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On a conference call with reporters today, Senate Democrats -- led by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer -- blamed House Speaker John Boehner’s acquiescence to the House Tea Party caucus for holding up negotiations over a final agreement to keep the government operating for the rest of the year.
“We see now that Speaker Boehner is yielding to the extremes to his party -- basically saying he’s not going to negotiate,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who also was on the call.
The Republican-led House already passed a long-term spending bill that includes $61 billion in cuts for the rest of the fiscal year. The White House and Senate Democrats are expected to release a plan that would cut roughly half that, but Republicans have expressed discontent that they have not yet seen that proposal.
Democrats today said that they were waiting for an indication from Boehner that he would be willing to compromise.
“The ball is in his court,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
House Republicans fired back at Schumer and the Democratic senators. “Sen. Schumer is not part of the CR negotiations, and he is making up fairy tales trying to derail serious discussions on funding the government and cutting spending, because he believes his party would benefit from a government shutdown," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. "At this point, the House has passed a bill to fund the government through the end of the year while cutting spending. The Senate has not -- and Sen. Schumer’s inaccurate rants won’t change that.”
House Democrats also got into the act of blaming the Tea Party for the impasse. In his pen-and-pad briefing today, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer quoted former Speaker Gingrich about the dangers of a "perfectionist caucus." The 2011 version of the "perfectionist caucus" is the Tea Party, he said, backing up the Senate Democratic rhetoric that it's the Tea Party holding up the compromise, not the Democrats.
"When the real problem is not that we haven't given anything. The White House is at $20 billion. The White House has been engaged in these negotiations. [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid is right. The problem is not a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans. The problem is disagreement between Republicans and Republicans. The Tea Party has become more and more strife... The government is not going to work by threats."
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Ha...
Beverly in Chicago
#1 - Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:45 AM PDT
anything to be first
I am so LMAO at the 'pickle' the Weeper is in!
Reminds me of the old saying, be careful what you wish for...
Boehner couldn't wait to get his sweaty little hands on that gavel, and now he's stuck herding cats or in this case tea baggers!
Good afternoon Feisty:
What an incredible catch-22 for Boehner. He doesn't like to use the word compromise. He doesn't want to anger his Tea Party base, so his take-it-or leave-it approach when communicating with the Senate will cause Senator Reid to say "no deal". And a government shutdown will fall on the head of ol' John. Hope someone takes a picture of him holding that gavel, because all he will have left is the picture.
You ought to be more concerned about the 'pickle' President Obama is in, Feisty.
It's his responsibility to prevent a U.S. sovereign debt crisis.
Tick-tock, Mr. President.
dems should have passed this last year, god bless the tea party, bring the dems to their knees, if that means a government shutdown, thats great! the longer the federal government is shut down the better. end the liberal agenda now.
Any solution will also have to involve revenues. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy need to end, and corporations need to start paying taxes.
The budget will not be balanced on the backs of the working class.
Matt, we all know that.......actually I should say all thinking people know that; unfortunately the tea party is all about keeping the rich rich. and in that there lies the problem. just like Shumer and Hoyer said, the problem is the teabaggers. and unfortunately they don't know compromise.
Chuckie Schumer and his democrat friends caucus and discuss how to blame someone else for the budget crisis? Why don't they actually talk about how to try and fix things? That is what this whole story is about, blame the other side because we don't have a clue what to do. Get the word out about exactly how to say it is the other sides fault. GROW UP CHUCK.
Matt - ALL of the Bush tax cuts need to end. ALL OF THEM.
I still think Nancy missed a golden opportunity when she handed it to him...
She should have 'planted' it! ;o)
I love the Tea Party shills who do the bidding for the upper class, defending their rights to not pay any taxes, hoping that maybe their little posts will be seen, and a little bit will trickle down on their working class lives.
True American, guess that means you are a Native American, but I digress.
The Republicans you speak of inherited a budget surplus in 2000 and it was promptly spent on tax cuts for the wealthy and the deficit spending Prescription Drug Plan. Between 2000 and 2006 George Bush never vetoed a spending plan. Along the way, after screwing up Afghanistan and failing to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, he fabricates faulty intelligence and invades Iraq.
