Typical response to cuts: sequestration

[Guest 6.8 AR]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/18/congress-leaves-town-with-layoffs-in-its-wake/

 

Just about every government uses "the children" when their money is threatened. President Obama

is no different, except the fact that he was for this when he was a senator. This article addresses the

way our government prioritizes cuts in a sick way. Obama gave one of his press releases, the other day,

and used a list like police, fire, daycare and the like, that would cause grief to the American public.

However, he knew exactly what would get cut, since he pushed it as a senator. The bulk of the cuts

will affect the military and will only weaken our defenses in a time when we really need them.

 

The sickening other part of this is, the politicization of the whole process. If anyone didn't see this one

coming, they were asleep, or in denial. Just some more proof of his agenda, to me.

 

Instead of cutting the military, our government could, just once, cut everything else, across the board,

to levels where they aren't borrowing a single dime. But that wouldn't be politically correct, would it?

[Guest 556or762]

WHAT.......not borrow a single dime? That would mean all those in Washington would get a pay cut, you know to end up closer to us. How bout saving money by eliminating the lifetime salary for congress after only one term. Or maybe not allowing depts like DHS, to operate without a budget, with this sequestration DHS will be stronger than the military, anyone think of a reason to have that? Hmmmmm?

[Jonnin]

That is exactly the first step.

 

Take the budget. 

Divide the current expenses into a % total of amount spent.

Spend the same % of the budget, with enough taken out to reduce the principle of our debt.

 

Everyone gets the same % as before, which means no crying about favoritism or cutting of pet programs. 

[BryanP]

I'd change one thing about sequestration: No exemptions. Cut everything.  Yes, that means military (including retiree benefits), social security, all of it. 

 

All.  Of.  It.

 

Equal % cuts until we're balanced. If they want to cut out specific programs to save money, fine.  That savings will be applied equally to all of the across-the-board cuts.

[Guest 556or762]

They'll never cut across the board, DHS gets more every year and with the current storm brewing they'll get more this year. Even if they did tell you what they were cutting, would you believe them? Not me!

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I don't really expect anything different from the fools in DC, just throw crap against the wall, just like them. :D

 

You throw enough crap, it might stick in a generation or ten.

[RobertNashville]

Frankly, if they simply returned all spending to FY 2008 levels it would be a tremendous step forward in getting our spending under control but a Senator or Congressman even suggesting such a thing will get him/her labeled an idiot or worse.

 

I'm just so sick of the whole damn lot of them....just about all of them are narcissistic, criminals and socialists who don't give a damn about this country or its citizens.

Edited February 22, 2013 by RobertNashville

[KaNuckles]

Wasn't that long ago he was all for sequestration.

 

OBAMA 2011: My message to them is simple: "No." I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts, domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.

[Raoul]

Wasn't that long ago he was all for sequestration.

 

OBAMA 2011: My message to them is simple: "No." I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts, domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.

Yep he owns it.

[Chucktshoes]

A cut in the growth of spending is not a cut in spending. The way that is spun drives me bonkers. A cut is spending means you spend less this year than you did last year, not that ou increased your spending by less than you thought ou would.

[RobertNashville]

It doesn't matter at all who owns it or proposed it...as long as Obama has the entire press in his back pocket (which he does) he can say anything he wants, blame the Republicans for anything that goes wrong or doesn't work and the bring-dead population (i.e. about 52% of the population) are going go believe him.

[1pointofview]

These cuts are equivalent to the average family cutting a couple bucks from your budget for the year. In fact, even with the cuts, the amount of money the us will spend in the up coming year will be more than they did in the prior year. So even with the tens of billions in cuts it will not cut the budget, just the rate of growth. A reality the media is hiding from the public

[Guest 6.8 AR]

They'll never cut across the board, DHS gets more every year and with the current storm brewing they'll get more this year. Even if they did tell you what they were cutting, would you believe them? Not me!

