cut oh, say, $7.50.
Do something bold. Cut the Pentagon’s budget by 1/3 and tell them to do a damned audit.
As far as the Chinese go, their economy is now intricately tied to ours. Though they look forward to the day when their investment will be paid off entirely, the loans at interest will continue to benefit them for decades to come as our grandchildren argue, as in the example above, over whether to cut $100/month from their $88,000/month shortfall or be really bold and cut a whole $200/month.
The world’s economic system will collapse first. There’s much more to be concerned with than China calling in their chits. Like a months-long nuclear disaster in an earthquake and tsunami damanged Japan.
I think that’s a bit too much perspective and way too much reality for Fairtaxbob…
Poor guy’s just going to pout, take his ball, and go home now.
The old “third world” actually has a higher standard of living than america.
We’re the fourth world.
Years long nuclear disaster in Japan. It’s going to take at least 5 years to cool material enough to move all of it.
The racist Koch brothers will go out of their way to deny services to those brown folk. If white folk get harmed along the way, well that’s just too bad for them.
Unemployment insurance: might help brown folk
Social Security: might help brown folk
Living wages: might help brown folk
Public education: might help brown folk
Universal health care: might help brown folk
So we have a war on education (vouchers for for-profit private schools run by corporations), crappy health care reform (mandatory enrollment in a for-profit insurance scam which empowers insurers to deny coverage for riches), people working below the poverty level in increasing numbers (including about 25% actual unemployment as contrasted with the ~10% lie out of Washington), moves to privatize Social Security (or abolish it altogether) and repeated calls to cut off the long-term unemployed.
But the brown folk are good for some things. Can’t close the borders for who would clean the Koch family outhouse? Them?
Enjoy the violence in the streets? Like all of the hard drugs? Well, you wouldn’t let the military continue to draft your children to fight corporate wars and you wouldn’t let the Reagan administration give weapons to the right-wing Contras. Wars cost money and frequently require boots on the ground. But you went all bleeding-heart hippie on them. So they ought to thank you for being passive and ignorant enough to let them take your money and harden your children anyway. Bechtel thanks you. Raytheon thanks you. GE thanks you.
Never give a sucker an even break.
Maybe so. I try hard not to be the pessimist I naturally seem to be these days, lol.
I won’t listen to anyone about the need to reduce taxes on corporations until they can explain all the subsidies, corporate welfare, and out right give aways they get under our government.
Let me tell you, the past twenty years in the Charlotte area has proven those people pay nothing for the roads they use around their businesses, they pay the very least for water, power, sewer, property tax, etc.
It is beyond time for them to pay their fair share. But we don’t need to worry about it because they don’t really want to do business in America anymore. I say we avoid them at all costs as they are traitors to the nation that supported them, worked for them, and subsidized them.
It’s really time for worker owned industries and privately owned in other sectors. Oh yeah, let’s do away with the huge MED/PHARMA/INSURANCE rip off of citizens! It hurts us and the country as a whole.
Amen, brother.
Right on, P Party
No, Fairtaxbob, your way IS NOT FAIR. But I have one that may be. You take the AVERAGE cost to live for any given area–housing, transportation, food, insurance, etc. and subtract that from gross income. a family making 20,000 a year will pay little or nothing. Someone making a million a year will pay (1,000,000) minus (average cost of living) X (tax rate). No deductions for anything. That “fair tax” I might support.
Right now scholarships are considered income.
That has to change.
The right’s attack on our education system is not just a money grab.
Everything is offshored, so no more need for a educated work force.
Best keep the masses ignorant.
Heh. The better to enslave you.
This has been the norm since the beginning of time.
Change that, then. Never apply tax law in a way that would discourage education. I’m actually in favor of student load guarantees provided by the gov’t. In fact, for certain professions, family physician, for example, I’m in favor of the gov’t providing a free ride through med school for any Dr.-to-be that agrees to, and actually works as, a family physician for 20 years or so. If the doctor reneges on the agreement the doctor must pay his loan.
The only way I’d be for a “fair” tax would be if it excluded the first $100,000 of income.
Even then I’d have reservations.
The reasons this country (and nearly every other democratic one) chose a progressive tax are just as relevant today as they were when the income tax first started.
Those that make under $100,000 shouldn’t pay zero because then they have no care in the world what policies the government chooses to spend it on since they ain’t paying, and those that make way above that should pay way more (as in higher rates) because they benefit way more from our system.
And it’s not unfair because it (until it’s been loopholed to death like now) treats everyone the EXACT SAME. If you make 75,000 this year, you will pay the exact same as anyone else making 75,000. And if you make 1,500,000,000 then you should pay the exact same as the next guy/gal making 1,500,000,000. And both of those latter two should pay a higher rate (on the higher incomes) than the former two.
Taking one from the recent protests in London “Sluts Cut”. We can expect Obama and the Democrats to cave big time once again using the Republicans as a shield.
A national sales tax is the way to go. 6% on everything, including medicine. The rich buy more, therefore they pay more. The lower income folks don’t pay any income taxes..so of course they are for spending which benifits them..they have no skin in the game..with the national sales tax they will have skin in the game..No corproate taxes..no subsidies.. great for business creation..
Wrong again. A single taxpayer, with no dependents and nothing but the standard deduction and exclusion, starts paying taxes on income at roughly $10k or thereabouts.
Not counting all the taxes and fees embedded in purchases made throughout the year
alamode April 4th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
82
In response to Fairtaxbob @ 29 (show text)
The rich don’t but much more. After you have a few cars and houses and boats, they take their $$ out of circulation.
Thye poor would be spending the same 6% as the rich, but their (my) $$ is put right back into the economy. Also the poor don’t even have the $$ to make ends meet each month.
Some rich have more $$ than they could ever spend, so the 6% is no problem for them.
Some poor don’t have the ability to pay 6% for every purchase.
Wish I’d said that.
I don’t know if anyone else has said it but does anyone else smell the Kabuki about to take place? It seems to me, since I’ve just learned that another stopgap is coming with $12 billion in cuts that we’ll have: $4billion + $6billion + $12billion +…$33billion = $55 billion. Obama will just cave away and give the Repugs $55 billion in cuts and then crow about how he prevented them from getting their full $61 billion. He “saved” a whopping $6billion. What a sham
I don’t understand why so many here feed ‘em. I could set up an obvious troll username sockpuppet like LibhatingAmerican, spout some talking points and get a lot of play, if I was so inclined.
It’s not like they are amenable to reason or say anything original – ever.
I enjoy reasoned debate with a reasonable person. Trolls don’t fit that bill.
What a sham indeed! Especially since this dance will resume in a few weeks if the shutdown is avoided tomorrow.
I saw some of that behind a horse the other day.
Shutting the government down is the correct thing to do. They no longer represent the people. Don’t worry they won’t really do it, the pigs will never shutdown the feed trough.
Just repeating what has repeatedly been asked, where was the Tea Party and all GOP when Bush requested emergency war funding for YEARS into Iraq and Afghn.? This added so much to the deficit. And, again, the GOP cut taxes to the wealthy during wars. CRAZY. Especially the first two years when the House and Senate were GOP with no oversight for W. Bush. Obama has let it continue. The two years Obama had the House and Senate were squandered re continuing the debilitating tax cuts to the wealthy. There would not be the deficit we now have if the corporations and wealthy paid their fair, same percentage of income tax as most American citizens. A flat income tax rate for all individuals and corps makes sense now. We would get out of our deficit quickly.