4,421 Americans are killed, 32,000 wounded and the final cost after benefits to our Military will exceed 3 Trillion American dollars. This cost will paid over the course of the lifetime of soldiers that have served, another 50-60 years.
So, Obama is spending 500 million a week. No American soldiers have been killed or wounded. We will not invade. What's your point?
And where are the jobs that were supposed to be created by the Bush Tax Cuts? By the time Bush left office in January 2009, over 4 million jobs had been lost.
Not to throw anyone under a bus, but just maybe if Nancy had actually done her job as speaker of the House of Representatives for the 111th Congress and passed a budget; the 112th Congress would not have had to clean-up the mess she left.
Tea Partiers are in denial that they are bought and paid for by the Kochs.
beerangus
at least they are not bought and paid for by the american tax payers like dem liberals are.
The tea baggers and Tan Man Boehner have nothing to offer, they will do anything even make the American people suffer to try and make President Obama fail.
"The Tea Partiers and the Republicans are the ONLY ones trying to reign in spending."
You don't actually fall for that garbage did you. If they want to reign in spending, why have they wasted their time on abortion, In God We Trust, investigating American Muslims and similar worthless activities? also -- WHERE ARE THE JOBS??
True AMerican: Good shilling, but poor facts. The tax cuts were Bush's. Obama tried to kill them but Boehner and the rest of the right wing nut squad forced them on him in order to get anything else done last year. The reason Nancy and Harry weren't able to get the budget passed last year was because of the same righties blocking every attempt in the senate.
But you can keep thinking what Fox News tells you to. After all, you couldn't be a conservative today if you used actual facts and thought for yourself now could you?
right on Charlie
good. its time democrats in congress got some balls and started pointing out that republicans are the problem. they have been for the past 30 years.
lucky for us the trends show that the republican party is demographically going away, what with baby boomers and the declining number of youth who think religion ought to be shoved down everybody's throats.
HAHA Democrats and Republicans have not been able to agree on anything for the last 30 years. Tea party has been around for 2 and they are already blaming it on them. What a joke, what's the excuse for the last 28 years?
Funny how we can't find enough money to keep our own government running in this country but we can find all the money we need to run wars we shouldn't be involved in. Oh I forgot the companies that profit from war make big campaign contributions, never-mind, it makes perfect sense now...
Daryl – "True AMerican: Good shilling, but poor facts. The tax cuts were Bush's. Obama tried to kill them but Boehner and the rest of the right wing nut squad forced them on him in order to get anything else done last year."
FACT – The Bush tax cuts ended in 2010
FACT - A democratically controlled Congress passed the tax cuts
FACT - The republicans were still in the minority in both the House and Senate when the votes occurred
FACT - Obama signed the tax cuts into law
FACT - Obama could have vetoed the bill
How exactly did the “right wing nut squad” FORCE the democrats to do anything when they controlled the WH and had majorities in both the House and Senate?
And you can continue to dig at Fox News but can you explain to me why the MSNBC "journalists" and I use that term loosely, did not mention in this article how Sen. Schumer was caught on the very same conference call (before it actually began) stating that the caucus has instructed him to use the word extreme “this week” to define tea partiers and that he wanted to paint Boehner as caving into their demands? Is it not an important piece of the story? Well, according to most other major news outlets (and even other MSNBC journalists), it is indeed newsworthy.
The very worst thing to happen to the GOP and unfortunately Americans is the Tea Party. The GOP will be completely devoid of credibility and the ability to actually legislate until they completely cut all ties with the Tea Party. From the looks of the slate of possible Republican Presidential contenders almost all of them pass the Tea Party purity test. Unfortunately, that purity test makes them unelectable. America will not go for those extreme policies. They might be able to win on a statewide election but there is no way they will win in a general election.
My advice to the Republicans? Tell the TP to pound salt and work out a budget that all can get behind. Then relegate the TP to the back of the bus, where all freshmen Representatives sit.
