Obama Seeks Rules to Restrain Spending (Excuse me??)

[JohnBrowdie]

uh, where was this "very simple rule" about 4 trillion dollars ago?  and has it occurred to him that if he had applied offsets before his $4 trillion budget, that this probably wouldn't be happening now?  or would they apply for every appropriation from now on?

not buying it.  I fully expect a heavy dose of smoke and many mirrors to make an appearance the second that this could cost his his latest trillion dollar entitlement program.

Obama Seeks Rules to Restrain Spending
Push Comes Amid Concern About Deficit

With the budget deficit soaring toward a record $1.8 trillion, the Obama administration is proposing tough new rules that would require lawmakers to pay for new initiatives -- including an expected overhaul of the health system -- or face automatic spending cuts.

The new rules were rolled out today amid growing anxiety among the nation's foreign creditors and some of its top economic policymakers about the tide of red ink. Surveys show ordinary citizens, too, are increasingly concerned, with the public divided in a new Gallup poll on President Obama's handling of the deficit.

In remarks at the White House this afternoon, Obama urged Congress to act quickly to pass his proposal to codify in law a pay-as-you-go requirement for the federal budget.

While the proposal has found favor in the House, it appears to face major obstacles in the Senate, where the chairman and several members of the Senate Budget Committee said they would fight proposed exemptions for the alternative minimum tax and tax cuts passed during the Bush administration.

"The pay-as-you-go rule is very simple," Obama said with supportive lawmakers standing behind him in the East Room of the White House. "Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere. This principle guides responsible families managing a budget. And it is no coincidence that this rule was in place when we moved from record deficits to record surpluses in the 1990s -- and that when this rule was abandoned, we returned to record deficits that doubled the national debt. Entitlement increases and tax cuts need to be paid for. They are not free, and borrowing to finance them is not a sustainable long-term policy."

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[JohnBrowdie]

well, here's the hidden point of the whole thing.  tax cuts have to be "paid for", as though tax cute weren't in and if themselves stimulative, and already paid for themselves in the medium run.

The House and Senate already have their own "paygo" rules, but Obama is seeking binding legislation. The goal is to avoid increasing a deficit that is already soaring to record levels. Under the plan, new spending or tax reductions must be offset or there would be automatic cuts in certain programs.

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[Miss Mia]

I prefer a pay-go system, but really I'd like to see a nice big cut in the whole government bureaucracy, but that ain't ever going to happen.

[JohnBrowdie]

 . . . and of course, it would give congress political cover to raise taxes anywhere they felt like it.  this could be the back door that they use to sneak a VAT in during the dead of night.

[Miss Mia]

. . . and of course, it would give congress political cover to raise taxes anywhere they felt like it.  this could be the back door that they use to sneak a VAT in during the dead of night.

Well, he's gotta pay for health care "reform" somehow.

[JohnBrowdie]

this guy is shameless.  or he thinks that we are all retarded.

"The reckless fiscal policies of the past have left us in a very deep hole," Obama said. "Digging our way out will take time and patience and tough choices."

[Miss Mia]

this guy is shameless.  or he thinks that we are all retarded.

"The reckless fiscal policies of the past have left us in a very deep hole," Obama said. "Digging our way out will take time and patience and tough choices."

I'm going to with a mixture of both. 

[JohnBrowdie]

Well, he's gotta pay for health care "reform" somehow.

he isn't reforming anything.  he's driving a bulldozer through the private sector of the economy.  when this is all over with, the united states will be a the world's biggest health care/pension plan that has a navy.

[Miss Mia]

he isn't reforming anything.  he's driving a bulldozer through the private sector of the economy.  when this is all over with, the united states will be a the world's biggest health care/pension plan that has a navy.

I don't think there will be much reform to the health care industry in the end.  The republicans won't vote for it and the blue dogs are bristling at it already.  Hard core progressives want single payer only, and that's really not going to happen. 

[JohnBrowdie]

it didn't take long for Obama to back away from "pay as you go" when it comes to health care.  I knew it was crap the second I heard it.  this is just another policy that he will exempt to death, like the Obama ban on lobbyists working for the administration. 

and "deficit neutral over 10 years" means "it will be someone else's problem after my two terms as president are over".  it's a ridiculous, empty, meaningless phrase designed to mislead the electorate, who he clearly considers to be mildly retarded,

with henry "pig man" waxman on the job, you can rest assured that they will cram it through the house without anyone knowing what the hell is in it.  democrats won't know what the hell they are voting for, and republicans won't know what to vote against.

and THAT, boys and girls, is the most ethical congress in history in practice.

Obama: It's OK to borrow to pay for health care
Obama-proposed budget rules allow deficits to swell to pay for health care plan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed budget rules that would allow Congress to borrow tens of billions of dollars and put the nation deeper in debt to jump-start the administration's emerging health care overhaul.

The "pay-as-you-go" budget formula plan is significantly weaker than a proposal Obama issued with little fanfare last month.

It would carve out about $2.5 trillion worth of exemptions for Obama's priorities over the next decade. His health care reform plan also would get a green light to run big deficits in its early years. But over a decade, Congress would have to come up with money to cover those early year deficits.

Obama's latest proposal for addressing deficits urges Congress to pass a law requiring lawmakers to pay for new spending programs and tax cuts without further adding to exploding deficits projected to total about $10 trillion over the next decade.

If new spending or tax reductions are not offset, there would be automatic cuts in so-called mandatory programs -- although Social Security payments and the Medicaid health care program for poor and disabled would be exempt and cuts to Medicare would be sharply limited.

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[JohnBrowdie]

I don't think there will be much reform to the health care industry in the end.  The republicans won't vote for it and the blue dogs are bristling at it already.  Hard core progressives want single payer only, and that's really not going to happen. 

you're assuming that anyone but a select few will even know what's in it.  sort of the way they passed the stimulus, and pretty much the way they rammed the $4 Trillion budget through congress.  all you need is an abject lack of both ethics and scruples, and anything is possible.

[Wretched Excess]

the VAT (on top of a vastly increased income tax) and cap-and-trade are probably both going to get crammed down our throats with this massive bit of fraud and deceit.