Article Archives by Subject:  Budget

07-24-2011

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Listen Up!
Subject: An Open Letter to All Republican Members of Congress Concerning the Debt Ceiling Cap

I have been watching the circus playing itself out in Washington D.C. over the past month concerning the fight to raise the federal debt ceiling and, as has been said many times before, just like observing sausage-making, it is a truly disgusting sight. This is my no-nonsense letter to all Republicans in the House and Senate letting them know what I expect of them.

    Dear Republican Members of Congress:

    As time draws ever closer to the August 2nd deadline for the debt ceiling debate, pressure is increasing from many quarters in and attempt to force you to back down from your principled position and accept some form of compromise.

    Statist-oriented pundits, including the very foolish E.J. Dionne, suggest yet again that all members of the Tea Party movement are unhinged, and that listening to their demands is politically unwise. Well, of course this is what you would expect them to say, since the Tea Party stands in opposition to everything that they advocate:
    • A further undermining of the U.S. Constitution
    • Ever increasing government power and control
    • Nationalization of business and industry
    • Centralized economic planning
    • Further entrenchment of the welfare state
    • Fiscal irresponsibility
    • Wealth redistribution
    • The abrogation of every citizens' individual rights

    If you were to consider a compromise with these statists, in just which of the above areas are you willing to make concessions on behalf of the American people? As Ayn Rand so eloquently put it:
      "In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win.
      In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.      "

    Identify that which you know to be the good, and defend it with every fiber of your being.

    Then there are the various proposals by Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Barack Obama, The Gang of Six, and on and on, which attempt to trade off an immediate $2.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling in exchange for some amount — between $2 and $8 trillion — of spending cuts that extend out anywhere from ten to forty years into the future. Let's be serious! No one is fooled by these absurd and totally unrealistic scenarios. Each of these proposals is a classic case of the Big Lie!
    • We all know that any future Congress could overturn these spending cuts at any time — and history has shown that they more than likely would eventually do so.

    • These are not real cuts in relation to today's spending, but cuts against proposed future budgets that already include huge spending increases. While these proposals might slow those increases, they make no actual cuts, allowing future budgets to continue to grow.

    • What practical good is a $6 trillion spending reduction spread over ten years? That amounts, on average, to $600 billion in cuts per year which, when offset against deficits well in excess of $1.6 trillion, still leave us with an annual deficit around $1 trillion.

    • These proposals do nothing to balance the budget, let alone effect real reductions in federal spending.

    Given these facts, supporting any of these budget proposals is just another exercise in punting on the responsibility that Congress has for dealing honestly and realistically with our fiscal situation. Passing the buck forward only means that in two more years we will find ourselves in a hole that has grown from $14.5 trillion to $17 trillion, and will still be racking up huge deficits that require yet another increase in the debt ceiling. Exactly what level of debt do you believe is enough?

    There is another form of pressure that the President is attempting to apply in an effort to force your hand. By sending a message to the markets that disaster looms on the horizon, he is trying to create a stock market panic that will influence people, including those of you in Congress, to respond irrationally to fear and make foolish choices, similar to what occurred in 2008.

    The President is also working to rattle the American people by telling them that if Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling, he may not be able to cover the national debt or send the elderly their social security checks. But notice the nature of his threat. If he is forced to make a hard choice as to where to allocate limited dollars, his proposal is to continue funding organizations such as NPR, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and so on, instead of issuing Social Security checks? He proposes to continue paying for all of the welfare programs, doling out money to people who have never contributed a dime to the system, while denying payments to those who have financially back our country, or to people who have spent a lifetime paying their hard earned cash into this so-called retirement program! It's a no-brainer. To counter this empty threat, all you need to do is loudly and publicly call him on this and the American public will see that this wannabe Emperor has no clothes — or more precisely, no principles at all.

    These tactics make Obama one of, if not the most craven Presidents in our history, and you must not allow them to stand. Identify his actions for what they are, report them to the American people, and refuse to be coerced by these tactics.