BOTH parties are playing 'hot potato' with the looming Government shutdown.One side couldn't see any reason to pass a budget LAST year,PRIOR to any elections....the other is split between;'yeah I got re-elected AGAIN,and the newbees who have slightly distorted good intentions.I keep reading people here saying;'let the Gov. shut down,...cut $100 billion from defense.'............BRILLIANT....cut funding to servicemen and women who are in the middle of 2-1/2 wars.......who MAY NOT get paid for what they do in harms way......because of a shutdown..............If the fools that be (BOTH parties)..want to cut ANYTHING in defense,.....Maybe some of the redundant bases we have in Europe...I read once that there were over 50 in Germany alone......I was at 6 when I was in the Army.....why do we need to have so many?......There are lots of questionable bases overseas.Let the happy guy from Delaware who led BRAC a few years back look at overseas bases instead of U.S. soil bases.He's not doing anything in the white house,get him to earn his pay. Then there's the other comment about the military is:"nothing more than a healthcare program that occasionally kills a terrorist"............NEWS FLASH GENERAL!.......none of us ASKED habib to put an IED in every burned out car on the side of the road....None of us ASKED for an extra shoe out of every pair.And I'm pretty sure none of us ASKED for a broken neck,....just for giggles......Defense CAN get cuts,and in some cases SHOULD get cuts.Put the clowns in the house and senate on a timeclock......Pay for performance............So far neither side can point the finger. How about working together and put everybody on the SAME tax laws. Stop this silliness with the social security 'tax holiday', especially when SS is not getting enough going into it as it is......oh yeah,not enough people have jobs....but that CAN'T BE!......that was solved in the 2008 election.....wasn't it?.........Oh yeah that was solved in the 2010 election......wasn't it?............U.S. Army Disabled Veteran
JustWonderin
Whoever said "nothing more than a health care program that occasionally kills a terrorist" should be permanently banned from News Vine. Despicable is the nicest thing I can say about them.
Seems to me that Secretary Gates pointed out 4 Billion that can be saved. OK, that's a start. Do it.
The Tea Party refusal to negotiate and compromise is not how a democracy works. They wouldn't know that though because of their lack of knowledge about how Government and a Democracy works.
These folks are acting like bullies and should be treated as such. The adults need to get to work and get something workable passed. Kick those fools to the curb so we can start to right this ship in a responsible manner.
USAF Disabled
Dennis Price;....the author of that statement was THE General Gates ......last year.....You are right on the issue that these clowns in Washington DO need parental supervision......they've taken enough'Time-outs".......................U.S.Army Disabled Veteran
Well it is true. They want him to make cuts he normally would compromise. The save is not working
Cut $100 Billion out of defense. Problem solved!
#2.1 - Great idea but the Military-Industrial Complex in cahoots with the Pentagon will NEVER allow that to happen. After all it's about $800 moneywrenches don't you know?(lol)
With a $1.4 Trillion Obama deficit to deal with , even $100 billion from defense is inadequate. The Dems are suggesting $20 billion in cuts in a $3.5 Trillion budget? Get real!
it didnt happen all at once, you cant solve it all at once. You have to balance reigning in spending with not killing the recovery and causing even worse damage. The tax cuts, to everybody, is the biggest culprit here. Just raise them a little bit to all that can afford them and the problems solved. When tax rates were higher under cClinton, the wealthy and middle class were doing very well. With a litle bit more in our checks due to tax cuts, we aren't better off, we are facing terrible times ahead and the daily stress of hearing about these deficits. Add 2-3 wars to that, and there you go !
gofinsgo – “The tax cuts, to everybody, is the biggest culprit here”
I respectfully disagree. If we simply went back to 2008 spending levels with the tax cuts, we would save roughly $800 Billion. While I do agree it didn't happen all at once and won't be fixed immediately, raising taxes is not the answer.
You said “When tax rates were higher under cClinton, the wealthy and middle class were doing very well”
How do you define well? If you compare the unemployment rates of Clinton’s 2 terms vs. Bush, there is less than a 0.1% difference in favor of Clinton. If you look at median household income adjusted for inflation, Americans made more during the Bush presidency than during the Clinton presidency. The average median household income (adjusted for inflation) during Bush was $ 51,048, during Clinton it was $49,296.
This idea that Americans were far better off financially during the Clinton presidency vs. Bush is not based in statistical facts.
You also say “Just raise them a little bit to all that can afford them and the problems solved.” Well there are a lot of people right now that can’t afford any tax hikes. Who determines who can “afford” a tax hike and how much?
