One World Power?
Another NYT post spurred me into thinking again why must the US be THE world power. Who decided that and how do we get out of it? That is what this post is all about. I love how the article … Continue reading One World Power?
Tag: Spending
Cutting Taxes Is The Easy Part…
As the new header says the GOP just loves to cut taxes but that is the easy part. They just don’t seem to be up to the more difficult part of cutting spending, or at least cutting it where a majority in Congress will agree. They most often propose to cut entitlements as they call them. Those are things that help the average citizen along in life. Things like Social Security, food for the poor, healthcare for those who can’t afford it are near the top of the chopping block list for them. They don’t seem to realize that we are … Continue reading Cutting Taxes Is The Easy Part…
Simplicity…
  I came across this post from about three years ago that seems to apply to my recent posts on tiny houses and simplicity.  Take a look… I think it applies more today than it did even three years ago… Click on the image below to go there. Continue reading Simplicity…
Walking The Plank…
I dread to think about how our totally politicized Supreme Court is going to rule on the latest attack on affordable healthcare for almost ten million of us.  Will they essentially make those folks walk the plank as Steve Sack shows in this editorial cartoon. It is widely known that most of the yahoos on the court vote primarily on their political alignment. The law and original intent just doesn’t seem to mean much to them. I also see where the Republicans have recently come out with their budget proposals for the coming year. Take a look at that … Continue reading Walking The Plank…
Government made $100B in improper payments…
By its own estimate, the government made about $100 billion in payments last year to people who may not have been entitled to receive them â tax credits to families that didn’t qualify, unemployment benefits to people who had jobs and medical payments for treatments that might not have been necessary. Congressional investigators say the figure could be even higher. The Obama administration has reduced the amount of improper payments since they peaked in 2010. Still, estimates from federal agencies show that some are wasting big money at a time when Congress is squeezing agency budgets and looking to save … Continue reading Government made $100B in improper payments…
Capitalism….
Can a capitalistic consumer driven society survive when so many have so little money to spend??? If nothing changes I guess we will soon find out the answer to that question… Continue reading Capitalism….
The Money We Spend On Government…
“Lord, the money we spend on government. And, it’s not a bit better government than we got for one-third the money twenty years ago.” – Will Rogers, 27 March 1932 Lord knows we spend hundreds of time more for our government than we even did in Will’s day so his words above are even more appropriate today. I am proudly a social liberal but at the same time I am a fiscal conservative. Â No, neither word insults me as is does many other around me these days. Being a fiscal conservative I want government to spend my money as frugally … Continue reading The Money We Spend On Government…
Why Pentagon won’t say how it would cut $55 billion
Source:Â Why Pentagon won’t say how it would cut $55 billion starting Jan. 1 – CSMonitor.com. One reason is because the Pentagon would then have to show its cards, some argue. That is, it would have to tell Congress how it would reallocate funds from its lesser priorities to its higher priorities, says Todd Harrison, senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), warned back in August. âOnce you show people there are higher- and lower-priority items in your budget, then the lower-priority items become the target, and theyâre likely to get cut … Continue reading Why Pentagon won’t say how it would cut $55 billion
The Origins of the Fiscal “Cliff”
source: Â A Very Different Lame-Duck: Lessons From 2010 – ABC News. The fiscal cliff is what weâre focused on,â Cantor spokeswoman Megan Whittemore said. âThatâs what we need to get a resolution for.â “Fiscal cliff” this “fiscal cliff” that; I am really getting tired of all the rhetoric. It is almost as if some evil empire dropped the “fiscal cliff” viciously into our laps. This reminds me of all the gloom and doom associated with Y2K. Does anyone remember that one. Â That happened in 1999 when some wise guru decided that the world was going to end when the calendar … Continue reading The Origins of the Fiscal “Cliff”
The Cliff……
Now that the national elections have finally played out there is much talk about the financial cliff. That is the mandated 10% budget cuts and letting the Bush administration tax cuts expire. It seems most of the media treats this event as some sort of catastrophe but in my usual contrarian ways  I just don’t see it that way. Even though I am strongly a social progressive, I am also a fiscal conservative. So here is my take on this matter. Continue reading “The Cliff……”
Why Aren’t They Thanking Him???
I can’t understand why Ohio is supposedly one of the swing States in this election. Â They have gone from 48th in Job creations in 2008 to 4th in 2012. Â That is the most dramatic change of any State in the Union. Â Of course this is the result of President Obama giving loans to the auto industry which is a large employer in Ohio. I could really say the same thing about my home State of Indiana. It has gained much from those same loans but of course it is usually a solidly “red” State so sadly to say it is not on the fence.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due…
Source: Bye, bye, GI: Deep impact for many Germans as US troops downsize – World News. Earlier this year, the Pentagon announced defense cuts of $487 billion over the next decade, as the United States seeks to move to a smaller, leaner and more agile force, putting a new strategic focus on the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. The Defense Department in January said that it would remove two of the four U.S. combat brigades stationed in Europe as part of its military restructuring. In this blog, especially in the past, I have spoken often about our bloated military budgets … Continue reading Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due…
The ‘Gang of Six’ At It Again…
source:Â Try, try again: Senate ‘Gang of Six’ hatching plan on US debt reduction – CSMonitor.com. Warner and his colleagues in the Gang of Six are putting the debt-reducing plan produced by the Simpson-Bowles commission into legislative language (some 800 pages and counting, by Warnerâs estimate). That legislation should be in final form within the next six to eight weeks, Warner said. The bipartisan commission, chartered by President Obama, offered a widely commended path to financial balance but has yet to be actually put down in legislative form. In addition, Warner plans to spend some of his congressional recesses taking trips … Continue reading The ‘Gang of Six’ At It Again…
Those Who Don't Know History Are….
Being a history nut I like the old saying “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”. The premise behind this statement is that we should know what got us into past problems so we don’t end up making the same mistakes again.  I think this is especially true when it come to our country’s debt problems. So, that is what this post will be about. First, let’s look at a graph showing the history of our debt. It is shown above. We were going along with only somewhat marginal increases in debt until the early 1990’s at that time … Continue reading Those Who Don't Know History Are….
Why Is Our Military Spending So Sacred????
I am horrified by the priorities implicit in our national budget. Why would our leaders put people out of business, weaken food programs, deny college scholarships to prop up swollen military spending? American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) director of Public Policy puts forth the following answer: Most politicians are afraid to touch military spending. Pentagon contracts and subcontracts affect almost every Congressional district. And no one wants to be the victim of an election-time ad campaign saying theyâre soft on defense â that they are not patriotic. Our nationâs safety net is being held hostage by politics and a wrong … Continue reading Why Is Our Military Spending So Sacred????
RJ's Corner 