    And then we have the shameful and unconstitutional proposal by Mitch McConnell. In a ploy that is all political theater with absolutely no benefits for the country, he suggests that Congress should relinquish its constitutional responsibility to determine and control federal spending and appropriations, and simply turn that power over to the executive branch, allowing the President to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling at his discretion. And this is being done so that Mitch and his fellow traitors who support this idea can be relieved of the necessity of committing to a position of either raising or not raising the debt ceiling. Cowards! Do not abase yourself by even considering supporting this.

    So, what should you do regarding the debt ceiling and the budget? It's simple. Start representing the wishes of the American people who sent you back to Washington in 2010 with a very clear message. Let me spell it out.
    • We do not want the debt ceiling raised at all. Period. No compromises. No trade-offs. Raising the ceiling simply provides more funds for more spending, which is exactly the problem needing to be fixed. Refusing to raise the debt ceiling is a positive step in that direction.

    • Do not raise taxes. Just as with the debt, taxes are another source of revenue for the government and those dollars will support additional spending. The money spigot must be shut off.

    • Federal revenue for 2011 is $2.57 trillion, which, in equivalent adjusted dollars, is greater than the entire outlay for 2002. By simply scaling the size and scope of government back to 2002 levels, the budget would be immediately balanced with no need for additional taxes or debt financing.

    • Based upon the preceding facts, what the American public expects and demands is for you to cut spending immediately and deeply. The simplest approach would be to immediately impose a spending cap for 2012 equal to current revenues of $2.57 trillion and then do one of the following:

      1. Make an across the board cut to every federal program. (The easy way out.)

      2. Simply unwind government back to the 2002 configuration, eliminating all programs that have been added since then, and scaling the others back to their previous level.

      3. Examine the budget carefully and negotiate which departments and programs should be eliminated, which ones should be reduced, and which should remain at current funding levels.

    • What is clear from the past forty years is that so long as there is an open source of funding, Congress will continue to devise new ways to spend. And until a fixed dollar limit is rigidly imposed, Congress will refuse to examine and prioritize its spending.

    Time is up, and you and your fellow Republicans must finally stop playing at the childish game of politics, man-up, and do the adult thing. It is time to stop this ship of state and make an about face. The budget must be balance not in ten, twenty or forty years, but right NOW, in the upcoming 2012 fiscal year. You must cut over $1.5 trillion from next year's budget. Will it be hard? Of course. But it's not going to get any easier tomorrow, next year or after the 2012 election. It has to be done immediately.

    So what is your answer? Are you stepping up to the plate and swinging for a home run, or are you going to take the coward's way out and add one more bunt to a lifetime of bunting? Are you finally going to be the hero, or end your career as the goat? This is the moment of truth. No one can guarantee what the political fallout will ultimately be from this, but there is a huge and growing contingent all across America that will stand firmly behind you if you choose to do the proper thing and actually lead the Republicans in a serious charge into the battle to save this country from ruin.

    We are all watching, so forget the words and simply give us your answer through your actions.

    Sincerely,

    C. Jeffery Small

07-12-2011

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Under Attack...
Yet Again!
Subject: A Call to Action

    From the United States Constitution — Section 7:

    All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

    Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; ...

Today, the Associated Press released an article entitled:

In this piece it is reported that Republican Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) presented a proposal that would effectively turn the keys to the piggy bank over to President Obama, allowing him, at his discretion, to increase the debt ceiling by up to $2.5 trillion! In exchange for this broad new power, Obama would be required to submit to Congress a proposal for equivalent spending cuts — not from current levels, but from Obama's own inflated future spending projections — which would then be endlessly debated in Congress, with no assurance that they would ever come to a vote, let alone be implemented. And even if these spending reductions were to be enacted, there is no parity here, since, as Peter Schiff has so accurately pointed out, Obama would be increasing the debt today, while any cuts would certainly be set to kick in at some future date, and most likely be extended out over a period of five to ten years, and possibly longer, rendering their offsetting fiscal impact almost meaningless.