Also, you argue that we can’t cut too much without killing the recovery. But don’t you think taking more money from every taxpayer will hurt the recovery more than cutting funding for unaccountable agencies, pet projects and foreign aid?
Personally I think those things should be trimmed first before our government asks for any more of our money.
We have come to expect this from the Dems. Blame Blame Blame.
The Republicans have taught well over the years,,,,,cry cry cry and keep saying the same lie and hope it will stick.
We have come to expect this from the Dems. Blame Blame Blame.
No -- the Democrats are simply giving the Republicans a taste of their own medicine -- obstrcut, obstruct, obstruct.
Go ahead Steve, vote republican, and when you realize that your vote lost you your job, your home, your retirement, your kid's college tuition, you get to blame the republicans too!
The Tea Party is trying to prevent the country from going bankrupt.
While the Dems still Party like it is 2007. Their snouts are deep in the trough.
strangely enough though they generally want to exclude their spending priorities from the budget knife...and the budget crisis didn't start in 2007, it was 2001 when bush started two unfunded wars and the great taxpayer giveaway to seniors and drug companies...keep believing this just started in 2007 if you want.
No memory here of Bush's HUGE deficit spending on TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY and TWO WARS. If it didn't happen today you can't remember it I guess. Not to mention the de-regulation that lead to the economic MELTDOWN. The BAILOUT was done by BUSH in 2008 BEFORE Obama took office. But your ilk obviously don't care about FACTS.
Tax and spend (money borrowed from China and Japan) describes the Thugs not the Dems.
BUSH, BUSH, BUSH, BUSH, BUSH, BUSH...... ITS NOT obamas FAULT! well, some is bushes fault, and some is the DEM house and senate that was held for 4 years, OBAMA was the guy who was so smart, his IQ is crazy high, like him, he was the savior who would fix this mess..... first, most of the TEA PARTY cant stand BUSH. second, bush was putting holes in the dam, OBAMA has removed the whole dam. he has single handedly bankrupted this country for his oil bosses, he like bush is an oil puppet.
in 1999 gadafi declared that he intended to NATIONALIZE all the OIL in LIBYA, which he would distribute the revenues directly to the people. Well, it seems the 7 sister oil companies think that is a bad idea. These oil companies own your president and the UN, obama is their oil puppet, get over it.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/01/21/businessproind-us-libya-gaddafi-oil-idUKTRE50K61F20090121
there is the proof, if you cant put 1 and 1 together, than you are lost. the rest of us are not
impeach him for dissolving US sovereignty over to the UN.
De-regulation was a Clinton thing!
SUZANNE - TARP was done before Obama took office. And it has done very well. Get your facts together. You sound like a broken liberal record.
The spending after Obama took office is why we are in dire need of cuts right now.
Funny how republicans blamed Carter for every problem this nation faced from 1976 to 1992. Then from 1992 to 2008, they blamed everything on Clinton. Now -- when Democrats talk about Bush -- they get all in a twist. What's even funnier is how they have act like they never supported the clown in the first place when in fact, for 8 years they worshiped the ground he walked on.
Charlie-1915998
The Republican hypocrisy never ends. The very day President Obama sent our troops to Libya, the Republicans were prattling all over the airwaves about what a weak, indecisive, passive leader he was, even though he was doing what they had urged him to do the day before! During Bush's terms Democrats were called unpatriotic to criticize the President during a time of war. The hypocrisy is never ending.
Amy – “The Republican hypocrisy never ends” while I agree that Republicans have been hypocritical of Obama on many issues, Libya is not a good example of republican hypocrisy but rather a glaring example of liberal hypocrisy.
Libya’s leader is a horrible dictator, no doubt, but he pales in comparison to Saddam Hussein and the brutality he unleashed on his own people. Why is it that Bush is a war criminal because he went to Iraq with bi-partisan Congressional support and Obama is touted as a decisive leader who is justified in getting us involved in yet another Middle East conflict? For the life of me I just don’t understand that logic.
I also don’t understand how some liberals justify this military action as a “humanitarian” effort. Really? Is that why we are bombing Quaddfi’s headquarters, to provide humanitarian aid? Just lay it out there, we want to remove Quaddfi from power, period. At least we would have an endgame strategy.
