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The Simple Solution: Cut Spending

By: Robin Smith (Diary)  |  July 28th, 2011 at 07:36 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

A convoluted web of serious problems has converged, all due to decades of treating the government as a vending machine.   Each issue has a simple solution.
Ratings agencies are threatening to  ”downgrade” US bonds from the current AAA rating. This is not contingent on the debt ceiling being raised. This problem relates to our excessive debt with the solution to be drastic spending cuts. Based on current reports, unless an excess of $4 trillion in spending cuts occur, Standard & Poors and Moodys will be lowering our ratings.
The debt ceiling has been reached due to excessive past and current spending but is related to defaulting on the service of American debt to lending nations, like China. America’s revenue will be adequate to service this debt and a few other spending needs like   Social Security, but the request being made is to account for additional spending in the future and to avoid spending cuts.
The solutions proposed to date have included a Cut, Cap & Balance bill that passed the US House but was tabled in the  Senate. That was the best solution with spending cuts, a cap on future spending and a proposed balanced budget amendment that the majority of   Americans support.
The current proposal by House Speaker Boehner that will be altered slightly by Senate Leader Harry Reid cuts only  $900 billion over ten years with a vague promise of future votes on balancing the budget. It creates yet another Washington commission that will produce another series of quickly ignored and forgotten recommendations.
Solutions? No, just timid proposals by politicians.
The common theme with these real problems is the need to make serious cuts in government spending. Congressman Connie Mack of  Florida has the best proposal that remains. Make annual cuts across the board   in all agencies in spending, a spending cap in place with $7.5 trillion in cuts that actually balances the budget by the end of this decade.
For all the drama, the real solution lies in cutting  spending.

COMMENTS

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  • MNConservative

    The trouble with proposing a budget with cuts is that you’ll never get it past the spendoholics in the Senate, and Obama wouldn’t sign it anyway.

    The way to get cuts NOW is to refuse to raise the debt ceiling. Of course Obama would get to prioritize the spending of revenues (essentially deciding what gets cut) but that will get sorted out next November.

  • msbs05

    As usual Robin Smith is spot on in her comments and as usual I regret she is not in Congress today to be the spine of the GOP. Robin moved the state government of TN from blue to red because she stood firm for principles. The house is only under Boehner’s leadership because the Tea Party took it from wishy-washy Democrat-lite to a party with beliefs in limited government and principles. Boehner needs to get behind the tea party and back Cut, Cap, and Balance or Connie Mack’s idea. We won the mandate in 2010, but we are the only ones being asked to compromise. There would not be a GOP if the establishment had their way, and there wont be in 2012 if they do not quit with the attacks on the Tea Party. Perhaps they could get McCain to lead them again – that worked out well last time. If we as a party can not tackle real cuts and show some control & unity now, we never will. I say Boehner quits fearing the left, stands firm for limited government, and demands CC&B or let us default. Either way we would win with big cuts and the left would stop laughing at our weak leaders. Robin, I am ready to work for your run to the right of Rep Fleischmann, who has decided to follow the Boehner plan instead of those who put him in office!

  • ghostship

    Wining at negotiations or poker often come down to a test of nerves. He who blinks first loses.

    Our nation is down to a handful of big blinds. If we don