There is an old adage that defines insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” What’s worse than insanity is hypocritical insanity, which may be defined as doing the same thing that your opponent did over and over again, while expecting different results. Unfortunately, that is an apt description of the House GOP leadership of late. During the 2010 | Read More »
Let’s forget the fact that Obama’s entire Stimulus 10.0 is a counterintuitive proposal that doubles down on the very failures that precipitated this speech. Let’s also disregard the fact that enshrining unemployment insurance as a permanent handout will perpetuate unemployment. And more union-induced, short-term money drops on infrastructure will do nothing but stimulate traffic jams. Let’s focus purely on the very numbers that the administration | Read More »
Earlier today, Barack Obama decried the gridlock that has prevented Congress from passing a long-term surface transportation bill (highway bill) as unacceptable and inexcusable. He also asserted that we must formulate a policy in which funding would be directed to those districts that need it the most, instead of politically motivated pork, such as the bridge to nowhere (which he supported in the Senate). Well, | Read More »
The latest CBO budget and economic outlook is using baseline assumptions that are as realistic as flying unicorns. Although they project a decade of mediocre growth and moderate deficits, even such a dismal projection is a pretentious view of reality. On the budget side, CBO’s baseline outlook portends a $1.284 trillion deficit this year, and $3.487 worth of deficits over the ten-year budget frame, from | Read More »
Immediately prior to breaking for the August recess, Congress passed a bipartisan agreement to cut spending. Well, sort of. Leaders in both parties got together to do something evil and stupid; they agreed to the largest increase in the debt ceiling, without solving our debt problem. They cut discretionary spending by $6.67 billion for FY 2012, from $1.0497 trillion to $1.043 trillion. That’s a bit | Read More »
When members of Congress return to Washington in September, they must confront the next budget challenge; a Continuing Resolution for FY 2012. While the top line discretionary spending level has already been agreed upon through the debt ceiling agreement, the specific levels of funding for each department and agency are still up for debate (or closed-door negotiations, in this case). Unfortunately, instead of prudently analyzing | Read More »
Well, we really stuck it to the Democrats today. Instead of passing Cut, Cap, and Balance, a plan that will never pass the Senate and would have foisted the blame of a default upon us (supposedly), we orchestrated a plan to really own them. We came up with Boehner plan 2.0 that..well, …..will not pass the Senate – and will force a default, unless we | Read More »
Late this afternoon, the CBO reaffirmed all of our concerns with Speaker Boehner’s Budget Control Act of 2011 – plus interest (pun intended). We have asserted ad nauseam that any proposed budget plan that fails to countermand the current prodigal spending levels, including the modestly reduced spending levels of 2011, is not worth the paper it is printed on. The CBO estimates that Boehner’s $1.2 | Read More »
Forget the tax issue or the timetable for a moment; any proposed “spending cut” deal that fails to slash funding for discretionary spending and welfare programs to pre-Obama levels, as proposed in Paul Ryan‘s budget, is worthless. As Congressman Dennis Ross (R-FL) tweeted earlier today, “debt “deals” that count on 10 years worth of spending cuts are the Mr Snuffleupagus of budget tricks. No one | Read More »
As a rule of thumb, any idea coming from a gang is not a good one. This holds true in the real world; it is certainly true in the gangster world of the U.S. Senate. Members of the media are agog with glee over the supposed Gang of Six deal to cut the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years. There is much hype over | Read More »
“I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government; I mean an additional article taking from the Federal Government the power of borrowing.” Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Taylor of Caroline, November 26, 1798 Obama and the Democrats have no intention to cut | Read More »
There has been much ink spilled trying to determine the best political strategy for Republicans in dealing with the debt ceiling. Throughout the process, many Republicans have ceded ground to Obama by credulously buying into the premise that failure to raise the debt ceiling will spell disaster for the country. Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL), one of those unvarnished freshmen conservatives, cuts thought the clutter and | Read More »
The most effective proposal for dealing with the debt ceiling vote that has the backing of conservatives is the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan brought forth by the RSC. Accordingly, virtually every major conservative organization has coalesced around a pledge forcing all members of Congress to support the plan as a condition to raising the debt ceiling. The presidential candidates are also being recruited to | Read More »
The Social Security Ponzi scheme is perhaps the most consequential government infringement upon our lives. Conservatives are justifiably outraged that Obama egregiously mandated that we purchase health insurance. However, the individual mandate is not nearly as meddlesome and tyrannical as the government’s complete control over our retirement security. The only reason why these two programs are regarded differently by the public, is because Social Security | Read More »
Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL), sponsor of the House Balanced Budget Amendment bill, is drawing a line in the sand and refusing to raise the debt limit. He has sent out another video message to Obama evincing his unequivocal rejection of Tim Geithner’s fallacious fear-mongering . As some members of leadership go wobbly on the Balanced Budget Amendment, we must remind them why they obtained their | Read More »
The political world has been waiting with alacrity to hear the details of the GOP demand for raising the debt ceiling. The Republican Study Committee is wasting no time in publicizing their overarching condition for raising the debt ceiling; lowering the spending floor. You might think of it as the preeminent ‘cap and trade’ program. We have long railed against an incremental approach to the | Read More »
As we finally embark on the imperative discussion of entitlement reform, we cannot overlook immigration and its disproportionate effect on the welfare state. Our immigration system is stuck in the Kennedy days of the 1960′s when our population was half of what it is today. Over the past few decades, in addition to the migration of 12 million+ illegals, we have allowed legal immigration to spiral | Read More »
While Obama was rubbing shoulders with noted bigot Al Sharpton, House conservatives have been working arduously to formulate a coherent budget and stave off the impending debt crisis. Earlier this week, Paul Ryan bravely offered the first steps toward achieving fiscal solvency and vitiating dependency on government. Ryan’s diligence has provided the groundwork for a debate among conservatives as to how best reinstate the ideals | Read More »
As the Democrats continue to bankrupt the nation with crushing debt, and stymie Republican attempts to balance the budget, we were beginning to wonder if they had their own plan to achieve budget solvency. The New York Times just revealed their monumental plan for the future of our fiscal stability. Drum roll……Labeling Republicans and tea partiers as extremists! “Moments before a conference call with reporters | Read More »
The major legislative item on the agenda in the Senate this week will be The Small Business Reauthorization Act (S. 493). Republicans plan to use this bill as a platform to promote critical pieces of legislation through the process of non-germane amendments to the bill. Here are some vital amendments that will be debated and voted on throughout the week: Senator Mitch McConnell is offering | Read More »
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