And if it’s a “humanitarian effort”, why Libya and not Darfur? Tibet? Rwanda? Syria? Iran? I could go on forever and many of those countries’ populations are in much more dire need of aid.
Personally I am against our military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya but I fully support every single member of our troops fighting overseas and hope that everyone one of them gets home safely and quickly. Haven’t we proven in the last decade that fighting wars without an exit strategy in the Middle East leads us nowhere?
Thank goodness for a simple "us vs them" them thread...some heads have been spinning, this will help re-orient their um, positions...:)
That military intervention stuff is con-fusing!
This is like a nice sorbet between courses...:)
"The government is not going to work by threats."
Tell that to the public employee union thugs and fleebaggers.
You wouldn't have a 40 hour work week or paid vacation and sick time without the union thugs.
OK, Suzanne.... THANK YOU VERY MUCH UNIONS. We owe you all our eternal gratitude for what you did 50 years ago. Can we go back to work now? Sheesh, if you guys had it your way, we'd still have lamplighters on our municipal payrolls.
" We owe you all our eternal gratitude for what you did 50 years ago."
In Maine the Republican legislature is considering permitting De Costa Egg Farms to not pay overtime to its workers.
Bob: When you say the same thing to your corporate masters. How do you like being paid like a third worlder? I'll bet you can't wait until corporations make all the laws and get rid of nasty things like overtime, vacations, 40 hour weeks, weekends, paid sick leave, job security for sickness and maternity, company paid insurance, and child labor laws. Better hope some 10 year old kid doesn't get your job. Especially when you get the next pay cut to help those poor rich people who provide nothing to the US other than daddy's money to take over companies and then loot them.
Yippy ki yi ya......................... Lets all go to the Cowboy Poetry Festival in Nevada
Bob-1887910
The Tea Party is trying to prevent the country from going bankrupt.
While the Dems still Party like it is 2007. Their snouts are deep in the trough.
If that's the case, since the Robber Barons fed off the trough pre and post guilded age they would demand the Robber Barons stop their corporate welfare and bring jobs back to the USA
Why would any company want to come to the United States? We have the highest tax rates in the world. Look at the great state of Illinois where they are driving move companies out. I truly hope that Caterpillar moves from the states then lets watch the liberals spin that one
We have the lowest tax rates right now in the history of our country. Can't you read your own paycheck stub?
Did I say anything about our own tax rates I said compared to the rest of the world we have the highest Corporate tax rates. That and the Union demands on the companies here is what is driving our country into a ditch. Not to mention all the regulation that are being imposed on the companies here.
Beverly, I could name you at least one of the gazillions of Robber Barons in your party. Immelt. How come you didnlt inform us that this CEO of GE made $14 billion in profits and has not paid a single cent in taxes. And he is the personal intimate friend of Obamba. I guess if he was a friend of the Repubs. you'd be bugling it from the hosts of high heaven on a silent night for all the world to hear. Very strange that Obamba has not protested of being robbed of his govt revenue. Strange indeed.
Exxon pays no taxes. Double check your sources please.
The United States has the third lowest corporate tax rate burden among the OECD member countries behind only Turkey and Mexico. The most valid measurement of tax revenue is as a percent of Gross Domestic Product. Get out of here with that B.S. argument about the 35% nominal tax rate; you would be absolutely laughed out of the room if you were to use nominal tax rates in real economic theory...
"When the real problem is not that we haven't given anything. The White House is at $20 billion'
Hey Steny, it isnt your money, it is the taxpayers. Give it back, ya crook.
Hey Bob, it isn't your economy it was given to the US government by the constitution. If you don't want to pay your share into it, stay the hell out you freeloading mooch!
In dealing with the budget, the question I have is why are social issues being thrown up as smoke screens by the House Republican –Tea Baggers? Could it be a tool to get people to target the poor as needing to be controlled?
Why would any sane person want to cut the budget that affect the poor, middle class and peoples health? If you cut these programs now, we will pay a heck of a lot more later on.
It was proven by FDR that we have to spend money within our country for growth. So, where do you cut spending? To listen to the right it is social programs and education cuts. We have the super rich and the dirt poor, with the middle class being pushed to the category of the dirt poor and well the rich get richer, with their perks and level low taxes they pay.
