The service on the debt is about $14 billion a month. While that is payed, there is no default. The Federal Government takes in $200 Billion a month in Tax Revenue. If the President chooses to quit paying Social Security checks out of the $186 Billion dollars a month that remains, that is his problem.

Scare tactics, misinformation and assuming the American Public is stupid worked in 2008. It will not work again.

On this issue, the President is lying.

I suspect it is one of two thing bob - either our esteem libbie friends are incapable of independent thought [hence all the cut and paste crap] or basic math escapes them.

Makes me wonder how it is they can manage their own household budgets.

$180 billion > $20 billion. Hence no insolvency AND all entitlements get paid.

So easy even a libbie can understand. Or maybe not?

The Republicans do care about people. They care about the top 2%. Come on people, wake up and throw these lying Republicans B@st@rds out of office.

Yes, it's time for scare tactics!! There is only one word for this, PATHETIC! The debt ceiling has nothing to do with SS checks but lying is the statis quo for this administration! STOP SPENDING!

In an interview with CBS Evening News, President Obama says he can't guarantee Social Security checks will go out Aug. 3rd if a debt-ceiling deal is not reached by the Aug. 2nd deadline.

But, but, but we are being told that Social Security does not add to the deficit. If so, why do we need to borrow the money to pay the checks and why would it be affected by the debt ceiling?

We also have this Social Security trust fund that's solvent until 2036 so again why do we need to borrow the money to pay Social security checks?

By President Obama saying "I can't guarantee those checks will go out" he once again gives himself political cover. On August 3rd all the checks go out and the President steps to a podium and declares "Even though the Republicans don't want you to get your money, I have decided that this is too important and I have decided that the government will meet it's obligations, It was my decision and my decision alone to make sure that these checks go out. I have a lot of fund raising to do and you will need these checks to support me."

Well maybe he won't add that last part.

I have to wonder just how many politicans think they will be re-elected if any SS checks fail to go out on time? If tyhey, politicans, think this economy is bad now..wait till the defaults come from the failed SS and other checks . I can only how that NO politican draws a dime of pay but guess what...would not be surprised that they get their checks....would not be surprised that their health care cost are paid on time...what we really need is a total recall of every politican in washington today. I have little doubt that we the citizens could do no worse with just pulling 550 folks off the streets and get a better more honest job done rather than what we have today.

If the checks do not go out..will it bother politicans...not likely they are almost to the person millionaires or well on there way there...they do not need the money nor the jobs.Are they really concerned with debt this country is in because of their own mismanagement..or is this more a political game to them ? I am afraid it is a game..to see who can control the public.

debh80:

Thank you for an accurate, perceptive comment. Of course an entitlement with targeted contributions has nothing to do with money owed to China. But Obama is a lib, so he thinks he can dupe all of us ignorant tea-sipping crackers out here in the vast wasteland.

Medicare, Social Security and Defense combined are more than federal revenues. $200B a month is nothing.

See: www [dot] usdebtclock [dot] org

wait a min, you mean we are borrowing funds for ss? but harry said it was solvent!

so libs, is harry a liar, barry a liar, or a little bit o both???

This sounds great! Didn't obama recently proclaim that he was not a fear monger? Yet hear he is threatening to throw our senior citizens and the disabled under the bus. Guess we now all know where his priorities lie. Yepper, obama has taken the road of strewing divisiveness amongst the citizenry. Bet he will proclaim that the right made him do it! ROTFLMAO!!!

sounds like BHO is threatening to hold the elderly and out veterans hostage. Now a smart move Mr President. Actually it is even a low blow for you!

The adult thing to do would be to let the voters decide. Raise the debt limit without any political fluff attached. Up or down vote to just raise the limit.

The political issue of 'balancing the budget' is on the table. It is impossible for politicians to avoid doing something to balance the budget after this debate.

Let the voters decide how the budget should be balanced with the outcome of the next election. The candidates will obviously use this debate in their campaigns.

The voters will decide which approach they prefer by electing people that represent the voter's viewpoint. That is how the United States is supposed to make such decisions.

barry, you forgot to mention the chilwren. please stick to the propaganda playbook.

THIS from the party that accuses the Republican's of running Granny's wheel chair off a cliff??

Barry is now trying to hold Granny's SS check hostage to his ego and his desire for power.

At least now we know how they picked August 2nd - Most SS checks go out on the 3rd. They planned this vicious attack on Granny's SS check right from the start.

That is a new low, even for a Dem, and THAT''S saying a lot!!!!!

You will burn in Hell for this one Barry.

What a little, little, manchild this president is. He has got to be the most vindictive, divisive president in history. That must be why the liberal left likes him so much. He's just like Anthony Weiner.

Obama lied and lied and it got him elected now he is lying and lying and he thinks it will get him re elected

Isn't it obvious?

WCO: By President Obama saying "I can't guarantee those checks will go out" he once again gives himself political cover.

It does when the media has it's collective heads stuck up its a.., ehh, in the sand. Obama is the only one that can guarantee that those checks will go out, he controls sending them out. If he thinks he can't guarantee that they'll go out, it's because he's spending the money on other things, perhaps on the Department of Energy.

The media, if it had any sense of its purpose, would call BS on Obama. Lets see if they do.

And Obama sure spends a lot of his time on spinning his position, too bad he doesn't have one.

If seniors don't get their checks, it's because Obama has no problem screwing them over in order to make a political point. There will still be lots of money coming in to the government from taxes and other revenue even if the debt ceiling isn't raised. The choice of where this money goes is heavily influenced by the president and he most certainly can make sure seniors and the disabled get their money. Unfortunately it seems that he's planning to pay his fat cat friends in corporations (GE, GM), and unions first.

Federal revenue is closer to 150 billion a month right now than 200 billion. That's part of the problem due to the high unemployment federal revenue is down at least 3% points. You're right that social security could be paid, but the problem is right now we're spending closer to 300 billion a month. What do you cut? Don't forget that the military right now is 70 to 80 billion a month. Whatever it is, it's going to be massive and disruptive. And frankly, as important as the debt is, now is not the time to worry about it. We need to get full employment back to this nation. The employment also needs to be middle class decent paying jobs, not teenager wages.

These should be the things talked about in Congress right now. Not the stupid debt ceiling, which honestly shouldn't even exist because budgets get passed and anyone with a calculator knows about how much is going to need to be borrowed every year to make it happen.

The entire conversation in the country is wrong right now.

except Corporations and the Already Filthy Rich

Good point! I also forgot to add the stuck on stupid crowd who continue to vote against their own best interests... ;o)

@mj-1451595

As I have stated several times, I am an independent voter and thinker. You sound like Anthony Weiner too!...again, the word mainchild comes to mind!

I rest my case.

The USA has a five hundred billion dollar bond payment due 8/15/11. if we don't make that payment, interest rates will skyrocket, and servicing our existing debt will cost dramatically more than it does now. to get to the 500 billion, out of (according to Spanky) 200 billion means someone's not getting paid.

it's simple math.

I still just don't understand how, if the debt / deficit is such a large issue in the GOPs mind, why they are not considering a higher tax rate. the low tax rates we enjoy now are NOT creating any jobs as they promised. They are simply not. Tax rates are the lowest in recent history. the Deficit is the highest it's ever been. Any logical person can see the correlation here.

This president is just plain low.

How low can you go as a politician to strike this level of fear on something he quite honestly has the power to prevent. The decision on what bills are paid seems to fall in Obama's role as the executive branch.

He can choose to pay SS or treasury debt or aid to Pakastan. He is clearly stating he will choose to harm US citizens before he would hold back overseas aid payments. Hmm talk about lame politics...how embarrassing...

Social security is not part of the budget deal. Medicare - not part of the deficit. Remember folks - there is a TRUST fund - oh wait, they spent that already. . .

Is everyone truly so ignorant as to think that social security checks will not go out?

Ted. [1:41] how can interest rates on existing fixed rate debt go up? are YOU truly that ignorant as well?

And Ted, what you are saying is that 500 billion of PRINCIPAL of bond payments needs to be paid - that means - wait for it- that the debt goes DOWN 500 billion which means they can borrow ANOTHER 500 billion to refinance it -= 100% - you people really need to go to school and learn about finances . . .

This NOT going to get fixed by the 'Tea Party' coming to their senses - you folks throughout this thread are so ignorant as to how government finance works that all of you should be elected to Congress. The only intelligence being said is being said by the members of the house who were eleected by the tea party. I'm not a member - but you cannot borrow and spend the nation's way to prosperity by mortgaging the future taxes of our grandkids - got an idea - if you think spending trillions we do not have is a good idea - do it yourself. Go out, mortgage everything to the hilt in a 40 year mortgage to lower your current payments and tell you grandkids that they have repay the loan - not repaid when you sell your house - not repaid from current spending - you just roll over the payment every month to the principal and see how you do. The banks would NEVER let you do that because it makes no sense and does not work.

So how about you clowns learn how things work before spout off the talking points about evil corporations [who, guess what, EMPLOY people with their profits] or government [which has necessary functions] that is not all evil. . .

The President is hardly employing "scare tactics." Defaulting on U.S. debt, a postential if the debt ceiling is not raised,would have disastrous consequences. The issue is NOT that raising the ceiling allows "more spending," another line of right-wing BS, it is that the increase permits the government to continue functioning under terms already established by Congress. The debt ceiling is an artificial construc t to begin with - it was established in 1917 during WWI to enable the Congress to monitor how the war financing was progressing and exercise some oversight. It wasn't intended to be used as it is now.

Here's an excerpt of what I wrote in an earlier 'Vine blog on the topic. Basically, the conflict over the debt ceiling is a "disaster captialism" tactic of the ultra-right to pursue its own ideological agenda - NOT a "principled matter of good governance."

... Now comes the debt ceiling debate, which is less and less about the debt ceiling, and more and more about the rigid ideological position of the Libertarian right. It is a continuation of the decades-long attempt to restructure the American nation into a cartel corporatist state like Japan. The linkage between business, lobbyists, and lawmakers has grown so extensive since the conservatives first started their campaign during the Reagan Regime that American governance indeed now looks very much like Japan - and that is a terrifying realization.

For an in-depth examination of the status of Japanese industry, government and economic structure, read Dogs and Demons, Tales from the Dark Side of Japan, by Alex Kerr. Ultimately, the story describes a system of cynical contradictions, corruption, exploitation by business interests with the venal cooperation of politicians. And it looks far, far, too much like the political operations of the American far right wing.

The debate about "raising taxes," or as others put it, about eliminating tax subsidies and favoritism for a tiny percentage of the population, as well as requiring business to actually pay some of the taxes they now legally evade, features Democrats and Republicans talking past, rather than with, each other. The Democrats are attempting to discuss a system of governance that includes some aspet of fairness; the Republicans are talking about an entirely different system of governance in an alleged "free market" environment that in fact is really open season on both private and public funds by a cartel economy. The two sides are not even any longer in the same reality.

As Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote in Freefall: America, Free markets and the Sinking of the World Economy, adjusting the taxes paid by the upper income earners and corporations, even during a weak economic recovery, has no effect whatsoever on job creation, or continued economic activity. The money that tax favoritism gave to the most wealthy and big business is actually diverted from the economy, and reduces the rate of growth. It is better for economic health to capture some of that wealth and put it into the national and global economies, through debt reduction, to further support expansion of economic activity. The Libertarian position instead would contract economic activity.

To even consider the potential of debt default, as many of the GOP extremists are contending, is beyond insanity. But it is actually a deliberate tactic to pursue their program of "disaster captialism," as described by Naomi Klein in Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. There is a lot of historical evidence that a state's default leads to serious, long-lasting repercussions.

Spain defaulted on her debt three times during her Hapsburg monarchy. Ultimately it led to complete collapse of the Spanish empire, a century and a half of civil war and class warfare, and impoverishment of the nation. The interregnum of the Franco dictatorship from 1936 to 1975 changed the dynamics, but Spain even now remains a deeply divided and unstable nation.

France defaulted on her debt in the early 1700's, because of a "bubble" involving risky investment and corrupt bankers and regulators. (That sounds familiar, doesn't it?) The consequences of that, and of inept public management, an overweening, arrogant aristocracy, and gross inequality between the working and upper classes resulted in the French Revolution - and, later, Napoleonic France. Oddly enough, that description of 18th century France sounds a great deal like the right-wing program put in place, intentionally, during the Reagan and Bush I and II years. See Thomas Frank's The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Ruined Government, Enriched Themselves, and Beggared the Nation, for a very detailed treatment.

John Boehner is not simply playing with fire, he's swallowing gasoline and juggling torches. The debt ceiling must be raised. The alleged "current receipts" solution some here have proposed is unworkable and inadequate for a stable long-term perspective, for government operations, and for economic recovery. In addition, more, rather than less, public intervention in the economy is essential to promote a more robust recovery.

Why is it that the libs don't care when the President tells his lies? What the heck is the matter with you?

President Obama is a liar, it is obvious as hell on this matter. He knows it, you numbskull libs know it, and all of the mature educated conservatives know it. I'm sick of the lies from libs.

SS would be okay if the feds would pay back what they borrowed. wish I knew what they used or SS money for.

It means that people like me are not getting paid :( the CEO's and congressmen and president will still be able to take their family trips on the countries tax dollars...they will still be eating at 5 star restaurants, using jets for state to state travel, and getting their what it has to be hundreds of thousands if not million dollar paychecks. While me or people like me are still struggling on how we will have enough gas to make it to work for the rest of the week or if we can spend more that 50 bucks at the grocery store on Friday for me and my kids! This country has gone to @!$%# and I can honestly say that I dont think it matters who are president is, we need to replace congress. We need to overhaul all the greedy money hungry bastards that put us into this much debt. We need to get undeserving people off welfare (not saying the people who bust their ass everyday for minimal pay that may need some help...but people who keep poppin out kids like there's no tomorrow, no job havin people who still drive brand new cars and have houses because of those who are hard working) figure out whos scamming the system and get them the hell outta here! Our elderly, some made it thru the depression holding onto every dollar they had just to be jousted by this government of ours...they worked real painstaking jobs at 3 or 4 dollars an hour to pay their taxes and then be treated like this? Its sick and its sad that we can offer other countries trillions of dollars in help but cant help ourselves.