Since there is no budget to cut from, the federal government should just go on and shut down. Our political class

has not done their job. They should be the first to feel any cut.

[enfield]

I'm sick and tired of all the fearmongering coming from the government -- "Fiscal Cliff", "Sequester", etc. 

 

I want to see the elephant.  I want to SEE what it is we're supposed to be so afraid of.  I WANT TO SEE what happens after the political apocalypse!

 

In the immortal words of Johnny Ringo, "OK Lunger, let's do it!"

[mikegideon]

Johnny got shot in the head :)  They're not gonna accomplish anything of substance, so they gotta yuck something up. It's just like the gun control BS. Won't fix a damn thing, but they can pretend.

[GoneBallistic]

I'd change one thing about sequestration: No exemptions. Cut everything.  Yes, that means military (including retiree benefits), social security, all of it. 

 

All.  Of.  It.

 

Equal % cuts until we're balanced. If they want to cut out specific programs to save money, fine.  That savings will be applied equally to all of the across-the-board cuts.

I'm all about cuts but I don't think it's right to cut benefits of those who have sacrificed blood and limb to defend this ever-deteriorating country. Cut welfare to illegals, cut these ridiculous retirement plans from politicians, but I don't think it's right to cut benefits to people who actually have earned them. Your proposal would make sense if the budget was currently proportionally correct, just too big in general. It's nowhere near proportionally correct.

[BigK]

These a-holes don't wanna fix it. They just want more and more of our money to with as they see fit. This is just another tactic to scare us into thinking more taxes is the only possible answer. The media will make certain that message "sticks" too.

[Links2k]

I'd change one thing about sequestration: No exemptions. Cut everything.  Yes, that means military (including retiree benefits), social security, all of it. 
 
All.  Of.  It.
 
Equal % cuts until we're balanced. If they want to cut out specific programs to save money, fine.  That savings will be applied equally to all of the across-the-board cuts.

CUT EVERYTHING!

[RobertNashville]

Cut it all???

So I guess our parents and grandparents who have paid into SS all their lives on the promise of receiving a retirement income should just go ahead and starve to death and decrease the surplus elderly population. We can just forget about the fact that if these people had simply be allowed to save the same amount of money stolen they could easily be millionaires...no, we'll just steel their money while they are working and then say...you don't get anything back; sucks to be you!

 

And for our soldiers and sailors who are lucky enough to actually server a career without getting killed should just go "f" them selves too.

 

And let's not forget the truly poverty-stricken who actually can't work or care for themselves...I guess they can just go die in the street...we can send along the meat wagons to haul their bodies off like they did during the black plague.

 

There are PLENTY of things that need to be cut including entire departments of the government that shouldn't exist at all but just "cutting everything" is about as helpful as saying "let them eat cake".

Edited February 22, 2013 by RobertNashville

[strickj]

These a-holes don't wanna fix it. They just want more and more of our money to with as they see fit. This is just another tactic to scare us into thinking more taxes is the only possible answer. The media will make certain that message "sticks" too.

 

The only true bipartisanship. Isn't that what O has always wanted?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

And how much does it matter, at this point, how much you and I paid in to SS, if the bill can't be paid? If you have

to borrow the money to keep the illusion going that there is some kind of lockbox for your retirement funds to come

from, what are you going to do when you can't borrow? I'd rather do something personal to some of those who stole

us blind, than to keep borrowing from some other country knowing full well I couldn't pay it back.

 

I don't expect to see one thin dime out of my retirement. I know how much I paid in to the penny, in one program, not

so warm and fuzzy about SS. I'll never see that.

[TMF]

Haha, "lockbox"..... brought back some scary memories with that one.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yeh, that was the original promise, wasn't it? :D

[TMF]

Yeh, that was the original promise, wasn't it? :D

Oh I'm sure, but the terminology reminded me of Gore during the 2000 debates and how we almost had that looney as a president.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Ah, yes, Gore. I remember that one, too.