As we know, 70% to 80% of the people want the tax breaks taken from the top 2% earners, and the billions given to big oil and defense spending cuts for projects not wanted.
I guess you have to throw out that Republican-Tea Bagger argument for the will of the people.
So, please bring back the Clinton era take levels and quit playing these games.
I think you have forgotten that this is the 2010 budget they are working on not the 2011 budget and the Democrats had the majority to pass a budget in 2010 and did not do so. If there is no 2010 budget to pay the bills it falls squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats. This blaming the tea party and Republicans has no basis in reality or fact.
Mom,,get your head out of the swamp,,,smell the truth !
florida mom you are wrong. fiscal year budgets are submitted in february. We have gone thru this same scenario for the past five years where at the beginning of the FY which is 10/1 congress had not passed a budget.
florida mom: No blame at all falls on the Repugs who blocked the Dems at every turn for 2 years? I guess Fox News just keeps forgetting to tell you tea baggers about that?
Reporters caught the Dems rehearsing....probably takes minutes for the same talking points to be sent to FR moonbats ...
"extremist" ..Got it, FR moonbats and MSNBC ?
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Democratic Senate leadership, got on a conference call with reporters Tuesday morning without realizing the reporters were already listening in. Schumer thought he was on a private line with four Democratic senators who were to talk with reporters about the current budget stalemate.
Schumer instructed the group, made up of Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Tom Carper of Delaware, Ben Cardin of Maryland and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, to tell reporters that the GOP is refusing to negotiate.
He told the group to make sure they label the GOP spending cuts as "extreme."
"I always use extreme, Schumer said. "That is what the caucus instructed me to use."
Someone must have finally told Schumer that the media were listening and he stopped talking midsentence.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: #ixzz1I0sWjivB
Bob, and you don't think Republicans have talking points? You don't think that leadership tells the rank and file exactly what to say...what words to use over and over again? How about "job killing" Obamacare? At least Schumer using the word "extremist" is accurate in portraying what the Republicans are. All Schumer was doing was getting his group on the same page. They all do it...it's not a revelation. Oh BTW, the Republicans are refusing to negotiate. They are insisting on a starting point of $61B in spending cuts and don't want to come down from there. They want to go up from there. So I'm not sure what's inaccurate about Schumer's statements.
You only have to tune to Faux News for idiots every morning to get the Republican parrot points...MSNBC has the Dem ones obviously...
Republicans get a daily memo from Rush , Beck,,and the Crotch brothers on what to lie about on that particular day,,it's a breakfast staple for the Republicans.
Both sides have their "talking points." I especially like the Republican one about President Obama's "dithering" on the course of action in Libya.
SChumer's got it all wrong. The Dems should hammer away at "starve the beast" , a plan adopted in the Reagan administration to mortgage the government to the hilt so it woujld cause a budget crisis. THEN they could present the cutting/elimination/privatizing of SS/ medicare etc as the only solution to the budget crisis they created! The last 3 GOP presidents signed TWENTY deficit riddled budgets that led to $11T in debt. If that had NOT happened, we wouldnt be having this conversation!!
http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/06/tax-cuts-republicans-starve-the-beast-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html ( a conservative republican no less!)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10054/1037783-109.stm ( Nobel Pirze winner in Economics)
Then use google to read more!
Tom: Utah Republicans got caught using that exact phrase this year as they "starve the beast" education system so that they can privatize and then end public education in Utah. This has been the Repug strategy on everything. Starve every department so they can show how it fails, then they can give everything to one of their corporate masters and charge us twice as much for half the service we used to get.
daryl,
it's shocking how many people dont know about this plan! This is the reason we have a debt/deficit/budget crisis. The Republicans DELIBERATELY created it, thereby endangering our national security and our economic future as a major player in the world! I think if more Americans knew of all this, the GOP would be toast for decades!!! And they are oh so close to accomplishing their goals. WE may well be headed for an American society of the corporations, the monied elite, and the rest! The American dream is in danger!
