Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Do You Get It?

Let's take a look at three items to see if we can make sense of them. 
 
1.  By now everyone is well aware of the whole sequester thing.  Sequester is an effort to cut government spending.  A few facts:  The 2013 federal budget is $3.5 trillion. Sequester represents just a 2.42% cut in spending ($86 billion)  for fiscal year 2013.  Even so over the next 10 years total government spending still increases every year by over 2% per year.  Yet, according to the President, his administration, liberals in Congress, pundits and the mainstream media sequester is a national disaster.  Does anyone remember that sequester was the President's own staff's idea?  And that he approved  the idea, even signed it into law once passed by Congress?  Get this.  In just the first 5 months of fiscal year 2013 federal government spending increased by $30.5 billion over the same period in 2012.  According to the Congressional Budget Office sequester only cuts $44 billion in spending for the remainder of this year.  One can only conclude that there is absolutely no sense of honor or fiscal responsibility in the White House and much if not most of Congress.  And, the media is simply doing it's self-appointed job of covering for the President and his minions no matter what.  As the first link notes the President's "preferred policy is to use intimidation and the intentional infliction of pain and suffering to achieve his goals."  His goals?  My take.  To spend as many American taxpayer dollars as he wants on whatever he damn well pleases and bamboozle the low-information public into agreeing with him.  After all, as he likes to say "I'm the President".  And, to him, that means he is right and to be obeyed and we are wrong and are to submit.  These two links provide more detail. http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/03/obamas_tyranny_petty_or_something_more_sinister.html and
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/305b-federal-spending-not-down-first-5-months-fy13
 
2.  This one aligns with the previous item.  You will recall that last month by a 50-49 margin the democrat controlled Senate passed its first budget in four years. It includes: $975 billion in new taxes, exceeds both 2013 revenue by $1.2 trillion and current year spending by $200 billion.  It in effect ignores both reality and sequester and will have to be melded with the budget passed by the House.  That will be a difficult task.  As noted in the link "It’s not likely this budget will see the light of day, but it does illustrate that Congress still doesn't get it! You cannot continue to overspend without serious fallout."  By the way, failure of the Senate to submit a budget is a violation of federal law.  Did anyone notice or does anyone care that Speaker Harry Reid is responsible for that violation?  Law breaking does not seem to matter to or have consequences for those who write them. 
 
3.  This item serves up a bit of hypocrisy.  You will recall that the President's 2012 budget was rejected by a vote of 97-0 in the Senate. And in April 2012, when Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-South Carolina, sponsored a budget proposal based on Obama's 2013 budget plan, it lost in the House by a vote of 414-0.  See first link.  What is that if not total budget/fiscal ineptitude.  His next effort, already late by two months and another violation of federal law,  is expected later this month.  We will see when it shows up if he has learned anything from his past abysmal failures.  Now get this.  On 29 March 2013 the President issued this official proclamation:  “I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices.”  See second link.  Since taking office on 20 January 2009 the President has increased the federal debt by more than $6.1 trillion, or put another way, the already heavy federal government debt burden involuntarily placed on the backs of every household in America has increased by $53,377 in less than 5 years.  And, if the past predicts the future expect more of same. Not a record to shout about.  The President long ago failed to do himself what he now has the audacity to tell us and our kids to do.  Maybe some, even many, will not notice the irony of his totally dishonest, disgraceful self-serving proclamation.   I did.  What a hypocrite!
 
Should I be accused of limiting negative comments to Democrats rest assured that is not the case.  I am not a Republican and certainly not a Republican apologist.  Today's version of both Republicans and Democrats fall into the category of being PC compliant lackeys of powerful special interests groups.  Witness recent announcements by some Republicans of their late blooming support for gay/lesbian marriage or their "evolving" support for certain limits on the 2nd Amendment.  When one digs deep one will find little real difference between the two.  As the old adage goes, the first rule of politics after getting elected is to do what you have to do to get re-elected.  It is instructive to recall the wisdom of Barry Goldwater.  To paraphrase, he once said federal presidential elections that changes in administrations result in changes in personnel but not in policies.  That has certainly been true for the last few changes in administrations from Republican to Democrat to Republican and back to Democrat. While politicians do have differing views, some strongly held, most of them serve special interests (money sources) once in office and hold little abiding allegiance to those they are elected to serve, no matter what they say.  So, how hard they work or support respective legislation is typically proportional to the interests of those who grease their palms.
 
Given just the above three examples of ineptitude can anyone explain to me why this President and his liberal/progressive collaborators have so many supporters?  How can any responsible, self-respecting, high information American taxpaying citizen do so?  I don't get it.  Do you?   
 
George Burns

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