.

Feisty, okay, one question and then a statement.

Question: What are you doing, hovering over the First Read section ready to post (pounce)? You are like post number one on at least half of these threads.

Big long statement: So look, you may not believe it, but it isn't delusional for people to blame the President. It is what they do. You may not agree, you may not find it makes sense, but that is more about opinoin than fact. People WILL blame the person viewed 'in charge,' and in this case the President is certainly viewed as that person. This is not difficult to understand and in truth, I think you do more than you are willing to admit.

Not unlike Bush W., by the way. Does he really get off the hook if he let Cheney approve of torturing people or taking out a vendetta on a CIA agent who was MARRIED to the guy he hated? What if he actually didn't know about it? Does it really change anything?

You may say apples to oranges, but it really isn't in the general scope that people hold the US President indirectly or directly responsible for policy, even if it takes Congress to debate about it. This is the way things are and most people understand that, except for biase. I think, quite frankly, if you can't understand why people will blame Obama, you have little ground to stand on when some psycho from the opposite party (in this case, for you, the 'right') does the same thing in the name of their favorite politician.

Jest sayin'!

Why are they using scare tactics, as using our senior citizens hostage, who will pay their bills and overdrawn accounts because our government can't balance their finances!! We the genereal public have to or we answer to many if we don't!! Our senior citizens have put in their time, leave them alone!!! Don't pay congress or the senate and take away their perks for a time and see how fast things get taken care of!! Our country has become a sad state of affairs, the government does NOT have their priorities straight at all!!!

You are like post number one on at least half of these threads

That's for me to know and for you to figure out! ;o)

People WILL blame the person viewed 'in charge,' and in this case the President is certainly viewed as that person

I would direct you to take a peek at the latest poll numbers on congressional approval! President Obama may be as you say, in 'charge' but it is congress's JOB to handle this.

Sorry, but them there are the rules...

Social Security is self-funding and on it's own set of books. The checks will go out. I don't don't think anyone for political purposes can stop the checks from going out.

Feisty, I am trying to talk about perception. We know the rules. The rules are Congress makes the budget. But you know, to have an expectation that people wouldn't blame el Presidente for everything under the sun is unrealistic, if more than slightly unfair.

But you know, to have an expectation that people wouldn't blame el Presidente for everything under the sun is unrealistic,

I totally agree - there is a certain element who can't set aside their blind hatred of this President no matter what he does...

Having said that, I believe the longer this 'drama' drags on, the MORE likely moderates & independents will recognize this country is being held hostage by the corporate shills who are protecting BIG business.

Hey Feisty - Congress WANTS to handle it but Obama threatens to veto what they do . . . so - who is in the way? Obama or Congress or both?? Remember, Obama was elected in 2008, Congress in 2010 - who has their finger closer to the pulse of what Americans want? Living in the Bubble Boy or Congresspeople who at least have to listen to the hue and cry coming from their districts . . .

bob-1805084

Feisty,

How come "batsh!t crazy" Michelle Bachmann knows Obama can service the debt and Obama and Geithner don't?

Are they that utterly ignorant ......

or is he just trying to terrorize the elderly for his own political gain?

Which one Feisty?

Any libbie want to answer?

Who said Bachmann knows anything?

It's pay the military or pay social security recipients - take your pick, Drone... (notice how Republicans always try to pay the military and the CURRENT elderly - sure, Republicans never play politics, sic.)

Boy,

The libwackos are ricocheting off the MSNBC sensationalized walls of lies built by obumstick.

This is fun to watch!!!

Oh and Pat - you know what really is screwing the students? The fact that they have no prayer of getting a job upon graduation.

Well thank god the people who REALLY matter don't need to bother with such silly things like "jobs", eh? Jobs...what a quaint thought!

President Fearmonger strikes again.

tea party does not have control of anything except your attention feisty, the DEMs are in control of the House aren't they? That is where bills, laws and the fed budget comes from, so where are they?

Joe In Albany, Get your facts straight. SS checks go out the first , second, third and fourth Wednesday of each month.

So in August check go out on Aug 3, 10, 17 and 24. Each reciepiant receives their check closest to the Wed of their birthday.

I wonder if Obama uses his teleprompter when he is in these meetings? j/k

There is no reason why the Democrats and Republicans can't agree to pass a bill to cut spending and deal with taxes on a separate bill. The two bills should stand on their own two feet to get passed anyways. Keep in mind, both parties agree significant spending cuts need to take place. So do it!

What became of the SS lockbox? Thought SS was solvent for another 26 years...

Instead of all the wheeling and dealing, perhaps we should just have an up or down vote on raising the debt limit. The republicans are the only ones attaching strings.

Feisty, Sorry I just did a quick poll of 1150 of my Independent peers and they almost all think Mr Obama is using this situation as a scare tactic. This is NOT flying with them. You can see by the responses on this blog and to be honest I dont care how you get here so fast......it just means your posts get collapsed quicker. At least you have a decent grasp on grammar and spelling unlike Navyboy and Bev.

Social Security is OK. The problem lies with the person that has to push the button to send them out. They will be laid off until this is resolved.

I really wish people would at least attempt to learn how the government is funded before they attempt to show off their dazzling mathematical skills.

You cannot just divide the federal governments total yearly receipts by twelve and state that that is how much is taken in per month. It doesn't work that way. The government doesn't receive roughly 200B every month, the money comes in sporadically. That is why financing is necessary. To make sure the cash is on hand to cover the expenses.

If the cash for the expense isn't there, then no check will be written. I imagine whatever cash is on hand will be prioritized, with the elderly and others dependent upon the government not being at the top of the list.

Gee, what a choice! The Republican House members can serve and obey their "masters", the Tea Partiers, or learn to negotiate quickly, in good faith! If they consider the following it may help them make an intelligent decision beneficial for the Grand Old Party! There are around 60 million persons receiving Social Security benefits. Benefits which these 60 million people HAVE EARNED and ALREADY PAID FOR! There are approdimately 2.2 million retired U.S. military personal who have FOUGHT AND PAID FOR their military retirement benefits. As added incentive, there are approximately 18 million young adults attending various universities, colleges, and trade schools with the help of FEDERAL LOANS, of which approximately 12 million are of voting age. When added together as one group the total is: 74,200,000. ALL of the above groups receiving either EARNED BENEFITS or receiving education LOANS are of voting age! Guess what? ALL of them are NOT Tea Party friendly! I would say that if their funds are "cut-off" by the Republican House refusing to raise the debt ceiling limit, they would remember who EXACTLY to blame! Kinda seems like the decision for the GOP would be much, much more simple if the above FACTS were considered!

If the checks go out or not the GOP is done, they showed that their only concern is for their Puppet Masters, and people will hold them accountable come election day, why would the American people want elected officials that are bought and paid for by corporate America, the GOP party needs to be voted out and I hope some cuts will be made to their Medical & Pension plans why should people be paid for nothing, it's not like they did any work for the people, that's who pays these clowns ... They need a boot where the sun don't shine!

I'll bet that Mr. John Boehner feels like he and his Republican coharts in the House are "drowning" in a cup of TEA!

dontgivemethepenguin

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we had an election and the Republicans took control of the house.

Republicans -

So it's perfectly "ok" for YOU to use scare tactics . . .

"You will all wake up DEAD tomorrow!!!" - Beck (I'm still alive, are you?)

"Socialism . . . Marxism" - Hannity (Marxism is defined as the violent overthrow of a government . . . where was the violent overthrow?)

"Death Panels!!!" - Beck, Hannity, Palin (really?)

"the Obama administration will come into YOUR house and FORCE you to have an abortion" - Beck (I don't even know where to start with this one)

"Cash for Clunkers will give the government FULL ACCESS to your computer and all it's files" - Beck (turning you car into a dealership had nothing to do with your computer)

"Supporting and spreading Sharia-law in the our country" - Hannity (separation of church and state includes ALL religion)

Shall I go on?

So all of those fear tactics are "ok" with you Republicans . . . you support and believe each one. But when the President uses your own tactics against you, you cry like a little B**CH.

You are all hypocrites, every last one of you.

Okay, even though I'm sure I'm wasting my time, I will once again try to educate you all on the facts. A: This won't be our first default. B: The checks will go out and President Odumbo hasn't got any say so about it. This problem was fixed years ago during a previous default. Checks, like the ones from Social Security, don't rely on congressional approval for funding. Such checks get paid regardless. Our sorry excuse for a President is lying once again, to scare people into pressuring Congress to give him his way. Seeing as some of you believe this lie, I have little hope you are able to grasp the reality of what I'm saying, even enough to verify that I'm telling the truth.

I've been thinking about the country's pitiful condition and I've come up with a solution..tell me where my reasoning is faulty. 1st-a 25% corporate tax across the board, no tax breaks or exceptions...2nd-a 15% income tax no matter how much you make, $10K or $10 mil...3rd-end the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and apply the almost $3 billion a year savings toward the $14 trillion national debt. By 2060 we will have a zero national debt...4th- pass a balanced budget amendment that prevents Congress from spending more then they take in..Sounds simple, no? Give me some feedback

Why didn't Obama think about how much he was spending when he gave over $2 billion to Libya 3 weeks ago or $2 billion to Copenhagen or $2 billion to Petrobras in Brazil for oil exploration? The list goes on and on. He just spends and spends. Why give more money in the form of taxes? It won't go to pay down debt, it will just be spent in frivolous ways.

What is wrong with us? What happened to all the passion of the 60's. We need to hit the streets in protest not only against this but the war that's cost so much and mean's so little. France took to the streets a million strong when they talked about raising the retirement age to 62. Nothing said about the welfare checks??? How odd. All the banks, wallstreet and finance companies got theirs when the hell are the middle class and the people that worked their whole lives for a system that continues to screw them going to get theirs. If I could do it over again I would have lot's of kids, do drugs and never work. Seems to me that the people that don't care are the rich and the free loaders.

If there is a default, why wait until 2012 for the election. Recall them now, and the president should resign.

But hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

Why did Obama spend money last weekend using Presidential helicopters to go to Camp David in the middle of negotiations?

Keep Air Force One grounded...now there's an unnecessary wasteful expense.

Most of us agree: What's the story on our Social Security funds being separate and in a lockbox? I started contributing to MY MANDATED Social Security govt plan in the 1950's...and this Obama, who, with his Dem colleagues who were busy creating the hated Obamacare/Abysmalcare, failed to produce a budget. He is every bit as responsible as his Democratic Congress for their failure...which has led us to this "crisis." And he is threatening to take my retirement plan away from me due to his inadequate planning and fiscal irresponsibility.

Naturally, we should suspend Social Security payments....but keep all that aid to countries that hate us flowing. (that's sarcastic, in case you libs didn't get it)

GET HIM OUT OF HERE !!! that's Not President Like; by the People for the People..is this guy NUTS.................

scrambolo - There are around 60 million persons receiving Social Security benefits. Benefits which these 60 million people HAVE EARNED and ALREADY PAID FOR! There are approdimately 2.2 million retired U.S. military personal who have FOUGHT AND PAID FOR their military retirement benefits. As added incentive, there are approximately 18 million young adults attending various universities, colleges, and trade schools with the help of FEDERAL LOANS, of which approximately 12 million are of voting age. When added together as one group the total is: 74,200,000. ALL of the above groups receiving either EARNED BENEFITS or receiving education LOANS are of voting age!

Most of those that you claimed HAVE EARNED, are educated and informed enough to know that it is the Demoncrap President, the Demoncrap Party Controlled Senate, and the House that can direct what parts of the Budget to Fund or Cut. So yes, the Educated will remember in 2012 what the Demoncraps have done to them (2 (Demoncrap President and Demoncrap Senate) versus 1 (Repugnant House) the 2 overruling the 1.).

Of course we will blame Obama. He has plenty of income from taxes to cover these checks every month. Forget all that teaparty rhetoric. They are morons but it is Obama's watch. Just like you Dems blamed Bush for everything that happened under his watch.
Tell Obama the first thing he needs to miss payments on is Congresses and the Senates health care program. Then bring home enough troops to shore up the spending leak.
We will also blame Clinton who borrowed from the SS fund to say he had a balanced budget.

"The sky is falling" crowd is at it again. Obama is a fraud, and if he were a CEO, he would be in jail as we have laws protecting us from lying CEO's, but not from lying politicians. And yet these politicians can do far more damage to our economy.

Republicans are offering to give Obama complete authority to raise the debt limit, so there will be no shut down, unless of course DEMOCRATS fail to agree to Obama being in charge.

Changes the entire argument, doesn't it?

So now the Democrats are on the hot seat, and will be 100% responsible for any failure to raise the limit.

As to tax increases, I say the Republicans should allow all that democrats want - 100%. It will make their ouster so much simpler next November.

Obama: I cannot guarantee those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.

WOW! What do you libbies think of your messiah now? Still love those welfare entitlement programs? Illegal aliens stealing YOUR money? Don’t you feel special when China gets their money and you don’t? How much money is he wasting in Libya?

Yeah Barry…You are DONE!

The teanutbaggers are going to destroy America.