The problem is you just can't randomly cut programs without regard for the consequences of that cutting. Does it do anyone any good to cut funding for food safety regulators or funding for preventative screenings? This is being penny wise and pound foolish as the saying goes. The reality is that too much tax cutting has been going on now for 30 years to the point where government cannot function effectively for the people. Sure we can always find savings but the Republicans with their blind mantra of cut, cut, cut, are only cutting off their own foot to spite their body. Allowing the most productive in society to get a pass on paying taxes to the point where large corporations like GE pay no income tax at all is ludicrous and harmful to our country. Unfortunately, Democrats have allowed Republicans to frame the debate not on a balanced approach of taxes and spending cuts but rather no taxes and just cut spending. It's not a sustainable argument unless you want the collapse of our society. We need to find a balanced approach to taxes and spending and not expect the middle class to bear the burden of spending cuts while the wealthy and corporations get huge tax cuts that they don't need.
Laurie,
Well said.
forrestoak - You only need to listen to yourself to see the contradiction in your statements. When you say you just can't continue to spend more than you take in, that's a neat little statement but it means nothing. If you're spending the same amount you spent 20 years ago but your tax base has been shrinking for the last 20 years due to more and more tax cuts. One must ask then, do you have a spending problem or a taxing problem. Have you cut taxes to the point where government can't provide the services to the people that most people expect. Is it reasonable to now to go after people's Social Security and Medicare to satisfy the wealthy and corporate agenda of ever increasing tax cuts to the wealthiest and to corporations? Try understanding that bit of economics as you chastise me for my understanding or lack thereof of economics. The middle class has always had to bear the burden for those at the upper and lower extremes of the economic ladder. And yes we should ask ourselves if we were better off in the mid 1990's when the tax structure on businesses and the wealthy was higher than it is now and the economy and the middle class were in better financial circumstances.
forrest: in 1980, the national debt was <$1T; at the end of bush's last budget, it was $11.9T. The last 3 GOP presidents signed TWENTY deficit riddled budgets that resulted in over $11T of debt. They also passed HUGE tax cuts for wealthy people and big business, thereby reducing overall revenues to the government. They did all this DELIBERATELY!! The goals was to create a crisis where they could cut/eliminate/privatize SS/Medicare etc!! THEY are responsible to the HUGE mess we're in and arent taking the steps needed to fix it. Their irresponsible and reckless actions have endangered the national security and financial future of this country in order to reward their corporate and monied friends! It borders on treason and I can't WAIT until the country finds out!
PS If anyone on this current board doubt any of this, I recommend that they research "starve the beast" using any search engine they choose! Then, turn OFF Fox News and READ!
Well said Laurie
Even the sainted Ronnie Reagan figured out that if you cut taxes it doesn't raise revenue. This explains why he increased taxes after steep tax cuts for the richest Americans. I don't know why the GOP seems to have forgotten this. The TP doesn't believe in Saint Ronnie because he believed in compromise. What they are attempting to do now is not going to increase revenue, which is the only thing that will get us out of this mess. All they seem to want to do is de-fund and dismantle all of the programs that they've hated all of these years. It's government by retribution. This is what happens when you give rookies too much power. The GOP should be ashamed of themselves letting these folks get away with this crap.
A minute or two into the talking-points tutorial, though, someone apparently figured out that reporters were listening, and silence fell.
So, funny or sad?: Both sides do it, but it is always a hoot when they are caught in the act...
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/on-a-senate-call-a-glimpse-of-marching-orders/
Cut the deficit GOP.... repeal Medicare Part D and the Bush tax cuts.... wow... that would save trillions.... what no?.... oops... cannot do that... those tea baggers are mostly retired whites on SS and Medicare and you don't want to irritate them.... GOP.... with these cuts coming at the national and state level... the American Public is waking up to the GOP big business group.....
Schumer and Cardin should be on the LET"S GET RID OF LIST FROM CONGRESS. Congress would do well without them, Reid and Pelosi. Two of the FAT CATS that love spending everyone elses MONEY.
How does the democrats figure that it is the tea party's fault? Boehner is the speaker of the house of representatives. He was the one chosen by the republican party to lead the house. If he is going to allow a bunch of freshman members to bully him, then the republican's made a serious mistake.
