Budget 2012+/-

[Michael Scally MD]

Paul Ryan's slasher novel
Opinion: Paul Ryan's slasher novel - Michael Kinsley - POLITICO.com

MICHAEL KINSLEY
4/12/11

The fiscal savior of this country will be the person who persuades us to bite the bullet: Accept some pain now to remain prosperous later. That person will not be Rep. Paul Ryan.

The reviewers agree: The Path to Prosperity, http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFile...rityFY2012.pdf , aka the Republican budget proposal for 2012 that was released a week ago by the House Budget Committee — which Ryan chairs — is one helluva read. To liberals, it’s the nightmare of a madman with an ax chasing you down a long hallway. To conservatives, it’s a sweet dream of wonderland, where angels dine on Heritage Foundation press releases. Right or wrong, it is said, Ryan has at last set the stage for an honest debate about government spending and the federal deficit.

But he hasn’t. The Path to Prosperity purports to be something that’s been missing since Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address in 1981. For 30 years, Republicans have demanded a balanced budget without producing one, even on paper. What would it look like? Whose ox would be gored? Whose chickens would come home to roost? Whose goose would be cooked? Ryan continues the long GOP tradition of evading these unpleasant questions. You would think, reading the document, that the only reason we have fiscal problems is the willful perversity or ignorance of everybody but Ryan. He admits to no ordeal or challenge. In effect, he claims he can painlessly cut $5.8 trillion from federal spending in the next decade. How has Ryan built his reputation as a hero of fiscal discipline? Here are some of his techniques. Watch closely.

[Michael Scally MD]

Historic Spending Cuts the Centerpiece for Final Continuing Resolution (CR) for Fiscal Year 2011
Committee on Appropriations


WASHINGTON, D.C. – The final Continuing Resolution (CR) legislation for fiscal year 2011 unveiled today by House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers contains historic spending cuts of nearly $40 billion, and will provide funding to keep the federal government operating for the remainder of the fiscal year. The passage of the bill in the House and Senate will mark the end of an arduous and long-overdue budget process initiated by the failure of the previous Democrat-controlled Congress to pass a budget or enact a single one of the 12 annual Appropriations bills last year.

“Never before has any Congress made dramatic cuts such as those that are in this final legislation. The near $40 billion reduction in non-defense spending is nearly five times larger than any other cut in history, and is the result of this new Republican majority’s commitment to bring about real change in the way Washington spends the people’s money,” Chairman Rogers said.

“My committee went line-by-line through agency budgets this weekend to negotiate and craft deep but responsible reductions in virtually all areas of government. Our bill targets wasteful and duplicative spending, makes strides to rein in out-of-control federal bureaucracies, and will help bring our nation one step closer to eliminating our job-crushing level of debt.” Chairman Rogers continued.

[Michael Scally MD]

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND REFORM [SIMPSON BOWLES]
http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/site...h12_1_2010.pdf

[Michael Scally MD]

Text of Obama Speech on the Deficit
Text of Obama Speech on the Deficit - Washington Wire - WSJ

[Michael Scally MD]

Are We Moving Beyond the Welfare State?
Yuval Levin’s new essay in the current National Affairs, “Beyond the Welfare State”, endorses a new vision of radical reductions in government’s social insurance function. In a new series, David Frum examines Levin’s ideas and the implications for politics and policy.
http://www.frumforum.com/are-we-movi...-welfare-state

[Michael Scally MD]

Yes, as through this world I ramble
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

YouTube - Pretty Boy Floyd - Woody Guthrie

YouTube - Pretty Boy Floyd - Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie - Pretty Boy Floyd

If you'll gather 'round me, children,
A story I will tell
'Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw,
Oklahoma knew him well.

It was in the town of Shawnee,
A Saturday afternoon,
His wife beside him in his wagon
As into town they rode.

There a deputy sheriff approached him
In a manner rather rude,
Vulgar words of anger,
An' his wife she overheard.

Pretty Boy grabbed a log chain,
And the deputy grabbed his gun;
In the fight that followed
He laid that deputy down.

But a many a starving farmer
The same old story told
How the outlaw paid their mortgage
And saved their little homes.

Others tell you 'bout a stranger
That come to beg a meal,
Underneath his napkin
Left a thousand dollar bill.

It was in Oklahoma City,
It was on a Christmas Day,
There was a whole car load of groceries
Come with a note to say:

Well, you say that I'm an outlaw,
You say that I'm a thief.
Here's a Christmas dinner
For the families on relief.

Yes, as through this world I ramble
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

And as through your life you travel,
Yes, as through your life you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home.

[Michael Scally MD]

The Economic Effects of the Ryan Plan: Assuming the Answer?
Macroadvisers: The Economic Effects of the Ryan Plan: Assuming the Answer?

[Michael Scally MD]

YouTube - CNN: Democrat Joseph Crowley's 'speechless' speech

YouTube - CNN: Democrat Joseph Crowley's 'speechless' speech

[Michael Scally MD]

Civility is the Last Refuge of Scoundrels
Civility is the Last Refuge of Scoundrels - NYTimes.com

Paul Krugman
April 16, 2011, 9:08 AM

At the beginning of last week, the commentariat was in raptures over the Serious, Courageous, Game-Changing Ryan plan. But now that the plan has been exposed as the cruel nonsense it is, what we’re hearing a lot about is the need for more civility in the discourse. President Obama did a bad thing by calling cruel nonsense cruel nonsense; he hurt Republican feelings, and how can we have a deal when the GOP is feeling insulted? What we need is personal outreach; let’s do lunch!

The easy, and perfectly fair, shot is to talk about the hypocrisy here; where were all the demands for civility when Republicans were denouncing Obama as a socialist, accusing him of creating death panels, etc..? Why is it OK for Republicans to accuse Obama of stealing from Medicare, but not OK for Obama to declare, with complete truthfulness, that those same Republicans are trying to dismantle the whole program?

Beyond that, are we dealing with children here? Is one of our two major political parties run by people so immature that they will refuse to do what the country needs because the president hasn’t been nice to them?

But the main point is, what are we supposed to have a civil discussion about? The truth is that the two parties have both utterly different goals and utterly different views about how the world works.

It’s not nice to say this (but the truth is rarely nice): whatever they may say, Republicans are not concerned, above all, about the deficit. In fact, it’s not clear that they care about the deficit at all; they’re trying to use deficit concerns to push through their goal of dismantling the Great Society and if possible the New Deal; they have stated explicitly that they want to reduce taxes on high incomes to pre-New-Deal levels. And it’s an article of faith on their part that low taxes have magical effects on the economy.

Obama believes that the major social insurance programs are a good thing, and has extended them with health reform. Some of the best-known research by his chief economist is his work debunking claims that tax cuts for the rich pay for themselves - http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/aust...search/laf.pdf - http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/aust...ch/taxrich.pdf

So what is there to talk about?

[james2012]

S&P Slashes Outlook on U.S. to 'Negative' Amid Soaring Debt - FoxBusiness.com

Yep, I'd call this Change. Thanks Obambi.