Shut up and grow up and stop pointing the finger at someone and the name calling already grow up stupid. Look now you got me doing it. Did you really want McCain and Palin in there this past three years? He didn't even know the country was in bad shape financially, right, remember? I hope you do. So anyways, he's not going to pay us? really why dosen't this country come together rather than have dummies like you come in here thinking your better and smarter than the other party. They know this and as long as this is happening they will continue to pull the wool over all our eyes. Damn I miss the hippies right now, they actually went out there and protested, some were shot for their beliefs. I say we start a new goverment again, just like our fathers did back in the 1700's. How about all the American people get together and not pay out income tax next year and the following year and we tell them to put us all in prison for it. What do you think these bums in office would do then? Huh? Yes thats what I thought. they would shat. they would get real scared. the shoe would be on the other foot them, right? Huh? yes it would be. I'm sick of everybody anymore. I'm the smartest person in the whole world not just here in the states. Screw everyone and their party, I'm starting my own today. Imbolsols, the whole bunch of you on here yacking at the other party and thinking your better your both the same shat, yes sir, all the parties out there are all the same shat except for the one I just started. So kiss my a$$, well not really because my a$$ is too good for you all to kiss, remember I'm the smartest one here. You jacka$$es. Your all actually worse than the pricks we have in office and had in office. Now grow up and do something smart for a change. Don't pay them and let them put us all in the slammer. We'll be fed, we'll survive a lot better then they will. So what if you go a day without food. Now you have people going days without pills and food and they have to survive. Change the tides here and let them see we mean business instead of coming in here and playing I'm right, no I'm right bullshat games. my daddy can beat your daddy's butt. I'm done because I'm sick of all you already but I could go on if I wanted too. I hope you all have nightmares that your house will be taken from you while you sleep and become the property of the Chinese. So once again, kiss my a$$ if your not going to say something smart.

Guess they don't like a taste of their own medicine, it's about time Obama took off the gloves, they have constantly tried to undermind him, Like I say don't get mad get even, that will really piss off the people that rely on SS it does not matter if it's true or not they will still be pissed as hell at the GOP ....

Breakdown of Federal Receipts & Expenditures – 2010

Receipts; $ in Billions % of Total

Social Security Taxes $632 29%

Medicare Taxes $180 8%

Sub Total $812 38%

Other Receipts

Individual Income Taxes $899 42%

Corporate Income Taxes $191 9%

Misc. Other $261 12%

Total Receipts $2,163 100%

Expenditures

Social Security Payments $701 20%

Medicare Payments $446 13%

Interest – net $196 6%

Sub Total $1,343 39%

Other Payments

Security and Defense $815 24%

Other Misc. $1,298 38%

Total Spending $3,456 100%

Total Deficit $1,293 (a)

(a) – The Deficit is 60% of Revenues, and 37% of Spending.

Source- The President's Budget for 2011, Table S-3 below;

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/tables.pdf

There is one major flaw in the above posts; "The educated voters will remember....."

Most of you put more energy into overthrowing the other party than doing what is logical - Nation Building. Many of you rant about the decline of America - well golleeeeeee Gomer - where does the evidence point as to who is causing our decline - here is a hint; they start with D, R, and T.

name calling = emotions = knee jerk solutions.

If all of you are as smart as you claim; you should be able to take all the information available and pin point the problems, and work toward solutions from there. But you really don't want that - you would rather be extreme and immerse your selves in agendas.

The tactics being used by all three parties are designed to cement your beliefs that one of the three actually has the solutions. Not one post above (some are getting closer to solutions) comes anywhere near solving our problems - most are just angry people further dividing us.

There is no majority represented in the posts above - we the majority (people who dislike all 3) sit in shame of those who claim to be correct - thanks for making all of us look like children. Yes we the majority need to be more active - but the system is designed to shut us out - and the posters above are doing the dirty work that pushes logic further into the abyss.

Think the above posters are not doing the dirty work? Look at all the collapsed posts - you guys and your name calling...PATHETIC.

The difference between 1950's America and 2011 America; positive thinking.

When was the last time America celebrated - and it wasn't funded by Macy's and Geico? We are so phony now - nothing is genuine anymore.

Thank you Roy Wilson. I love facts.

Normal sensationalistic journalism. The President was asked," Can you guarantee...." He responded in the only way he could, "No, I can't guarantee...." What else could he have said? - he would cover it our of his personal account if necessary??

The difference between 1950's America and 2011 America; positive thinking.

Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to think positive, but it's pretty hard to feel any optimism when it's become so @!$%#ing obvious that the brain dead GOP meat puppets are nothing more than fascist pawns of corporate elitists and hyper wealthy individuals.

We've known for many years coming that the sheer number of people that are in the Baby Boom Generation all heading into retirement was going to cause a big problem with the entitlement programs, and instead of figuring out a solution 2 decades ago like they should have done, our politicians have utterly FAILED to do anything about it.

How can any politician in the Capitol Building believe that any of us are taking them seriously anymore? They are a bunch of undisciplined selfish spoiled children.

I hope Teapublicans realize that if the elderly and disabled do not get their Social Security checks it will be a real hardship that they will blame on YOU personally. You will unite them as a voting block against the Republican Party.

I think America defaulting on its loans for the first time in history would also alienate corporations against the Republican Party. That would most likely plunge us back into a full recession. If Republicans can't be respectful toward the elderly maybe they'll listen to their corporate donors.

Pat from Boston - You have a screw loose. I already pay interest on my son's US-backed college loans and he is only a junior. Get the facts straight before posting tribble!

There is an old political saying about the office of the President.....

"The Buck stops here"

Trust me if I don't get my SS and VA checks on the date I am suppose to, the buck will stop on the presidents front steps and any sitting congress person up for re-election in 2012, can count on one given fact, I shall vote against all incumbents in congress running. And that includes the office were the buck stops. I'll vote for mickey mouse if I have to.

Strange he didn't say if he and the Congress would or wouldn't get payed

If he needs to raise the debt ceiling to pay for SS, does that mean we must borrow money to pay for Social Security?

Isn't that taken out of my check already? $14 trillion in the hole, and no SS checks?

Unless it's a ponzi scheme, of course.

ir12

Instead of all the wheeling and dealing, perhaps we should just have an up or down vote on raising the debt limit. The republicans are the only ones attaching strings.

Attaching strings? Those strings you talk about are not the issue. The Democrats agree we need to cut spending. The "strings" that you speak of that is holding this whole thing up are those placed by the Democrats demanding tax increases. After all, you don't hear the Democrats stopping the negotiations because of spending cuts, nope, they agree to cut spending. The Democrats are trying to attach something that they know they can't get passed at a later date, like increase taxes. There's the string you speak of. It's not a "string" if both parties agree to it.

Democrats in office today are lost if they don't spend at excessive levels. Naturally this would demand more revenue and the quickest way to gain revenue is increase taxes.

Here, I'll make this very simple for you liberals that just don't get it. The two parties stand as follows:

Cut Spending:

Republicans YES
Democrats YES

Increase Taxes:

Republicans NO
Democrats YES

Pass those things you agree on, and deal with tax reform (notice I didn't say tax increases) on another bill.

The Democrats better start listening to their constituents, otherwise, elections next year will show to be a total blowout failure for them.

GendoIkari - You're right. I've been saying that all along. We boomers are here now - the gov't knew we were coming & there's a lot more behind me since I just turned 62. We paid our dues, worked hard, kept the economy going, paid whatever was asked of us. The Feds, States, cities - all were riding the gravy train then.

Now, when push come to shove and I ask 'show me the money', there's no money!! SS is a TRUST fund - it was established and paid for by US so that is would be there when our working days were over. Not just Obama & the present regime are dipping into it - we have to blame the past administrations, too. BUT - they are gone (well, except for some of Congress lol). The old ways still carry on, though. Let's keep hitting up SS/Medicare. These baby boomers have money stashed away. Well, guess what?? We don't. We started working, raising families, etc. There were no IRAs, 401Ks, nothing but a good, old bankbook. Investments such as stocks/bonds were held by old, rich people. We couldn't do that - it was beyond our means. In spite of thoughts and old film footage, we weren't all hippies, we didn't all protest - we followed the traditional values our parents brought us up with. Wearing a mini-skirt didn't make me a hippie!!!

Why has Gov't continued to spend, spend, spend??? Why have we let them??? Special interests, PACs rule the country. Voters don't vote. Corporations rule. The truly rich have loopholes. Nobody has to play by the rules except the middle class which is becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs. One things we learned from our parents who were 'depression' kids was to be thrifty. I used to laugh at some of the things my parents did - now I find myself doing the same things to survive. What I've managed to save, I'm going to have to start dipping into. My only prayer is that I don't outlive my money. My pension (from a world-wide corp. that has been underfunding the pension for several yrs.) cut my pension when I hit 62. I now have to use a portion of my SS to pay the rent - I just sign over my whole pension to the landlord. Thank god I don't have dependents anymore. There are no extras in my life except a haircut every 5 weeks. No going out to eat, ordering a pizza, stopping for a cup of coffee. I rarely leave the house since gas is so high.

So you go ahead, Mr. Obama & Congress, keep on tapping our funds. Most of you have never held a legitimate, paying job, never paid into SS but all of you are a bunch of bottom feeders. I'll tell you how to cut - Stop giving yourself raises, stop your lifetime healthcare, stop giving away the shop to all those countries who laugh at us, get back the jobs you've let corporate America outsource and put term limits on the tenure of all politicians, right across the board - screw states' rights.

We are the tired, the poor. We busted our butts to have a decent life but the only ones benefitting are you, other countries, illegal immigrants and various other moochers.

Leave us alone.

Only cowards and conmen are sick enough, morally and ethically bankrupt enough, to try to frighten and intimidate the elderly and infirmed in order to get their way, that being said, I am not surprised.

All of you posters on the side of the Tea Party and Republicans in this debate, please answer me this question: Why, if you are correct, would Senator Mitch (always say NO) McConnell now "CAVE-IN" and offer to let President Obama raise the debt ceiling unilaterally unopposed? The answer is very simple and to the point. If the Republicans do not allow Obama to raise the debt limits it would be political suicide for the GOP! He is absolutely correct on that assessment! He realizes that he must live to 'fight' another day! He also knows John Boehner CANNOT get a compromise from the far-right-wing Tea Partiers in the House of Representatives! The truth will ALWAYS rise to the surface, sooner or later!

scrambolo

All of you posters on the side of the Tea Party and Republicans in this debate, please answer me this question: Why, if you are correct, would Senator Mitch (always say NO) McConnell now "CAVE-IN" and offer to let President Obama raise the debt ceiling unilaterally unopposed? The answer is very simple and to the point. If the Republicans do not allow Obama to raise the debt limits it would be political suicide for the GOP! He is absolutely correct on that assessment! He realizes that he must live to 'fight' another day! He also knows John Boehner CANNOT get a compromise from the far-right-wing Tea Partiers in the House of Representatives! The truth will ALWAYS rise to the surface, sooner or later!

I guess if I had aquired something that panned out to be a big liability, I would want to get rid of it. It's the one that takes if off my hands that ended up being as naive as I when I first aquired it. The difference is, I was no longer naive when I unloaded it and the liability isn't on my shoulders any longer.

We are talking about the FULL FAITH & CREDIT of the PRESIDENT.

We are paying attention and when the Fed Chairman says we will still be able to pay our interest on our debts and the primary obligations in August - regardless but something has be done soon thereafter......

WHO IS TELLING LIES..... the guy paying the bills or the guy running for President????

We all know the truth and who we can't trust.....ELECTED POLITICIANS....particularly Hope/Change

Dude,

You can rationalize all you want, it won't change the FACTS! You know, I know, and most rational people know and admit (look at the most recent polls, take your choice as to which one) that the Republicans in the House are creating a VERY DANGEROUS economic climate. The economic consequences of even a "downgrade" of the AAA credit of the United States, let alone a default on our debts, WILL have catastrophic consequences for the whole world economy including OURS! If you think gasoline at $4.00/gal. is expensive, wait until you pay $7.00/gal., and that would be only one minor interuption to your lifestyle! Keep on believing that this is just a minor league game. If this happens the country may not recover during your lifetime, no matter how old you are!

scrambolo,

Granted, both parties are playing with fire. The Republicans and the Democrats (including Obama) agree spending cuts are necessary. The only argument I see is over tax increases which the Democrats are demanding. If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't be here discussing the thought of default. So why not pass the bill to cut spending satisfying what most of America wants, and deal with tax increases on a separate bill? After all, I haven't heard a single American demanding to have their taxes increased which makes it painfully clear the Democrats are the "obstructionists" on this issue.

I don't care about deficits now, they don't matter, they only matter when a Republican is in the White House. If you think this sounds stupid, then replace Republican with Democrat and that has been the Republican attitude for the last 30 years. Reagan, Bush Sr, W, all ran record deficits and had to have the ceiling lifted. The last time the Republicans even came close to caring this much about the debt ceiling was when Clinton was in power. I say the Democrats need to go even more extreme left crazy, if the Tea baggers want to be hostage takers, we should be hostage takers as well!

Dude-875416,

This country must reduce its spending and lower the national debt. We both would agree with this statement, as would ALL rational citizens. So the question is not "IF", the question is "HOW"! Obama offered $4 TRILLION in spending cuts over 10 years. He asked for tax LOOPHOLES to be closed for very wealthy individuals (those earning over $250,000/year) plus medium and large corporations. The tax rate for these wealthy individuals would be restored, beginning in 2013, to the pre-Bush tax cuts of 2001. The requested tax increase amount to 3.5% for those persons making over $250,000 per year. In conjuction with this offer, Obama also stated CLEARLY and UNEQUIVICALLY that the federal programs on Social Security and Medicare WERE on the table for review and possible reduction of benefits in some manner. The GOP walked away from this offer. They have walked away from ALL offers. The Republican Party is controlled by the far-right Tea Party and EVERY Republican lives in fear of these far-right wingnuts, this is THE reason a compromise cannot be reached on the spending cuts/tax increases. By a margin of 2 to l the American Public favors a COMBINATION of spending cuts, closing tax loopholes AND tax increases on the top 1% of wage earners to lower our debt, versus spending cuts only. Again look up several polls, including the Wall Street Journal's (they are not a liberal group) and see if I speak the truth. Good Luck.

Penguin - earlier you said 'tea party does not have control of anything except your attention feisty, the DEMs are in control of the House aren't they? That is where bills, laws and the fed budget comes from, so where are they?' - Just wanted to point out that Republicans control the House, that is why Boehner is Speaker. The House also proposes the budgets.

