Second, all of these account for only 25-20% of expenditures – so if you cut all of them 100% you are still billions away from balancing the budget.

So, yes, cut some agencies 100%, combine, reduce their scope. But that’s only part of the answer.

I’ll dream of 2013, while making meaningful but realistic cuts now. And that will require raising the debt ceiling (just not as much as the Dems will ask for).

I keep saying that we need to start being a net exporter of oil.
We don’t need to become Brazil’s best customer.
The left keeps saying we need to wean ourselves off of fossils fuels.
I am all for conservative and research into other forms of energy.
I am not into the Federal Government giving away billions to their
buddies in the “green” energy sector.

America needs to quit borrowing and start selling.

China, India & the rest of the world is laughing at America and it’s “green”
view. Fossil fuels will be around for hundreds of years and will be the bridge to get us to the “next” source of energy. Why not take what we have,
become energy independent and then become the biggest competitor to OPEC?

We are in the midst of a Mexico-style devaluation, only we are doing it in the shadows and through the super-baggy pants monetary policy that was so well explained above. This diary entry is a sober, sober warning about how TRULY close we are to the brink, and when we careen over it, it is astonishing to know that most won’t know we are in free-fall, and they won’t know the reason.

And what did all of this spending get us, anyway?

So the ceiling will have to be raised, sooner or later (timing is subject to the whims of Geitner’s team). But the point is that we have to make progress on major cuts – some now and more in the future – or we will continue past the debt of no return.

But I have a sneaking suspicion the disruption would occur mostly in fat city, Washington D.C. ? the only place in the country that is booming, having added 98,000 government jobs since January 2008 (not including census workers) while the private sector has lost 7.2 million jobs in the same period. Source of statistics.

Failing to raise the debt ceiling would necessitate cuts of approximately 40 percent, but since the government has grown by 36 percent just since 2007, how difficult could this be (apart from the lack of political will)? I’m not saying it would be a piece of cake, but it may be better than alternatives, especially ones that open us to treachery. Human Events columnist John Hayward discusses some of the suggested reforms that Republicans could require in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, and adds:

Marco Rubio called for some highly laudable reforms that have very little chance of getting through Congress, including some that require amending the Constitution. Even if all of these reforms passed, forcing this out-of-control government to obey them would be a never-ending battle. It?s much simpler to get where he wants to go by leaving the debt ceiling in place ? one epic vote that would compel the federal government to begin the painful process of living within its means, right now.

As usual, government will purposefully make the cuts or delay of payments as visible and painful to the citizenry as possible, in order to bully the taxpayers into re-opening the purse, but the public is wise to this tactic. Here’s a local example: When a county road director dragged his feet in clearing snow for the second time this past winter, whining that his budget had been cut by 40 percent over seven years, the county executive fired him and sought a replacement who could get the job done with the resources provided. End of story. People are sick of bullying, self-serving government.

To prepare for the storm, Congress should pass legislation to prioritize spending, such as paying interest on the debt first (HR 421) to prevent default, then let Harry Reid explain why he won’t pass this bill — the Full Faith and Credit Act. Republicans can also pass whatever other protections they deem necessary (for guidance, look at Geithner’s threats: ? military salaries, Social Security and Medicare payments, interest on the debt and unemployment benefits). Then let the foot-dragging Harry Reid explain why he and Obama want to retain the power to hurt people as much as possible. Then, for elected Republicans (and wise Democrats, if there is such a thing), tie yourselves to the ship’s mast, pray, and weather the storm. The rainbow will be glorious.

My analysis is that MBecker’s projection of June is overly alarmist. We are selling bonds at a rate that will advance cash to the government to last us past that point. Certainly, interest rates will need to rise – probably around June. And this will have impact throughout the economic “recovery” and push us toward Stagflation. Depressing yet again the tax revenue via slow economic growth. But only a little bit.

It is yet another warning signal. That we must heed, via deep cuts in spending in the current (FY 2012 budget) and future (entitlement reform) plans, to reassure the financial markets of our creditworthiness, as well as the entire business community.

If we don’t, then MBecker’s projection will come true. Just a little further into the future.

Common Cents explained that Bernake’s unstated intent is “to recapitalize the big banks on the backs of savers and inflation.” And that instead of making money available “to small/regional banks to loan to small/med businesses, the economic engine of America… taxpayer money is being funneled to big money elites sloshing billions around in various assets, inflating prices, *recycling the money into treasuries* so the govt elites can spend even more.”

Mark Levin was talking in a similar vein recently, and made the point that if the money is not *willingly* being converted into T bonds, the government may quietly compel it. He said that in the business world, this is known as economic or financial repression, but of course the government won’t openly call it that. We are headed for serious trouble.

I’m hoping that we can prevent a QE3 and an artificially propped up bond market by not raising the debt ceiling. (Or maybe by only raising the debt limit in such small increments that the bond market won’t become glutted?) The government can’t issue more bonds for auction if, or to the extent that, we don’t raise the debt ceiling, can it?

As I see it, controlling the debt ceiling may be our best means of limiting the damage that Obama can do in the next year and a half. And we are WINNING the debt ceiling war! I hope to say more tomorrow.

The T auctions could cause a complete meltdown of the government if the federal reserve does as they’ve said they would and quit participating and nobody picks up the slack.

We all know that the dems will not cut anything, and the GOP will not touch the entitlements. So in a word, we’re doomed.

The real question is when the defaults hit, how do the republicans avoid the media, and dems whining about how they destroyed the economy. I predict that they can’t avoid any blame, especially when they can correctly be shown to have repeatedly voted to increase the government’s borrowing.