Now, why would the Republicans, who have a clear majority in the House where, according to the Constitution, revenue bills must originate, propose such an idiotic "compromise", giving up the authority that the voters vested in them during the last election, and capitulate to Obama's authority while burying us citizens under addition debt, raising the a total load to just shy of $17 trillion? As the article points out:
    [I]t would allow Republican lawmakers to avoid having to support an increase in the debt limit, something many of them find odious.

    "Republicans will choose a path that actually reflects the will of the people, which is to do the responsible thing and ensure the government doesn't default on its obligations," McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor.

Why would they do it? Because they are cowards! They prefer to both have and eat their cake silmultaneously. Unwilling to take a strong principled stand on the issue of the debt ceiling, they want to raise it because it is "the will if the people", but they do not want to actually have to vote on it because that is not "the will if the people". What are the Republicans actually concerned about?
    Any such proposals could also be used by Republicans in the 2012 campaigns, if only to blunt attacks made by Democrats.

That's right. They are more concerned with political maneuvering and reelection than they are on saving this country from total financial collapse as we are currently witnessing in many European countries.

Why is anything like this proposal being discussed? We are currently running a huge deficit and must cut federal spending immediately to balance the budget and stop the bleeding. Even if we gave ourselves a lobotomy and then were able to take this proposal at face value, believing that raising the debt ceiling would be countered with spending cuts of equal measure, that would be the same thing as standing still, and we would continue to hemorrhage. It solves nothing! The only possible path out of these dark woods is reduced spending, and it is clear that neither the White House, nor the Democrats, nor the Republicans are interested in taking decisive action. Raising the debt ceiling won't address our problems, it just makes things considerably worse.

Do not let this action stand! Contact Mitch McConnell and all of the other Republicans† in the House and Senate and tell them exactly what you think, not only of this particular proposal, but of their entire failed record. Let them know that:
  • The President should not be given the ability to arbitrarily raise the debt ceiling.

  • Stop undermining the separation of powers embodied in the U.S. Constitution.

  • The debt ceiling should not be raised by any amount, under any circumstances.

  • The 2012 budget which begins this October, must be balanced.

  • Balance the budget with federal spending reductions, not tax increases.

  • Immediately de-fund and then repeal Obamacare.

  • Every American citizen should have the choice to opt-out of all entitlement programs.

  • We are tracking their actions and we will remember each and every one at the next election.

Here are links and phone numbers to some of the worst RINOs in the Senate. Use this information to let them know exactly what actions you expect of them.

    Name State Phone No. Email Contact
    Mitch McConnell KY 202-224-2541 Email
    Lisa Murkowski AK 202-224-6665 Email
    Jon Kyl AZ 202-224-4521 Email
    John McCain AZ 202-224-2235 Email
    Mark Kirk IL 202-224-2845 Email
    Richard Lugar IN 202-224-4814 Email
    Scott Brown MA 202-228-2646 Email
    Susan Collins ME 202-224-2523 Email
    Olympia Snowe ME 202-224-5344] Email
    Mike Johanns NE 202-224-4224 Email
    Tom Coburn OK 202-224-5754 Email
    Lyndsey Graham SC 202-224-5972 Email
    Lamar Alexander TN 202-224-4944 Email

If you would like to harass my RINO state Representative, by all means, please have at it! :-)
    Name State Phone No. Email Contact
    Dave Reichert      WA 206-275-3438 Email

And for all your other Representative and Senatorial needs, use this link to Congress Merge.

Remember, this is the second American Revolution, and you are all soldiers on the front line of this battle. Fight back as though your future was at stake — because it certainly is!


† I say contact the Republicans, because I have written off the Democrats as beyond hope. As the past two years demonstrated, they are operating from a social agenda that is to be imposed upon this country, that does not recognize self-preservation as a counter-force. They have demonstrated that they will not listening to our message. They must all be replaced, but attempting to sway their opinion is a waste of time.