If they don't pass a deal they won't have a choice. It'll be the President who gets to line item spending.

I still do not understand how the government who is basically my 401k administrator for my social security and medicare of which I must add; is MY money that I have contributed to for over 40 years to the Social Security Administration. How dare they stop payments to me....or those other millions that have contributed? This was not free gratus granted by the government, this is hard earned money that we gave them in trust. They need to review and stop payment to the "given" social securtiy disability and the welfare system. These are people in most cases (over 70%) have never worked and contributed any funds to their benefits, it is given to them because?????????

I have no problem with that. The ONLY entitlement spending that should remain untouched is SS and medicaid for elders. Other than that, get up off your lazy a@#, get a job, stop having illegitimate children and sponging off of the rest of us. I'm tired of welfare being some sort of sacred cow that nobody wants to eliminate. GET A JOB lowlifes.

Damn right Pamm...put those disabled people where they belong...on a street corner with a tin cup and pencils!

Actually you can not get SSDI if you havn't contributed to the system unless you were born with the disability.

So...

And as far as i know in recent history SSDI was paid for by everyone contributing to it as well.

It was a bad deal. You actually didn't pay into either. you paid for your grandfather and your fathers retirement. Go dig them up and ask for your money back.

Sounds like BHO is threatening to hold the elderly and out veterans hostage. Now a smart move Mr President. Actually it is a low blow even for you! What do you do if this doesn't work send in a few of your union buddies to rough em up a bit

Where is the SS money , where is the lock box, if the government have no money to pay SS is because the government steal it. Government also collect SS at daily basis , where is our SS money Mr. President.

Social Security payments have nothing to do with the debt limit. We, the working people, put money into Social Security from our pay checks, THAT money is supposed to go into a lock box and the money is not to be spend on anything else. And remember Obama himself said that SS was solvent for the next 25 years.

Up...smaller government.....stop the "reckless spending" "No taxes pledge"...cut entitlements....so what do people expect if GOP House members refuse to raise the deficit ceiling, cut a deal and refuse to talk increasing revenues?

Sounds like the gov is DEFAULTING on US LOANS. SS is not an entitlement. You pay into it your whole life. I want my fn money back. I want SS to stop being taken out of my check if payments do not go out

Average Revenues collected each month = $200 Billion.

Average Expenditures spent on Interest AND Social Security each month = $76 Billion (2010 ave.).

That leaves $124 Billion left over each month for Obama's other programs - He is foolish to say he will withhold Social Security payments just to protect his other 'Discretionary' social programs?

This smacks of hardball 'Chicago style' politics, which is hardly the type of policies we want on a national level.

Forrest, You did it again... ::chuckle::

How about this one:

We are in the ninth inning... Obama is on the mound. Eyeing the catcher, he shakes off the first call... satisfied with the second, he winds up. Boehner grips his bat, taking his stance he shifts into position and awaits the pitch. Obama hurls the ball towards home plate. Clearly this is a curve ball... Boehner anticipates the throw, starts his swing.... ::BEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEP.... We interupt this program with a test of the National Alert System... If this were an actual emergency, the sound you heard would be followed by official news and information.....

Mark-1219747

Sounds like the gov is DEFAULTING on US LOANS. SS is not an entitlement. You pay into it your whole life. I want my fn money back. I want SS to stop being taken out of my check if payments do not go out

--------------------

DITTO !

pamm-3738439, you did not pay social security to get it back later. When you paid, you paid for the retirement of previous generation. Now it is your turn to retire and the next generation needs to pay more to support your retirement. But a new generation of strong earners do not exist, thus you won't get your paycheck, or you will get a diluted version of it.

Don't rely much on your retirement nest egg. Even 401K is not a good idea anymore. Save after tax money. Pay tax now. Tax is on sale. You never know what the tax rates will be by the time you retire. Government can find other ways to confiscate your retirement savings as well!

www.tradingstocks.net/html/pension_plan.html

The root cause of the crash is excessive debt. Entire nation cannot borrow non-stop, inflate the money supply and prices with borrowed money and then hope that all will be fine when the pay back time arrives.

Why does this president continually play politics and use scare tactics to get the socialist agenda passed??? Social Security will be paid to qualified recipients as they always have been. It's merely an attempt to ensure big government gets their grubby hands on as many dollars possible from the private sector. Big government is looking to expand at every turn inorder to sustain itself. It's time to call their bluff and limit their control over the lives of the American people!

since when is something you paid for an entitlement the only ones that are getting an entitlement is the fat cats in washington don't contribute but collect their pay as retirement and no co-pay health care for life. who is sponging off of who go figure screw the middle class as always.

Sounds like BHO is threatening to hold the elderly and out veterans hostage. Now a smart move Mr President. Actually it is a low blow even for you! What do you do if this doesn't work send in a few of your union buddies to rough em up a bit

Why is it Obama's fault? He's willing to make sacrifices on his sacred cows. It's the Rep/TParty that is demanding EVERYTHING. No one can have Everything. Why should the democrats be the only one making painful sacrifices every freaking time? Just because they think they are right doesn't mean they are. Plenty of other people think they're wrong. They are behaving like little babies!

franku "pamm-3738439, you did not pay social security to get it back later. When you paid, you paid for the retirement of previous generation."

That is not how the program was set up, but it IS how it's run because the government took the 'Trust Funds' and spent them (actually someone should have gone to jail for that - It started under Johnson).

The idea that Obama would say to social security recipients "I'm not going to pay you any of the $2.5 Trillion we 'borrowed' from the trust fund" is pretty scary.

SS is not set up so that you get back the money you put into it. It was NEVER set up that way.

You put money into it today, and then YOUR money goes out to seniors tomorrow. It is not set aside for you, it is not kept safe, it is gone.

It had to be set up that way or else seniors at the time of the creation of SS wouldn't have gotten anything.

More Obama scare tactics. It's easier than fixing a problem. Seems a little early to start the scare game.

mspielman

pammm is correct. that is how it WAS set up as Roy explained.

I'm with Pamm. I've contributed to SS for 34 years and have about 25 more to go.

HOW DARE THEY TAKE MY MONEY WITHOUT GIVING ME A RETURN?

I suspect YOU are in your 20s and haven't paid to the extent that Pamm and I have because you're not screaming how they plan to take it away. If you paid any money, you'd be screaming too.

The President's comment caused me to write to Boehner. I asked him to explain why we should give tax breaks to American companies who base operations in FOREIGN COUNTRIES, or why we should give tax breaks to oil companies when they CHARGE Americans way too much for gas? I also wondered how they could support the estate tax when SO MANY of the OLD ESTATES were created with government money which is tax money from the American people.

Other than those tax issues, which I have an open mind about, I AGREE - NO MORE TAX HIKES.

Now, I plan to write to President Obama using Roy Wilson's information about revenue collected and SS out. F Obama and his threat. The baby boomers will storm the White House if SS is not doled out.

Folks, you have no property rights in your social security tax payments. the only way the entire program was legitimized was to be sure that it all counted as a tax: Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 619 (1937), upheld the program because "The proceeds of both [employee and employer] taxes are to be paid into the Treasury like internal-revenue taxes generally, and are not earmarked in any way". That is, the Social Security Tax was constitutional as a mere exercise of Congress's general taxation powers. (from Wikipedia)

It is not a loan from us to the government, it is not a pension plan. If the Congress decides tomorrow to stop the entire program, your "refund" is zero. Therefore, it is an "entitlement" in the perverse current meaning of that term.

As to the taking by government of your private pensions, there is a basic 5th amendment problem. Of course, they can tax it or remove the tax benefits.

The bottom line is that we need to ultimately decide as a society if we want to take personal responsibility for our own lives and futures, or if we want to retain a system where the government, and politicians, have so much power over us that they can threaten us with the loss of benefits after we have been taxed our entire lives to provide them to our predecessors. It is too late now for older American's to adjust to any rapid change, but future generations shoul have the right to "bail out" of this Ponzi scheme.

I am completely flabbergasted by those moron who are belligerently talking about SS. Little they know that when they reach retirement age the only way to sustain their is the dependency on SS as their only income for survival. After all, those unconscious bonehead do not understand that the government is not giving people gifts, SS money is the people's money, it is what they have contributed to the many years working, not begging for handouts. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Wow it sounds like you guys would prefer having your own private investment accounts--oh wait- the democrats hated that idea. You act like social security is the equivalent of having your money in a lock box held there for you but if thats what you want, why did you all scream so hard when Bush tried to do it? If you want it to be a system in which your contributions means its your money, you should have been pushing for private accounts and you could have invested those accounts in Treasury bills and had no risk. Instead you wanted a government subsidized system in which the amount you contribute is far less than the amount you will get back in return paid for by your kids and grandkids because its basically a pay as you go system. I wonder how many people wish they had private accounts now

IT'S FINALLY TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE. Fire every senator and representative and vote some NEW people into office, who can straighten out the damages done over the years. The House and Congress are a bunch of the thieves, stealing OUR monies from Social Security and not replacing it. By law, they ALL should go to jail for doing this. Remember who pays THEIR salary, THIER benefits? WE DO! And it's time to stop. Take away their benifits and see how they like it. Quit playing with OUR lives and benifits.....NOW!

CTpapa

DON'T forget the JOHNSON Administration took SS from a TRUST and put the money in the GENERAL FUND.

Had I been older and wiser, I'm with Roy. I would have pushed for criminal sanctions then.

The fact is that MOST OF US consider this as a payment toward our future retirements.

AND FRANKLY, I'VE PAID FOR 34 YEARS AND WANT SOMETHING IF IT IS TAKEN AWAY.

34 years is a LONG time TO BE SHAFTED.

why did you all scream so hard when Bush tried to do it?

ANSWER: Bush was going to bring me back to ZERO with his plan. I've paid for 34 years. My balance IS NOT ZERO.

my wife is 52 years old&vision impaired,those of you that think she can drive&work are ignorant of the fact of what REAL disability is!!! every amercican is not out to rip-off the u.s. goverment people,just ask any our war veterans,my dad was one of ww2,lost both legs in normandy france after d-day 1944,should he have paid back his gi-loan with his 'purple heart' for folks like this on capitol hill??? you are disgracing the service&freedoms they all paid for back then...today! get on with it america!***

I think the problem is when all these aliens come here all over the place & start drawing welfare & Soc Sec, they get food stamps , medicaid, they get soc sec, medicare part A & part B. They have never paid into the system (ever) then they gather enough money & send for more of their family so they can draw more money !!! This is just not right ! Our people are out of work & if they are single & male , they can`t even get healthcare. Why are they are out of work, because all of our jobs left !!!

I should clarify the, disabled entitlements. I did not mean no one should receive this, if needed, however I have a sister and know of several children that are still at home under the age of 18 that receive SSI. I always thought it was the responsibility of the parents to take care of their children? I certainly understand funding for medical, but these kids that I know about are receiving over $500 per month and medicaid.. what possibly could a 6 month old child up to an 18 year old child do with that money? It is in most cases the parents working the system and they are spending the funds for their benefit, not the child. I say this as I know personally 8 of these individuels that do this. I mean to say, yes help those in need.. but no one ever helped me to support my child and I was a single parent. I understand an believe the children that become adults and can not function in society (holding a job, running a house hold, daily activities., etc.) we should extend help, however I believe that these persons should be checked on along with the families that are receiving the funds occasionally... to be sure they are in need and the funds are being used to support the disabled not their families. I'm just saying.. so many people need this funding but their are just as many that are using the system and pocketing these funds too.. there is no one to check on them so why not? I don't blame them.. if they can receive these funds and not have to ever provide proof.. I just know that those who pay and paid into our social security system should not be cut or benefits reduced it is not the governments funds to do this with.

Not to worry. I'm confidant that I and millions of others will receive a social security check on August 3. If absolutely necessary, President Obama can raise the debt ceiling on his own by utilizing a little known provision in the Constitution. It might come to this, sad to say, so that the millionairs and billionairs can keep more of their money. Republicans in the House should be ashamed!

Remember Nancy Pelosi telling us, just a few years ago, "Don't let them touch Social Security, there is nothing wrong with Social Security",...hmmm...nothing wrong other than they have to borrow the money in order to pay us!

Nancy...SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Bush wasnt going to bring you back to zero and in fact your probably at the age, his plan didnt even apply to you and you would have gotten the same benefits you have now. If you were under 50, you would have gotten an amount put into your account for the contributions you made so your balance wasnt going to be zero. It was being phased in based on your age. Where did you get that idea? See thats the problem with not knowing the facts

I see the Right is working hard to hide the truth once again. Here it is--borrowed money makes up 44% of the budget. ALL NON-MILITARY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING PUT TOGETHER is only 35% of the budget.

Where does the rest of the money come from?

See why the President can't guarantee checks will go out as scheduled?

For all of you talking about the SS lockbox, their isn't one, Gore lost in 2000 remember? The SS funds have been raided for 30+ years, most recently to pay for Iraq, Afghanistan, and tax cuts for the wealthy. And I believe that BO is quite willing to negotiate on reductions in entitlements, against his own party, it is the right wing that will not negotiate. BTW, why does the right hate entitlements for US citizens sooo much (nevermind that SS is not really an entitlement), but have no problem paying trillions for security for non-Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan who will most likely turn on us in a few decades anyway?

This is what happens when you vote someone whoe lies about everything , he said no new taxes, the gas will not go over $2.50 a gal. ya right he also said the the housing market will bounce back ya right alot of @!$%# if you ask me and he can spread it around just like the last one did and even better don't you think what a wast of a vote THANK YOU dumm asses for getting him into office . NOW NO S.s. whats next oh I know lets hepl the other countries rebuild when are you dumm asses going to wake up.

