I have been following the
writings of Devvy Kidd for several years. While she tends to use
colorful language I have found her articles to be informative and well
grounded in the facts. The first link below is one such article that
highlights the irresponsible behavior of many of our political leaders
and government bureaucracies. Because it is fairly long I will lift a
few comments to give you a taste.
In this article Ms. Kidd focuses on Medicare and Medicaid. She references
a 2004 article in which she included remarks by Boston University's
Economics Chairman, Laurence Kotlikoff, who noted then that there was a
$51 trillion dollar fiscal gap in Medicare. At that time he wrote "To
give you idea how big the problem is, you'd have to have an immediate
and permanent 78 percent hike in the federal income tax; More than
double the payroll tax, immediately and forever, from 15.3 percent of
wages to nearly 32 percent; Raise income taxes by two thirds (roughly
78%), immediately and forever; Cut Social Security and Medicare benefits
by 45 percent, immediately and forever." Mrs. Kidd adds: "Today,
that $51 TRILLION dollar fiscal 'gap' is $122.7 TRILLION dollars. SS,
Medicare and, oh, did you forget the liabilities created by Bush, Jr.
and the Republican controlled Congress for 'free prescription drugs'?
That program is now $21.4 TRILLION in liabilities." Mrs.
Kidd continues: "In 2011, according to the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS), there were 70.4 million people who enrolled in
Medicaid for at least one month. There were also 48.849 million people
enrolled in Medicare. That gave Medicaid and Medicare a gross combined
enrollment of 119.249 million in 2011." There is much more in her
article which illustrates the absence of fiscal responsibility exercised
by past and present administrations and Congresses.
The second link addresses misinformation regarding the ongoing Sequester debate bandied about by the President, his administration and a complicit media. The article points out that "A government drowning in debt, fueled in no small part by nearly incomprehensible waste, is threatening to pare 'essential services' if the Congress allows budget 'cuts' — that aren't cuts but reductions in the rate of spending increases — to kick in on March 1." The bottom line is that the threat of draconian cuts in government services is deception of the highest order and intended to needlessly alarm Americans. The fact is that government spending has increased over 16% since Mr. Obama took office. A roughly 2% cut over a ten year period against that 16% increase over a mere four years is laughable on its face and speaks volumes about the integrity of those distorting the facts. They have an agenda and will not let facts get in the way - the agenda is to continue out of control spending. Prioritization of any required cuts targeting useless/redundant programs would not cause public alarm. Furthermore, the so called cuts are nothing more than a reduction in the rate of the growth of government spending. Consider, for instance, that the total federal debt has increased by 52% under Mr. Obama's tenure. Sequester cuts in the rate of government spending increases over 10 years will hardly make a dent in current and future spending. We have also heard the President and Department of Defense (DOD) spokesmen lament that mandated sequester cuts to DOD's budget will result in serious harm. With that backdrop consider this. Even if sequester happens DOD spending will still increase by $121 billion between 2014 and 2023. And, as Sen. Tom Coburn points out, if DOD would cut out their annual non-military expenditures of $70 billion the Pentagon would be in a position to deal with its real mission, defense of the nation. Lastly, be aware that it has been 1,401 days since the Democrat controlled Senate has passed a budget. And, remember that the President's last two budget submissions to Congress were so bad that they got not a single vote from ANY member of Congress of EITHER party. Do either the President or Senate Democrats have any credibility in this debate?
The third link provides reinforcing discussion of the misconceptions which abound about Sequester. The fourth link summarizes some of the enormous wastes of taxpayer money by the National Institutes of Health, one of many bureaucracies fraught with inefficiencies. There are considerable savings to be had by just eliminating government fat, fraud, waste and abuse. The administration's hype is for show and a blatant attempt to mislead the public so they will support continued big government growth and even more spending. Shame. George Burns
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd576.htm
http://triblive.com/opinion/editorials/3548575-74/cuts-spending-congress#axzz2M6Om1HMT
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323884304578328211144987052.html?mod=rss_opinion_main
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