The republican party is fast on the road to self destruction. Being a republican myself, I find all this fighting in the GOP an appalling display. The democrats are really enjoying this. The American people will also remember this in 2012.
"The republican party is fast on the road to self destruction"
Well said. The 21st century republican party is a collection of radical, fanatical, nut-cases. The only thing they have to sell is fear, bigotry and hypocrisy. The party of Ronald Reagan, of Morning in America, has evolved into a screaming mob of crazy people whining about birth certificates, Muslims, Hispanics, gays and government employees.
So, it's not the tea-baggers holding things up?
Well then, who is it that's shouting "No Compromise" and"Cut it all"?
Oh yeah - that's right.....
It really is the tea-baggers.
Except that idiot Schumer didn't know the mike was on! HA! The jig's up Dems. Please let the grown-ups deal with the issues of our out of control spending. Boehner was put into office to do what the people want him to do. He will have the backing of conservative and independent America.
The problem is if a budget is not passed when it should be, there should not be any extensions and the lawmakers should not get paid until one is passed; thus only giving extensions for the vital programs. I'm a finance person, and when the budget is due, "IT IS DUE", and we must submit it, and I'm quite mind boggled over this.
Concerned: You're right on target! We cannot continue to spend money we donnot have and expect to continue to have any kind of future not controlled by foreign investment bankers.
The spend, spend, and spend isnt going to work any more, socialist dems. Get over it. There is NO MORE money to spend.
Jimi -
If there's no more money to spend, how do you explain things like the millions of dollars going to a discontinued NASA project in Alabama - thanks to Republican Senator Shelby of Alabama?
NASA knows the project was cancelled, and everyone else does too. But somehow the funding for it has popped up in all of the continuing resolutions that have kept the government running so far this year.
This is the perfect example of how Republicans talk out of both sides of their mouths!
Correct Jimi, Tell the money grabbing Dems, there is no more money in the piggy bank. But perhaps they can knock around with Immelt the CEO of GE. He has $14billion in profit to play around seeing that he hasn't paid any taxes on that. That would be enough to implement their Progressive society and play hopscotch.
Maybe there would more money if the GOP hadn't insisted on the continuation of the Bush tax cuts. There is no way that congress is ever going to make a dent in this deficit as long as these cuts are in place. Economist's now put these massive spending cuts as the number two threat to our economy. The lack of jobs has been moved to 3rd position, and the cost of oil number is number one.
Alan Greenspan warned President Bush and congress about this when these tax cuts were passed, He told them that these tax cuts without also cutting spending would cause problems. We are living with these problems now.
EXACTLY JuvenBachan. GE paid 0% in taxes for 2010. Jeff Immelt got one hell of a huge tax break for being on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_R._Immelt
Look whether you a Dem or Rep, left/right or whatever. We all know there are big issues that need to be solved. And the whole reason we have a 2 party system is so that it’s not a complete take over and all sides can be argued. This government was built so that everyone could be heard. Everyone has different opinions and that should be a good thing and not a bad thing. But just because your opinion differs from other people doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to those people and really think about what they are saying. And that in itself is where the issues lies. Nothing is ever going to get done if we don't try to compromise. And until both sides really listen to each other, the only people that lose in this is the American people. Because politicians are more worried about 2012 elections than what is going on right here and now in 2011. So stop with the hot heads and truly listen to each other!!
Hey Dems, Immelt, $14 billion profit. No payment of taxes. No protest from Obamba or the IRS. How come?
well we still have the republican party to do??? what have not seen anything from them, and dont forget haliburton. how much in taxes??
Can not wait till 2012 and the tea-baggers get what they have coming! Voted out of office!
Why can't we see that the problem is that it should not be DEMS vs. REPUBLICANS, how hard is it for a country to compromise on issues. Two individuals can't agree on everything, what makes one believe that an entire congress would. Each party as educated adults should be able to take the top percentage of things important to the people (NOT DEMS OR REPUBLICANS), and put those up and wait on the lower items. We are becoming a country of ADULTS behaving like we would expect our children to act.
Ditto Keyasalia. You must be one of the younger youth out here, because it seems that many of us older people have lost what is important. Your comments were dead on and I just pray that my children grow up to be open minded individuals and look at the agenda in our political system and not the party itself.