To pamm-3738439

Two points,

1. As in any ponzi-like scheme, your money has gone to pay for the benefits of those currently receiving the benefit. Your benefits are dependent on future generations paying into the scheme;

2. You now may understand what President Bush was considering when he talked about individual social security accounts. That shifted the program from being a ponzi-like scheme to something akin to a traditional IRA. Of course the Democrats did not like that possibility so they characterized it as a plan that would put your retirement at risk "in the stock market". Nothing could have been futher from the truth. What it did was lock in your benefits to the funds you actually contributed. The investments most likely would have been limited to very low risk ones such U.S. Treasury bills, etc. But there would not be wealth shifting under the Bush approach. Can you see why the Democrats did not like it?

Maybe in the future as part of entitlement reform we will see something along the lines of individual social security accounts. It is an attractive alternative.

For now the ponzi scheme continues and the Democrats continue to use scare tactics to try to disguish the real issues. Shame on President Obama in his tactic to scare seniors. Of course he wants to appear to be concerned for them (and orphans and widows and single moms). All groups of large voting blocks.

How about not paying congress, instead.

BS, the money's there. This could be the lowest-blow trick of Obama's career. Unfortunately, he'll repeat the scare tactic so often that the seniors will start to believe it. He'll SCARE granny to death and blame it all on somebody else.

THIS ole broad doesn't fall for this crap!

Stopping SS payments doesn't make sense. Why not STOP giving, Yes I said GIVING, free billions to foreign countries. The US government has the money,it just depends what section you steal it from. Why not put back in SS what the government took out of the coffer to support other causes. Obama has no idea what is is doing. He's stupid!

But they wouldn't dare cut welfare checks. After all, lazy gheeto leeches come before seniors who paid their taxes. Thanks liberals.

In reply to pamm: I am one of "those" you think should be on a street corner. I am 62 and disabled. I worked to raise my son,alone. I worked my butt off with any jobs I could find! From scrubbing toliets to clerical. I never made over min. wage. When I became disabled, it took three years to be approved for my disability. My brother's took six months, he was okayed due to "mental " because of drugs & alchol! I was told by Social Security they figure out your payment only for the last 5 years of employment. So, by being disabled for 3yrs. , they counted only 2yrs. of employment! I draw a whopping $410 a month for all those years I worked! S.S.I. (thank God) brings my income level up to "proverty level" with a check of $450. And, yes, I am very thankful . It is people like you, who open their mouths and berate people like me, with no knowledge of what your talking about! Not all people are users!

Yes Mr President go ahead and stop social security payments and be ready for the total destruction of your re-election and your democrat party. You, Mr president are holding out for your tax increases which in my opinion will just give you more excuse to support your excessive spending habits.

Whoever commented about inheritance tax being earned by the help of the government is full of it. My husband and I have both worked our entire life and been frugal with our money. We would like to think we could pass on the assets we have to our children. Inheritance tax is double taxation, plus you might want to think of who it affects like farmers who inherit land only to be forced into selling it due to high inheritance taxes.........So there goes our future American farmers.

Ever notice how "MSNBC COMMUNITY" colapses a string when the arguments or comments go against their BIAS?

No Second Ammendment Rights Here.

How could he state in his speech yesterday that SS is not an entitlement; it is not a cause of the deficit, it should not be touched but only 'strengthed' for future generations and then say they may not go out? He's game playing like the Republican cult who think this country can be run on a 2006 budget. If they hadn't run the country into the ground in the first place, this problem wouldn't exist. How can they say taking away tax breaks, not increasing taxes, is going to cost jobs? If that philosophy of low taxes means more jobs are created was working, unemployment wouldn't be as high as it is now. Republicans just don't want to pay their share and are only protecting themselves.

So, Obama, if you aren't sending out the checks next month how do you plan on taking care of the people who won't be able to pay the morgage, rent, buy groceries, medicine, and just generally put the money right back into the economy? Don't worry. Its just a ridiculous scare tactic. We soooo need to vote him out.

my name is rj and I'm a small undevelped country, so give me money and I'll say good things about you. and u can hide your C.I.A. here

thank you U.S.A. what a country

Instead of stopping the social security checks they should stop the politicians checks they keep getting raises and they're saying they can't pay social security who do they think they are fooling.

The SS Ponzi scheme makes B. Maddoff look like a real amateur ....

I wonder how many people wish they had private accounts now

Kirk,

Probably about as many as those wishing they had defined benefit plans instead of their worthless 401K papers when the market went from 14, 000 and some change down to about 7,000.

The stock market is a roulette wheel, and so are your "private" accounts.

Your right lets talk about the word entitlement because it makes it sound like you are entitled to something. Why might you be entitled? You contributed to it? Earned it or did someone promise to give it to you. With Social Security, everyone pays in and the government promises to give it back to you. The problem is that it wasnt intended to be a wealth transfer from the young, the middle class or the high income achievers to the one group of people that in the aggregate hold 80% of the wealth of this country. It was intended to be a social safety net for our seniors and its turned into a combination pension/welfare plan based on how long you live your life. There isnt any means testing for benefits nor is there any relationship between the benefits you receive and the amount you contributed in terms of limiting the amount you receive to a reasonable return on your contributions. There is a big chunk of welfare in every social security check and its being paid for by your kids and grandkids.

I worked from BEFORE I started paying the Social Security Tax until I became medically disabled at the age of 34. Every penny of my "disability" money is based on what I earned over my life up to that point... and it's MORE than what SSI pays. Yes, I did receive SSI for a total of the 5 months at the beginning of my being disabled where SSD DOESN'T pay. I did receive food stamps and "general relief" ($210/mo which didn't cover my medications) during the EIGHTEEN MONTHS it took to verify my disability (through one appeal - and even younger people who have terminal cancer are DENIED at least once to "starve out" the people who are frivolous) but every penny of "general relief" I was paid was PAID BACK by my SSI before they sent the remainder of the back amount owed to me. Essentially, those people who have worked for decades but became disabled before "retirement age" are RETIRED due to disability.

Thank goodness my husband earns a decent wage and we don't need my disability money to survive. We can tighten our belts a bit until the IDIOTS in Congress get the job that we elected them for DONE. But if my SSD check doesn't arrive in my account via direct deposit on the 3rd I know who I am blaming ... and it's NOT President Obama.

Actually,

There is indisputable proof of the following:

1. Any money extra per year was scavenged by other programs with IOUs

2. Those IOUs were never repaid.

3. SS is hurting as a result.

I say we define where the IOUs are from and reclaim from those departments and NEVER EVER do IOUs with MY money again.

GOPisextinct, I bet anyone who had 401k accounts invested in treasury bills didnt wish anything. That is what is great about this country--self reliance and free will. You can choose where to invest your 401k plan. With the private accounts I dont think the final proposals would have allowed risky investments but I could be wrong but guess what GOP, you had the option to stay away from that roulette wheel. Kind of nice to have choices and flexibility isnt it? You dont have to invest in the stock market. You can keep your private account in a bank CD with no risk so that argument doesnt fly. Also you obviously dont understand how defined benefit plans work because they just take funds and invest in your roulette wheel and when they fall short because of the roulette wheel, they either reduce benefits or try for a bailout like everyone else. Those direct benefit plans dont look so good right now in Illinois, California and elsewhere where the unfunded liabilities from the union plans are going to bankrupt these states. Its not possible to tax enough to pay for the unfunded debts in these plans so either they are going to cut benefits (in the aggregate) or stop the plans all together.

First @ Demar... Listen as far as SSI and welfare goes I could not agree with you more... But, you have narrow mindfully left out the fact that not just elderly get SS payments legitimately... like veterans, and the disabled... Whom have paid into the system and now when they need help have to deal with being judged as "lowlifes" as you called them. The only people sponging off the system are welfare and SSi folks whom should be given a job to receive monies from the government (Those that can work will quickly look elsewhere when made to earn minimum wage for hard labor). Also, through Social Security you get Medicare not Medicaid... Medicaid is what low income and welfare recipients receive...

It is truly sad to think there are people whom truly need Social Security, Disability, and Veteran payments and they will be denied while the upper 1% continues to get tax breaks, taking those breaks away should give us some money... The vanishing middle class are forced to carry the burden of these tax breaks and economic stress... Because it is no longer "By the people... for the people..." it is now "By my wallet... for myself..." for politicians...

Washington needs to do what is best for the majority, not do what the few privileged want them to do! Stop the dang lobbying and start doing what is morally right for our country.

I have lost whatever little respect I had for our President. I thank God my mother has passed on to a better place. She would have had a heart attack where she stood if she heard this latest scare tatic on the news. This was a woman who had worked all her life raising 5 kids and working midnight to 8 shifts to be with her children during the day and she received a whopping $800 per month SS in her old age that she managed to maintain a house and expenses on. Does this man have no sense of who his American people are? Unfortunately, we are not all wealthy like him and his friends. I can't wait for election year, hopefully it will be pay-back time and he loses because he did not do the right thing for his people.

i think it is a degrace to america that you in the goverment can not do what you have promis to the people. you are hurting older people, and that is a sham. people realy on those check. our goverment is a joke, and the world is laugh at us. we realy need to pray for our nation.

Obama just lost my vote

When the Government shut down last time, everyone's Social Security Check and Disability Check arrived each month right on time.

Obama you are such a looser... Using the Disabled as pawns in your quest to get re-elected.

YOUR FIRED OBAMA!!! And you may not have a job reference from me!!!!!!

and, I'll bet there will be enough money left for another Obama family world wide vacation.

mcgee09  "I'll bet there will be enough money left for another Obama family world wide vacation."

He probably already has it planned - just needs to get this pesky debt thing taken care of.  I'm sure he's thinking "Why do I have to get involved - didn't I give instruction for the 'buck' not to make it to my desk?"

Speaking of Obama's vacations, Obama's birthday is August 4th (I know that from his birth certificate).

That said, I came online to respond to:

Instead of stopping the social security checks they should stop the politicians checks they keep getting raises and they're saying they can't pay social security who do they think they are fooling.

GOOD IDEA. I'm sending this to Boehner, Reed and Obama.

We did this in California. We voters said our legislators would not get their paychecks if they did not produce an on-time budget. They didn't. They didn't get paid.

We got an on-time budget real fast after that.

John B, Des Moines, IA

I see the Right is working hard to hide the truth once again. Here it is--borrowed money makes up 44% of the budget. ALL NON-MILITARY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING PUT TOGETHER is only 35% of the budget.

Where does the rest of the money come from?

See why the President can't guarantee checks will go out as scheduled

There is money coming in throughout the year. How does he know there will be enough funds on hand to pay out a whole month's of SS checks? He didn't say he couldn't - he said he couldn't guarantee it - that's exactly what I would have said.

OK Bill, if it's so easy why don't you show us how it's done?

On August 2, the federal government will not have enough cash to pay for all of its programs and obligations. The U.S. will take in a total of $172.4 billion in revenue during the month, but its total payments exceed $306 billion, resulting in a $134 billion shortfall. If a debt-limit increase is not approved, the U.S. Treasury will have to choose among 80 million monthly payments and prioritize which programs are funded and which ones are not.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/federal-debt-limit-you-choose-who-gets-paid/

Go to the link and put together a package that'll come in for less than the funds available. It should be very interesting to see your priorities.

The problem I see, with all of this, is that the social security money that we have paid in is supposed to be in a trust fund. If these payments are threatened because of the debt ceiling limit, they are admitting that they have raided it and used it for other things.

I think the American people, not our representatives, but the people should petition our government and the federal reserve for an independent internal audit of what they have spent and why. Then we should decide if anyone needs to be prosecuted for embezzlement. What a scare that would be for our politicians. Seems to me it is our money they are spending. Why shouldn't we know this information?

It won't happen though. People wouldn't stand united in the cause and would bicker over the fairness of it. We let them make laws and do things everyday that we don't agree with, yet we still just go along with them. It happens at every level from city governments all the way up. Hitler's tactics were no different, in the beginning. He just targeted a segment of society to levy laws against, not the whole field. Now our representatives think as long as they are holding everyone (except themselves, of course) to these laws, then we won't see the laws and decisions as unfair and unjust.

Unfortunately we have let it go on too long and the day of reconciling the accounts will be painful for all, when it does happen.

Yeah, too bad we were not looking to do that stuff a year or so ago, right kr?

Just what was Obama, Reid, and Pelosi thinking back then?

As for your oil question - you are not serious, are you? Regulation? Too funny.

the constitution says the debts must be paid?

I wonder if Greece's constitution says the same.

OIL?????

But, but, but didn't President Obama release the Strategic Oil Reserves to keep prices down? Why didn't that work? This guy has not got a clue about economics.

I wish O'Busha would have gotten involved more that a month or two ago. He should have been working on it a year and a half ago.

White Collar Auto - What exactly did BUSH do in years in office to keep the price of oil down? I'm all ears...

WCA: But, but, but didn't President Obama release the Strategic Oil Reserves to keep prices down?

My gosh, that's all been forgotten. This happened eons ago, or a couple weeks, whatever. It's been forgotten just like Obama's and the Democrats promises for his stimulus, their promises for job creation, their non-war war in Libya, their commitment to deficit reduction, their ranting about the Bush tax cuts, only to be followed by the Obama tax cuts, their wonderful health care cost controls with ObamaCare. All promises, all never met, all forgotten by the media.

Think GWB would have gotten away with tapping the SOR and having prices go UP a week later? Not a chance, the media would never let it go.

IAT

Why do you people always assume I will defend everything Bush did. I wasn't happy with him either. He, however, did not ever close down drilling in the gulf.

Wow... and so to have you forgotten that the price of gas has dropped in the past few weeks... wow.. what memories y'all!

JoAnna,

And not a peep from the media. Its like it never happened, did it?

ok i want to rant a bit on not getting ss... i hope to god he cant stop people from getting there ss or ssi or what ever. cause soooo many people needs that income like the elderly people whom having to live off that cause that money pays for some of their nusring home and ect... i really dont know whose worst obama or bush? at least when clinton was in office did put a freeze on gas prices . i just know alot people will be upset.