[Thanks to Siska Van Soolen DeYoung for bringing this news story to my attention.]
07-08-2011

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The Right to Choose
Subject: An Open Letter to Politicians and Political Candidates

Dear Representative of the People:

Based upon the current activity taking place in Washington D.C. regarding matters of regulatory reform, spending cuts, balancing the budget and reducing the deficit, it does not look like anything truly meaningful is going to be accomplished in the foreseeable future. Talk about reducing spending by trillions of dollars, whether proposed by President Obama or by Republicans such as Paul Ryan—assuming that these plans were ever to actually be put into effect—sound great until you understand that these numbers are not for next year's budget, but are unrealistically spread over a period of 10 to 30 years, all the while allowing actual government spending to continue to increase year upon year. All of this is just another example of the Big Lie once again being foisted off on the American public.

It is clear that the current Congress is not going to enact anything close to what is required to put this country back on a sound footing, so I am proposing that you take some truly bold action. Instead of continuing to dicker with your fellow politicians over budget levels and whether you are going to use a scalpel or a machete to either slowly whittle away at our future or simply decapitate us in one fell swoop, I would ask that you work to remove the decision making from Congress and the White House altogether and place it back in the hands of every individual citizen.

My suggestion is that you strive to create legislation that gives each person the option of deciding whether or not they wish to remain in, and pay for the full set of federal entitlements, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare, along with the the other 2,177 programs listed, as of July 8th, in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. For those who support these programs and wish to continue to receive, or remain in line to receive future benefits, they simply register their choice and continue to participate. Other individuals who would prefer to opt out of receiving all future government benefits would be allowed to register that choice as well. In exchange for their willingness to walk away from all past contributions to these programs, and agreeing to never receive any future pay out or aid, they would stop having entitlement payments deducted from their earnings and have their taxes permanently reduced by an appropriate amount. They would then be free to use these funds to manage their own insurance, medical and retirement needs.

It is clear that a sizable segment of the U.S. population is currently prepared to assume responsibility for their own lives, and would willingly opt out of these programs. By doing so, this would immediately and drastically reduce the future debt obligation of the federal government and go a long way towards addressing the fiscal crisis. For those who choose to remain in these programs, they would continue to pay in as necessary to keep the programs alive. To account for the shortfall that would occur in meeting current obligation with a reduced tax base, other less important areas of federal spending would be identified and eliminated, and the funding shifted over to these programs as necessary in order to keep them solvent.

In addition to our fiscal problems, this country is also currently facing great social instability. While there are, of course, many sub-groups within the following simplified designations, our society has become polarized into two broad factions: the fiscal conservatives and the social progressives. Whereas people of diverse viewpoints once coexisted peacefully together, as government has grown in size and scope, imposing its control in ever expanding areas, many people have justifiably come to feel that they are losing command over the direction and purpose of their own lives, resulting in greater levels of anxiety, dissatisfaction and unhappiness. In a country originally built upon the proud virtues of industriousness and self-reliance, we have now constructed massive institutions designed to foster helplessness and dependence. Where we could once act freely and independently in addressing our own problems and needs, the heavy hand of government regulation has eliminated many if not most of those options, requiring us to now come, hat-in-hand, begging for permission to pursue our dreams, ideas and professions in ever more restricted ways.

As government has assumed more and more control, individuals, groups and businesses have sought to curry favor with politicians and persuade them to wield government force in service of their particular needs. This has led to waring factions vying for the limited resource of favored political status, and it is this that ultimately creates the polarization of our society that we observe today. As each group tries desperately to have their particular values and goals imposed upon all others, resentment grows into anger and finally transforms into outright hatred for those who are seen as mortal enemies, bent upon denying us the ability to live in the way that we each judge to be best.

The only solution to this problem is to reduce government control over the lives of all citizens and allow them greater freedom to make their own decisions as to how best to live their lives. This is the second important benefit to be realized by giving each person in this country the ability to decide for themselves whether they wish to participate in government run entitlement programs, or prefer to take personal responsibility for their own future.

So I ask any politician or political candidate who is serious about actually addressing the problems faced by the Unites States, and who has the the confidence and courage to step beyond the ineffectual norms of Washington, D.C. politics in order to explore truly creative solutions, to give this proposal some serious thought and see if something along these lines does not, in fact, offer a realistic path to achieving meaningful immediate and long-term benefits.




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