Dennis, not sure where you live but here prices have risen $0.10 - $0.15 at the pump since the end of last week. Also I am guessing you are overlooking the fact that these strategic reserves get replenished at today's cost. That sure was one hell of a deal: sell 30M bbl we obtained at 1/10th of today's cost for what, two weeks of savings? The only way to stabilize oil prices would be to create a new taxation on oil traders who are ultimately the cause of the wild fluctuations.

O.K. so why doesn't the President and the democrats just give in to the republicans demands so we can get the ceiling raised already?

Geez, now THAT is typical California style thinking! Another new tax. Want some new regulations to go with it?

Well, well, well. Perhaps the powers to be in Washington should take a budgeting class. If you don't have the money, DON'T SPEND IT. Quit sending America's money to all the other countries in the world until the American people's needs are taken care of. There are no jobs here, factories continue to move out of the USA-- try buying only USA made products and I guarantee you will save money -- they are not there. I would ask ---- how have ALL our politicians in Washington come out with such a sweet deal?? They will get their money no matter what -- what about my retired military husband, my 95 year old mother, my in-laws who are down with cancer and in their 80's. These people have worked all their lives for the American Dream, paid into social security only to have the fund raided by the pirates in Washington --- now in their golden years, the "gold" is all in Washington for the political pirates there. At their age they do not need to be worrying what they will do if their earned pensions and social security benefits are stopped, how will they buy food, pay utilities, gas, healthcare. SHAME, SHAME on all of the "leaders" in Washington, they seem worse than most of the prisoners in our prisons, who steal from the working class to further fatten their own golden calf.

Dropped 15-20% here in Illinois....

Gas here in the NorthWest went down about .25 and back up .15 made a real big difference. Yeah right

Obama is definetly a fraud. Pee Wee Herman could do a better job as president than Obama.

Looks to me that there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides. Can't we just recall the lot of them and start over with people who aren't already bought and paid for by the rich?

If we don't get rid of Obama in this next election, I fear for what will become of America.

This poor excuse for a President can get checks cut to bail out Banks and Insurance companies but wants to stop ss checks because he says we are broke? our country was broke before he bailed out all these institutions. the government isn't supposed to put there greedy paws on the social security that fund was supposed to be used for the purpose it was created. If this poor excuse for a leader gets relected this country will not survive 4 more years of his stupidity. AMERICA PLEASE WAKE UP FOR THE PEOPLES SAKE.

The price of gas here has dropped close to 50 cents since the oil reserves were released.

The problem is not that they can't pay the debt, it is that they are increasing the debt. We are borrowing forty cents of every dollar spent. That means that there is sixty cents coming in for every dollar spent. Social Security payments can be paid from that sixty cents. Obama is lying about the payments not being made. This is a typical Democrat scare tactic that they always resort to. The playbook hasn't changed in 60 years. Today Americans don't have to rely on the traditional print and broadcast media to get their information like they did before cable and the Internet, which means that they are not falling for the same old plays this time. This is a bluff by the regime.

Wait a freaking minute.... Never before has congress tied raising the debt ceiling to spending cuts. They have always had a simple bill to raise the debt limit. Period. Now the Republicans are holding the debt increase hostage and demanding that everyone else do what they want done, whether they agree or not, and you are blaming OBAMA? No other president has had to put up with all the SENSELESS BS Obama has. You were paying WAY higher taxes when Reagan was president, but you still want to point the finger at Obama.

You have to know this is wrong. But go ahead if you are that hell bent on destroying the country.

ya promise? (BP reading: 131/81 and rising...) we're the football they're kicking around and ALL parties are responsible. Signing off all the gloom and doom on my laptop and tele. President Obama, you've made your bloody point. Enough already!

Wasn't Bush the first one to start dipping into SS money?

The debt ceiling has been increased 74 times since the JFK administration. THIS TIME it's make or break...doesn't even pass the smell test.

Its truly sad republicans are such children Obama has to be involved at all. Something as mediocre as this should be republicans have turned into a FIASCO. The house is the house the Senate the senate. It is republicans who have brought us to this. What happened to those jobs republicans promised us they would deliver? Hmm? Huh? I cant hear you. You know the ones, they ran there campaigns on it. Saying they would do what Obama cant.. It simply proves the government MUST work together bu republicans refuse to do so. A pitty. It truly is because the people cannot be held responsible for what they do when the checks don't arrive and I DON'T want to see or hear Bonner crying when he and his fellows are strung up by there toes.. ; ]

There! I threw my juice on it

mowdy5000 2011

www.screwem@llharderandfaster.comm

Cheers

It is also clear Bonner has NO idea what he is doing and Cantor is really calling the shots in that duel caucus. Because it is no longer the republican party is it? Nope! The fact is over there you got to many Chiefs and not enough Indians and in the end I'm glad to be a part of watching there downfall unfold. ; ]

There! I threw my juice on it.

mowdy5000 2011

www.c@rlroveisagirlandaweenie.comm

Cheers

what the hell is wrong with the present government? what are the people that depend on ss suppose to do? this is unbelievable. i was suppose to retire and collect ss now that's out of the question. i am so pissed to know that some @!$%#s have ruined everything for a lot of people.we worked all our lives and are getting screwed. but i bet there big salaries haven't changed. hey that's a thought what if you fat politicians take a large pay cut like the rest of us maybe we won't be in such a predictamnet ):

You know why Bonner cry's at the seemingly most inopportune times? When a man shouldn't be crying? Its because of his guilty conscious about being in bed with Norquist and signing a VOW an oath if you will to someone OTHER then the American people. That's treason look it up. The ONLY oath servants of the people should be taking is the oath of there respective office. Bachman and the little guy just proved that in the last two days.. Wake up people. These ignorant republican tea baggers do NOT represent any of the American people. Not when they are swearing oaths to individuals and private groups ABOVE the oaths of office they SWORE on the holy bible. ; ]

There! I threw my juice on it. ; ]

mowdy5000 2011

www.icanscrewuf@ster.comm

Cheers

I agree with Whatabunchofdummies, Its time to clean house, they work for us, we pay their wages. I notice that nothing was said about anyone of them not receiving their checks this month.

I am eighty two years old and I've seen many things, but never anything to match whats going on now in our Government.

Why do many of you fine folks think the prez is for the middle class? My health care has been decimated, I already pay more than 33% income tax, and the price of a gallon of gas is the same as a gallon of milk. I didn't vote for this retard but many retarded people did......

Obama is full of crap, no entitlements have been cut yet. The Dems had the chance to pass a budget and these idiots are now playing the : "throw grandma out in the street game". Hey Libs : Obama is either incompetent or just doesn't care , which one is it?

just stop all the foreign aid and there will be plenty of money for s.s.!!!!!!!!

Will the Washington House of representatives ;Senators etc be paid???????

The solutions are simple really:

Budgets should be made for what is needed, and what is needed should be known and accounted for when making the budget. There should be no rush of spending at the end of the year when EVERY government organization spends every cent of what was left over from their budget on junk like statues and flat screens so that they can justify their budget for the next year. It's time for REAL accounting and accountability in government. We could save billions every year just in requiring actual budgets and accountability.

TERM LIMITS for ALL. In fact, maybe we should just move to a straight Utopian method of only electing those to office who don't want to serve in office. Anyone who wants to spend too much time in government is there for their personal ego and the fringe benefits.

Clean house on the entitlement programs. There is too much fraud, waste and abuse in entitlements, and the biggest fraud, waste and abuse of them all is threatening honest people who are elderly and/or disabled with having no benefits because you are too afraid of forcing those who are abusing the system to be responsible members of society because you require their vote in order to remain in office. It's disgusting that rather than doing the responsible thing they are threatening everyone.

Let's employ some people (some American people). There is no excuse at all for American bridges to be built in China and brought half-way around the world. All government (local, state and federal) transactions should be kept American, not out of some privileged, protectionist idea of American greatness but because every bit of government revenue that leaves this country is a drain on the American economy, and economically speaking, if we don't keep our government dollars in the US, the US population will not be able to continue supporting the spending of the government. That's the trouble we're in now. If the government wants the financial support of the people, the government has to provide financial support to the people, but this cannot only be in the form of kickbacks and entitlements and employing people who half do the jobs they are hired to do and complain when they are expected to take on more responsibility. Every government toilet seat should be an American made toilet seat. Every government screw driver should be an American made screw driver. Every government note should be written on an American made piece of paper. The Chinese made products should be purchased by the public. Don't worry about them--we'll keep spending.

Of course we have to maintain a relationship with China for many reasons (not the least of which being that they are dependent on our economy for their own economy and their present success requires America's continued success until such time as we actually implode because they have all of our money, at which point they will become a middle class driven country whose people expect too much and the big corporations will move to Africa to exploit the cheap labor there, and the cycle will continue, but I digress). It is time for American business to begin again. The banks aren't lending (they were supposed to, but they didn't do it), so getting a business off the ground is difficult, but not impossible. Come up with an idea, pitch it to your friends and family, pool your pennies together and start creating quality American Made products, and while you're at it, employ some people so that they can pay taxes--but employ them at liveable wages, please. There will be no need to increase taxation, if we just get to work again, but we can't go back to our assembly lines or our call centers because those jobs have been outsourced, because the labor is cheaper elsewhere, so we have to redefine ourselves, come up with new ideas that can't be made elsewhere. Obviously, it's protectionist to just slap an American Made label on any cheaply made pair of jeans, so understand that's not what I'm talking about. Make quality. Make quality be the selling point. Build a dishwasher that doesn't fall apart in three years, but lasts twenty, with a warranty to back it up. Make beautiful, one-of-a-kind blankets and charge an arm and a leg for them because they required hours of labor and skill to create. But whatever you do, don't make something that can be made elsewhere for cheaper, otherwise someone will make it elsewhere for cheaper.

Since the idea of collective business-building wasn't big enough in that last paragraph, let me point out once more, we should be looking for ways of supporting each others' ideas. 10% interest on a business loan to your brother is a lot more sound investment than already hyper-inflated paper gold or competing on the stock market with computers that trade in nanoseconds. It is a changing world, and the only way to build security today is to invest in something sound. To invest in anything else but each other right now is only to help the economy implode that much more quickly--that's protectionist, because it's looking out for yourself and not worrying about anyone else unless it's to complain that they aren't doing enough and that they should be willing to do more. Again, no one's taxes would have to be raised if we employed people, but that employment requires ideas and investment in those ideas.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

ItsAboutTime-3704531 -- White Collar Auto - What exactly did BUSH do in years in office to keep the price of oil down? I'm all ears...

Howard Phartz - So is Obama! (ALL EARS.)

To answer the question. Bush increased Oil Supply. What Bush did was exactly what Democratic Party Controlled US Congress demanded after Rejectinghis Requests for Oil Exploration of the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Reserve). The situation being: a. US had 6 months of Strategic Oil Reserves., b.US had just lost 2/3rds of Daily US Oil from Venezuela (US Oil Corporations attempted to start a Civil War with "Jackals" (mercenaries), to stop Venezuelan Oil Nationalization, and the US Oil Corporations got caught after the Civil War failed and the mercenaries traced back to the US. Venezuela stops shipments of Oil to US and kicks out US Oil Corporations)., c. US Congress reappropriated money to 1998 H.R.4655 and tells Bush if you want Oil go to Iraq and get it. Initially, just like President Clinton, 1998 H.R.4655 failed, so the last resort was the use of US Military Force, so using the previously Congressionally approved Intelligence of 1998 H.R.4655 he obtains the US Law and US Congressional Appropriations of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (as soon as the ink dried we were sent to Northern Iraq to live with the Kurdistanis to gain their trust, organize them to fight the Iraqis Military, seize and secure the Northern Iraqis Oil Fields, make the Iraqis Military Command think that the main US Military Forces would come thru US Ally Turkey, so that the Iraqis Military Command would deploy their Main Iraqis Military Forces North of Baghdad (which they did), USAF destroys all Iraqis Electronics using non nuclear E-Bombs especially Iraqis Military Communications to redeploy their Main Forces south to defend against the main US Military Forces coming from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and coordinate a cohesive defense. This is the reason that the main US Military Forces met little opposition, as our two companies of US Military Asymmetric Warfare, and a few companies of Kurdistanis destroyed 6 Full Strength Armor and Mechanized Infantry Divisions North of Baghdad and 2 Full Strength Armor and Mechanized Infantry Divisions that were in Reserve north of Baghdad (unclassified history).

The amount of Oil from the Northern and Southern Iraqis Oil Fields can only be explained in terms that the Canadians, Mexicans, Saudi Arabians, Kuwaitis, etc. had been buying cheap easy to get high grade Iraqis Oil since before the First Gulf War, claiming the Iraqis Oil as their own, and selling the Iraqis Oil to the US for high profits, this is why many that knew what was happening were/are demanding Chemical Oil Tagging of Iraqis Oil, to stop the Canadians, Mexicans, Saudi Arabians, Kuwaitis, etc. "Oil Laundrying" of Iraqis Oil. This was defeated by the Rich Oil Corporation Lobbyists at US Congress and influence at the United Nations.

Further increasing Oil Supply, President Bush imposes Sanctions and Embargoes against Gaddaffi (shipping of Libyan Oil to Europeans) and gives the required time for the Sanctions and Embargoes to become effective. The terms were: a. Gaddaffi must give upWMDs (turned over to US)., b. Denounce Terrorism (it was individual Libyan citizens exercising freedom of speech cheering the release of the Lockerbie bomber)., c. No longer pursue Nuclear Power Plants (French were trying to sell their Nuclear Power Plants and advanced Fighter Aircraft to Gaddaffi)., d. Cooperate with the President's Executive Intelligence Agency (CIA) against Terrorists., e. Increase of Human Rights (later praised by the UN and African Union (UA))., f. etc..

Gaddaffi did all of the above and even more (Women's Rights that inflamed the Islamic World)* and became a "Collaborator" to the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers (everyone else) and by Current Islamic Laws must "Die A Horrible Murdering".

*the even more included, 1. having his Libyan Military actively go after Al Quada and the Libyan Islamic Fighters Group at Libya triggering the "Revolution", 2. Free Medical, Dental, Vision for all Libyan Citizens, 3. Free Education including Doctorate Degrees and Medical Degrees external to Libya, 4. Fuel Subsidizes to make gasoline affordable for Libyan Citizens at .33 cents per gallon., 5. Subsidized vehicle purchases for Libyan Citizens to make at cost, 6. Free housing for married couples, 7. Libyan Oil Nationalization to keep the majority of the Libyan Oil Profits at Libya instead of into the pockets of the Rich European Oil Corporations (causing the Rich Oil Corporations demanding Gaddaffi's Overthrow to stop his Oil Nationalization), 8., Subsidized food, to decrease the Libyan Citizens Cost of Living and increasing their Quality of Life. 9. Gaddaffi using his Libyan Oil Nationalization to make Libya Free of all Debts. 10. etc..

So according to Arabic Al Jazeera (not the censored English) Praising Al Quada Saudi Arabia (AQ), Al Quada Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al Quada Syria (AQS), Al Quada Yemen (AQY), Al Quada Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Hezbollah, etc. going to Libya to assist the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG, aka the "Rebels") to Overthrow Gaddaffi the Collaborator to the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers before the start of the Insurrection (aka "Rebellion").

President Obama undid everything President Bush did to increase the Supply of US Oil. 2011, King of Saudi Arabia, "President Obama gave Iraq to Iran on a Golden Platter" (so now Saudi Arabia has hostile Nations to the north and south, with US turning backs on Saudi Arabia's requests for US Military Assistance against Fundamentalist Islamic Iran's increased Sphere of Influence, Strategic Goal of getting US and US Allies out of the Middle East and Africa, with the support of the Chinese and Russian Federation). Resulting in the loss by the US and US Allies of the Iraqis Northern and Southern Oil Field Contracts to Fundamentalist Islamic Iran's Allies, the Chinese and Russian Federation. Loss of the Libyan Oil to the Chinese as sold by the Rebels to Qatar, Qatar selling Libyan Oil to the Chinese. King of Saudi Arabia demanding US Military Assistance in stopping Fundamentalist Islamic Iran from controlling all the Shipping via the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, President Obama sends Sec Def Gates, nothing done. Thru negotiations with the Muslim Brotherhood at Alexandria Egypt prior to the Egyptian Revolution, Fundamentalist Islamic Iran gains access and control of the Suez Canal and Egyptian Ports for increased access to Gaza, Palestine, and closer to their enemy Israel.

Unfortunely, being a US Military Officer involved with the Middle East since the 1980s, all of this was like watching a slow motion car crash, making everything we sacrificed our lives for a complete waste of our time and lives. I am so glad that in two years we will be "too old" to be recalled anymore for "Matters of National Security" and it will be someone else's turn to "Deal with it". The someone else being the 92% of US Citizens that have never Served in the US Military that talk smack about the 1% of US Citizens currently serving the US Military. The 92% based on not having any experience, training, nor researched knowledge.

It is soooo funny to see how brainwashed many of you remain even in the face of blatent fact. It is Obama who wishes to compromise it is Obama who gives in to republican tea bagging demands. It is republicans and tea baggers who walk out call names attack personally and simply refuse to compromise at all for the greater good of this nation. Democrats hold the senate and the white house a MAJORITY of the government. Obama was elected by a LAND SLIDE that means the right is the minority so they will be lucky to get anything.

But the president breaks his back bending to there demands and for what? Utter disrespect and anti Americanism from the right. Pathetic indeed. Republicans should really look up from kissing Cantor butt so well and see it isn't all about Obama. It is about people, the American people the elderly children middle class and poor. YOUR neighbors. But still so many are just made to follow. We all can see you all need to be told what to do and those telling you to do it are the irresponsible pushers of the propaganda in question. Do you think the Germans at first knew they were being led astray with propaganda? huh.. Hmm. You don't say. The fact is none of you will EVER be leaders or a boss or rich because your too busy being told what to do right or wrong you do it like good little mind wipes. If that's all you can think up I feel sorry for you all. I feel for you that your simply unable to think on your own and I'll keep praying for you all. ; ]

There! I threw my juice on it

mowdy5000 2011

www.screwedu@ndyoulikedit.comm

Cheers

It's so funny when you give something to the poor it's called a handout so what is it called when given to the RICH ? Why should Obama give into what the GOP want, let them cause the Default we all know exactly why and will VOTE them out, Obama needs to take a way harder stance like TAX increases and doing away with any personal TAX deduction period, Frankly Obama needs to grow a pair.

Wasn't Bush the first one to start dipping into SS money?

citizen-plain, nope that wasn't Bush, it was Reagan. And before you start crying about the GOP, every DNC Pres since Ronald has done the very same thing. Pretty easily verified but I guess it still feels that much better to blame Dubya for everything huh?

OK folks let's get some things cleared up. Why do you think it is so important that Obama wants to tax "the rich" as he puts it. He wants to destroy capitalism and replace it with his socialist agenda. He wants to burden businesses who employ you with such outrageous tax increases and regulations that they have no choice but to move to more favorable countries. Is that what you liberals want? You may blame republicans all you want but it is this president's watch now and he hasn't done anything to create new jobs. His agenda is to destroy them.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His stimulus was to give all his socialist groups money and help companies like GE and the auto industries WHO ARE HIS UNION supporters.

Obama has no thought of who it is he let's starve to death by cutting their social security payments, all he cares about is his own selfish life style and his own political future. He jets around all over the place and never does one single good thing for this nation, while tax payers pay the bill. At least these rich people he refers to pay for their own jets.

Lu-1328381,

Those are nice academic solutions; however, in the real world they do not work.

As far as the US Politicians, Entitlements (Social Security and Medicare are NOT entitlements, they are US Citizen Contributory Funds), etc. that will not work.

Until you select Congressional Representatives at Random like Jury Duty (a Civic Duty). Paid the National Average of the "Middle Class". Yes, Term Limits. Lobbyists, Special Interest Groups 100% Illegal. Housing for them owned by States at cheaper Virginia (they are responsible for their own transportation to and from work at D.C.). Benefits like US Military that end upon completion of successful Service. Elimination of the Electoral College. Votes of No Confidence. etc..

As far as Businesses, it is more difficult to even start a business in the US due to: a. The acres of Local, State, Federal Regulations and required Business Licenses (that cost money). b. The written opposition by US Labor Unions since the 1980s to those US Technologies that enable the US Businesses to create products of low Acceptable Fault Tolerances (low acceptable fault tolerances are the physical measure of high "Quality") as to why many US Corporations have left the US. c. The current taxes (Local, State, and Federal) will prevent you from balancing your Payroll ("Fair Living Wages") and Benefits for your Employees and other Business Costs. d. And currently with the doubt that President Obama is causing you cannot even guess what the cost for each employee is, so that you cannot be fiscally responsible for your Business's Budget (why Businesses like my small to medium are not hiring). e. The Stated Propaganda of Taxing the Wealthy, is simple, most of the "Wealthy" will just leave the US so that those that remain can receive their rationed one can of dog food a week from President Obama during the upcoming worse than Great Depression US, since he has still not reinstated the Glass Steagall Acts (this should have been his Number One Priority) and NOT the Health Care Reform to get his 1 Billion USDs in "Unlimited Corporate Campaign Contributions" (that his buddy, "Mr.Corporate America" negotiated with the US Supreme Court, 2010). f. just a fact you tax my successful business to death, I will sell off my fixed assets of MY Business (my Wealth, aka the Rich), layoff my US Employees, close my Business, and take the losses as a lesson learned the hardway. g. Then I will take a "Business Trip" to another Nation with taxes of 6-9% and restart my business. h. To the uninformed out there, my hiring you, and providing you a well paying job is NOT an Entitlement. You did not risk any of your money to start MY business (my ideas not yours), so do not act like you did contribute anything to my business as a bunch of entitlement babies (crying, whining and sh!tting yellow in your diapers).

Hint: If any of you that want to be hired by my Business Manager (I got recalled to Active Duty and Deployed a while ago) for my Business start spouting that bullsh!t "Tax the Rich", as you are bitting the hand that feeds you (that would have hired you), keep on walking to the Unemployment Office line. I need about 50 more people to open up my third Business in a third State (we search for cognative reasoning skills, we teach the technical skills).

The scary part of this story is people were led to believe this was our great future leader, by other people who are elected officals. These people will be there when Obama is gone, if checks are going to be witheld let it be those people and their staffs, and see how long they stay in washington. Shut down three or four carriers and withhold their pay and see how long he remains cic and tell China we're broke and can't pay them back the millons we pay them yearly. I would like to see ss pre Johnson era where the money is used for what is was intended.

Whats socialist isn't Obama. Whats socialist is a party of the governments two party system holding the economy hostage until it gets EVERYTHING it want's the rest be damned. Our government works by us the people electing people to represent the people NOT there party. To represent the common interest of ALL Americans period. That always I repeat always takes compromise. Guess who isn't compromising. By the way tell us all here in all of your "wisdom" what has Obama done that socialist? I'll tell you what Bush did. Gave us the BIGGEST debt ever the BIGGEST government ever and gave a stimulus against the will of the people to wall street. That was Bush. Government jobs have been cut by 500 000 under Obama so again what has he done so socialist? Helping the average worker afford health care so they do not get sick and die? Hmm. Nice try but you keep coming off of the mind wipe series son.

There! I threw my juice on it

mowdy5000 2011

www.screwu@llrawandhard.comm

Cheers

To all of you self-righteous minded nut jobs, stop collapsing posts. Everything in these Blogs is BS anyway, so why do you feel some need to be collapsed. We still have free speech in this country, and no matter how obnoxious, stupid, or irrelevant a comment may be, it has the same right as any other comment to be left alone.

By the way, as an incentive for stopping the collapsing, every time I see a "collapsed by the community" post, that is the first one I open and read, and ignore some of the non-collapsed posts. Thus, your purpose for collapsing posts is backfiring. SO STOP DOING IT!!

To all of you who hate Obama even though he was elected by a landslide and didn't have to sue to win why is your focus so limited? Do you not understand republicans are tanking the economy at Americans expense? You do you just don't care cause deep down your a racist period. Because none of you can focus on anyone or anything but making and hoping Obama fails. Why do you think that is? Why do you think the republican party has done things since he was elected overwhelmingly that know one has ever seen except in Bangkok or India somewhere?

Obama has actually accomplished many of his campaign promises but it is republicans who have done nothing. Whats there record under Obama? They hold the house now what have they done? Oh YEAH! Ohio and Wisconsin come to mind and stupid abortion bills when they claimed they would create the jobs Obama never did. Only the only jobs the government can EVER create are government jobs which republicans are opposed to which proves they are not only hypocrites but blatant liars. Because they "claim" they hate big government. So it proves they will say and do anything to gain power and you buy into every day. I feel sorry for you. Because I hold true conservative and liberal values and belong to NO party but voted both ways many times over the years. But you dolts continuing to blindly follow the blind deserve what you reap because it is what you have sewn. ; ]\

There! I threw my juice on it

mowdy500 2011

www.screwu@llasfastasIcan.comm

Cheers

I belive that 95% of the B.S. written here balances the 95% that comes out of D.C.

All I know is My Grandmother & Grandfather Deserve There Money, My Grandfather workerd for more than 69 yrs before he retired....This is Horrible and If you cant see nothing but Color in the Mist of all of these Happenings I really feel sorry for you...Im so Happy I have Jesus that I dont see color because we were all made from dirt......He will Bless us and we will be ok....Now If you dont know the GOD I serve you wont know what Im talking about........I just ask you Lord to watch Over everyone in the Country right now even the PPl who brought this upon us for They No not what they Do........Thanks You Jesus for I will Let you Have it your Way.

Hey Mowdy, is it more difficult for you to breathe after Obama has a cheeseburger or a bean pie?

Great posts Lu and David - now if you can squeeze it onto a bumper sticker and slap it on the back of a Prius you might just get through to some of these Bolsheveks. Otherwise, not a prayer, your reasoning is too complex and rooted in self-responsibility to have any effect.

Mr. 885, your irrelevance becomes you. Your lack of topical conversation would offend me had you not made it about me. So thanks. My narcissism demands it.

There! I threw my juice on it

mowdy5000 2011

www.all@boutmeandnotyou.comm

Cheers

Ok Jody both White Collar and I posted the scoop on actual costs above.

I don't suppose you'd care to comment or dispute the fact that you are wrong, do you?

But I do like fire, and especially lighting stuff on fire. It really is a hoot. Old christmas trees are the best.

Jody, Iowa: While the GOPTP treats the debt ceiling as a game, this is NO joke.

So when is Obama going to start the talks with the Republicans? They haven't started yet, still waiting for Obama and the Democrats to come up with a plan they can support. Sure, Obama has come with catchy little phrases like "Big deal, " "shared sacrifice," "balanced approach," and "eating our peas". But a plan is a set of steps that achieves a certain goal. So where is that plan Obama? Or is it your intention to just threaten seniors?

The Biden group put together a plan. The GOP decided they couldn't support the removal of tax breaks for buying corporate jets, oil companies and other little things that add up big.

We had a balanced budget under Clinton with a GOP congress. Why did the GOP throw out the balanced budget in 2001 under Bush?

My neighbor stuffed their old Christmas tree in their fireplace one year to burn it. Burned down half their house. Not that there is any correlation, but I remember they thought Jimmy Carter was a great President.

JoAnnaSmith1 and Spanky: Acting stupid is really ugly; being stupid is even uglier.

Joanna, they were talking and did have a plan for cutting about 2 trillion dollars from the deficit with the Biden talks. Your GOP hero's poo pooed that idea , then they wanted along with Obama a 4 trillion dollar cut....then again they (GOP) poo pooed that , now they again talking about a 2 trillion dollar cut which the original talks were about.....how long till they poo poo that for the 3rd time........???? So next time you run your mouth about something that you show you know nothing about try using that brain god gave you for once and speak some sense instead of the junk that flows from your face instead.........Ya show what ya know lady and its about anything but impressive

Regulator: The GOP decided they couldn't support the removal of tax breaks for buying corporate jets, oil companies and other little things that add up big.

So do tell. What do they add up to?

Screaming about the "Disasterous Consequences" wasn't successful enough at scaring people so BO has decided to make it personal by evoking Social Security. Is anybody surprised? It has been one fear tactic after another since day 1 of this administration ... "give me $1 trillion for bailouts or else".

Spanky- Ok Jody both White Collar and I posted the scoop on actual costs above. and where did you post the scoop? didn't show up on my computer.

Obama has attempted to compromise with the republicans many times now. He has repeatedly shown during these negotiations that he is willing to make significant spending cuts and to take heat from his own party in order to get this deal done. He has only asked that there be shared responsibility and sacrifice from BOTH sides. This means that the republicans will have to budge and allow for some revenue increases. Most economists agree that the only way out of our current predicament is to both increase revenue and cut spending, but the tea party morons will not budge an inch to get a reasonable deal done. It doesn't matter how ridiculous the tax loopholes are, they will not agree to ANY proposal put forward by Obama. And because they currently have the republican leadership by the balls, no deal will be done. Fortunately anyone who is paying attention will know exactly who to blame when the time comes... the tea party.

#5.3

reference #5.3

The 2001 budget was Bill Clintons.

Regulator, There was never a balanced budget under Clinton you fool. He just raided the SS trust fund to make it look balanced on paper. Man, I can't believe there are still people that stupid who believe that crap. But then, you and they are probably the ones who were stupid enough to vote for the liar in chief.

So do these people in Washington included the idiot in chief realize that we are actually the ones that contribute to their paychecks? The people at least the ones that are legal citizens of the United States have paid into Social Security since they started working. Explain to me why you have the right to take away the money that retired people already paid into the system that means that you are stealing their money while we are sending foreign aid to Pakistan! I do hope that Congress the Senate and BO plan on giving up their paychecks until they straighten this mess out as NONE of them are doing the job they were hired for. Elections are coming up how many of these less than intelligent people can we fire. And oh a suggestion lets start entitlement cuts with anyone not BORN in the US don't give aid or assistance to foreigners that take away from those who paid into the system and in many cases their parents and grandparents. GET ALL ILLEGALS OUT OF THE UNITED STATES THAT WOULD HELP CUT DOWN ON MEDICAID AND FOOD STAMPS. These groups that want to bring the refugees into the United States let them support them!

I agree the illegal immigration issue is a huge problem in this country. Why hasn't Obama done anything on that yet?

MSNBCLIES

Regulator, There was never a balanced budget under Clinton you fool. He just raided the SS trust fund to make it look balanced on paper. Man, I can't believe there are still people that stupid who believe that crap. But then, you and they are probably the ones who were stupid enough to vote for the liar in chief.

You sir, speak like a boor with nothing but canned rhetoric and trolling to contribute. If you are going to accuse others of being fools and idiots, you should make sure you have your facts straight.

President Clinton's surplus budget, often cited by liberals, was not a result of raiding Social Security, but it also was not the accomplishment many claim. It was a result of a combination of tax increases and spending cuts, but mostly due to a large unexpected increase in tax revenues due to the booming economy as a result of the dot com era. President Clinton's budget would have shown a surplus even if Social Security revenue had not been included. (source: factcheck org)

By the way, every recent president has included the Social Security surplus (when we had it) to make their deficits appear smaller.

From this last statement from the President I would have to say that he is more than willing to play politics with the debt ceiling.

msnbclies,

put down the crack pipe man.

No Amnesty -

Because then he would end up with virtually no votes at all come election time. He's lost much of his base. The college students won't make that mistake again as they can't find work. And the independents have found out just how much he lied to get their votes.

MSNBCLIES

Regulator, There was never a balanced budget under Clinton you fool. He just raided the SS trust fund to make it look balanced on paper. Man, I can't believe there are still people that stupid who believe that crap. But then, you and they are probably the ones who were stupid enough to vote for the liar in chief.

Oh, they are that stupid, huh. I think you are the fool!

http://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-budget-and-deficit-under-clinton/

No SS checks no house payment made, I will remember at the polls keep it up republicans and lose all your gains, don't piss off the retired. oh by the way when Clinton was in we were adding to the Social Security fund.

Dave-1821192,

Factcheck.org is NOT a valid source of Facts, do the real research into factcheck.org by following the money. You think that the factcheck.org website can be run without money.

President Clinton's "Budget Surplus" ("I did not have sex with that woman" (his cum stains on her blue dress)). Was due to US Congress sandbagging the US Budget with more money than could be spent (your so called "unexpected" revenues). President Clinton's Gutting the US Intelligence Agencies (some within the "Community" say it was because the former Director of the CIA was President Bush (41)), resulting in the US having to rely on potentially hostile Intelligence from other Nations (ulterior motives) that was non credible and non verifiable - US Congressional 9/11 Committee. AND President Clinton's Cut to the Bone Reduction In Forces (RIF) of the US Military, as US Military Asymmetric Forces also independently verify Intelligence information resulting in the niches for the expensive US Contractors (looked nice on paper getting rid of US Military Personnel for Political Propaganda purposes); closure of 14 US Military Installations that resulted in near Great Depression Era US Civilian Economies of those towns and cities around those closed US Military Installations, with many US Civilians and US Contractors fleeing those areas resulting in less local Revenue, and no more money spent resulting in layoffs and closures of local businesses of: Restaurants, Fast Food, Car Dealerships, Service Stations, Schools (and Teachers), Theaters, Retailers, Real Estate, etc..

Just wait until President Obama's RIF of 27,000 US Military Personnel occurs you will see just how many US Civilians it took to support the 27,000 US Military Personnel as 27,000 US Military Personnel + xxx,xxx US Civilians laid off = xxx,xxx Unemployed. As the Federal Active US Military Personnel cannot by US Laws be used to secure the US Borders, cannot be absorbed by the US States National Guard, and against President Obama's Policy (April 2009, August 2009), "US Military will not be used to secure US Borders". Once again Political Propaganda looks nice on paper, until Reality hits (doing the same Historically documented Mistakes and expecting a different result).

The REAL indicator of the US Economy is the National Debt and the Interest on the National Debt (a smaller more comprehendable number):

From the Democratic National Committee (numbers that backfired on them so they hid them):

President Clinton's Interest on the National Debt: $18.9 Billion

President Bush's Interest on the National Debt: $16.6 Billion

OK Fred 3739743 If I remember right he also took a bite out of it for a pet project. Congress under Democratic control has loaded it down with every give-a-way known to man with out increasing the funding. It was originally for retirement as when it passed Americans were not making enough to live on much less save for retirement. since then every step child Idea has been added leaving it with too much a burden to survive.

Will someone tell me why EVERY time a bill is put before the Congress that some dolt has to attach riders, amendments and separate issues to it? Why has the debt ceiling issue cluttered by the budget fight when both parties know that it is essential to the financial future of the nation?

Example: Don't send out the checks for the Veterans Pensions, the Social Security, the Disabled, etc. Who is going to pay their rents and mortgages? How will the landlords pay their taxes and sundry bills AND their mortgages and loans? How will the banks and lending institutions deal with the flood of failed mortgages? Then, when the stock market REALLY crashes the Democrats and Republicans BOTH will have sore index fingers while half of America starves to death.

My biggest fear is that the newbies in Congress will force a holdout until the last moment and submit a bill which the President will be forced to accept (damaging the entire system of SSI, etc.) or refuse which will show the Republicans that they and their supporters will suffer along with the middle classmen that they have deserted. Invest in funeral homes and grave sites right now because a lot of them will be needed.

lazulio2 - Will someone tell me why EVERY time a bill is put before the Congress that some dolt has to attach riders, amendments and separate issues to it? Why has the debt ceiling issue cluttered by the budget fight when both parties know that it is essential to the financial future of the nation?

Are you just throwing that out there as a question or do you want real researched facts.

Example: To get his 1 Billion USDs of "Unlimited Corporate Campaign Contributions" President Obama sent his THE PRESIDENT’S PROPOSAL February 22, 2010 to US Congress to be included into the Health Care Reform Act (US Law). In The President's Proposal were the $67 Billion USDs for the Insurance Industry, $20 Billion USDs for the Medical Device Industry, and $23 Billion USDs for the Pharmaschutical Industry, under the source of New Revenues Section. With the US Taxpayers getting the Bill of $1.7 Trillion USDs (adjusted for Inflation $2.1 Trillion USDs).

Example: As attached to a Proposed US Law (A Bill) that would have to be passed. Then Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi attaches special appropriations to Samoa. With the main industry and business at Samoa being StarKist. StarKist being a major campaign contributor and major constiuent of Nancy Pelosi. The House then passes a US Law Restricting (Regulation) the US Fishing Industry on the East Coast of the US (does not affect the European over Fishing of the Atlantic) resulting in the competition of StarKist, Beachcliff closing their East Coast Canneries.

lazulio2 - Don't send out the checks for the Veterans Pensions, the Social Security, the Disabled, etc.

Most people do not give a sh!t if they do not fit into those categories nor will they bother to do the research as to the repercussions. Just like I stated about President Obamas Reduction In Forces of The US Military at post# 5.21. This can be clearly seen with the Tobacco Money, being spent by US States on everything and anything except for the Medical Treatments of those that used the Products as it was a Class Action Product Liability Lawsuit, since most do not fit into this category they do not give a sh!t (demanding that the Politicians that they elected adhere to the "Intent" of the Settlement, not their selfserving interpretations).

Jody, I will bet that all union workers will get their checks from the gov't.

Pat In california the teachers union are the ones screwing the students. Governor Moonbeam and the democrats sat down with the teachers union and passed a budget. The new law says that if their isn't enough money the schools have to operate at a deficit and raise tuition and book costs on the state schools to make sure the teachers union get their money. california is a dem state how can you blame anyone else but the dems and the unions for screwing the students.

For the both of you have you ever seen Jeff Dunham the ventriloquist. If so his puppet Walter has the perfect name for you.

David, considering that factcheck.org calls out BOTH sides for lies, half-truths etc I trust it a heck of a lot farther than some of the other websites that are quoted around here - like the heritage foundation and other websites that ADMIT OPENLY that they are run by conservative think tanks. Then again, the ultra-conservative part of our society would only believe "facts" presented by those outlets because either they a) don't WANT the facts to interrupt their dreams of taking over the country, b) couldn't recognize a fact if their lives depended on it, c) are so brainwashed by some conservative commentators that they think ONLY those commentators know the truth or d) just don't care about facts.

Thank You David for the info. My primary question was, "Why can't they send a bill through Congress without attaching other bills and amendments?" It would simplify the understanding of the question to the American Public and avoid all the confusion of support and objection. Not all Americans are college grads.

Were each bill worked upon, the trade-offs could always be in the deciding of parallel bills. Were bills to be taken In the order in which they were submitted instead of the pick and choose system now used, this would be possible.

It's funny how you left off how much was spent in the last two and a half years. About two years of it was when the democrats were in complete power. You also didn't mention how Obama was so against raising the debt ceiling a couple of years ago. Yes, Bush and the republicans spent a lot but your president is spending like a drunken sailor (no offense to drunken sailors)! All parties are to blame so stop blaming just one. Cut the out of control spending and stop spoon feeding the lazy people who just keep coming back for more. What happened before welfare and all of these other programs? You found work, even if it was "below you", and you made money to support your family! You didn't rely on the almighty gov't to give you everything.

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

Pat, typical liberal garbage. Use your own figures and you will see that Obama has increased the debt more in 2 1/2 yrs than Bush did in 8 yrs. You liberals are all the same, Bush did it, so Obama can do it. Some way we have to quit spending money we don't have. The government, like you and me, can not keep increasing their debt limit. So now the President once again starts trying to use "scare tactics" by threatening to withhold Social Security and retirement checks. If congress votes now for a debt limit increase without cuts in spending we will be going through this again down the road. By the way, even with the extension of the so called "Bush tax cuts", (they actually belong to Obama now) the government is taking in more revenue during the 1st 3 qtrs of this FY than last year's FY. (8.5% more according to the government). Individual taxes increased by 24% over the same period as last year through the first 3 qtrs.

sfcret. If you don't agree with Pat's comment, why don't you show all of us how Obama increased the debt more in 2 1/2 years than Bush did in 8 years? Where are you're figures to back up this claim? Where is the voting record? If you are going to discredit someone else's figures, you may want to consider having your own.

You are right about one thing.. The United States Government needs to STOP spending money we simply do not have.

i love it how dishonesty comes so naturally to teabaggers.

specially when they claim that obama just waltzed into the white house and decided to just spend spend spend. never mind they were one time expenditures. tarp? nope, republicans didnt vote for that. bank bailouts? nope, we spend that every other month. stimulus? was one third tax cuts, but never mind that.

oh, and lets ignore the facts that historically, democrats have balanced budget and republicans have destroyed them. EVERY single time.

oh and lets just forget that disproportionally lowering taxes to favor the rich has NOT created jobs, and has NOT created growth, and has steadily increased the income gap between the rich and the poor.

lets forget all that. as long as we get up on the podium and shout some stuff about jesus christ and patriotism, we can keep taking from the poor to give to the rich.

ps. sfcret: id love to see where you got those numbers...

fuzzy math, correct he did raise debt,but the total in 2 years in fact is not more than bush 8years.make your point ,be accurate on facts.

You are right about one thing.. The United States Government needs to STOP spending money we simply do not have.

More importantly, the government needs to collect more revenue from those who do have it. Mainly, "too big to fail" corporations who get subsidies and pay little to no taxes, aren't hiring, and are sitting on record profits.

bpalmer. I have always loved the quote you quoted..Teach a man to fish, etc.....But, if there were jobs, jobs, jobs, that man would be able to work and feed his whole family. So, bring the jobs back to the United States and guess what we would have.. a nation of working souls. Then the fish you mentioned wouldn't have to be split into so many ways.