Paul Ryan's 2012 Budget

[Townsend]

http://www.cnn.com/

President Obama says he will keep calling congressional leaders back to the White House until a budget deal is sealed. 

[carltonplace]

That's your perception, and mine is of course different. And thanks for not wetting yourself over my little /sarc about Obamacare. But look at my link on the House CR on how the cuts are spread.

I read your link, but it doesn't change the fact that Ryan's proposal is not a serious attempt to find a bi-partisan sollution. Seriously? More tax cuts for top earners, changing Medicare to block grants that the states will manage.

Good thing grandma hasn't retired yet, we need her to work until she keels over on the job to pay her own healthcare even though she has paid social security and medicare taxes all of her life.

The US defense spending is 46% of all defense spending in the entire world. Its 22% of our total budget. Everything else: education, transportation, roads, NPR fall into the 18% slice.

Why doesn't this proposal look at ways to increase revenues? Can't we eliminate some subsidies?

[guido911]

I read your link, but it doesn't change the fact that Ryan's proposal is not a serious attempt to find a bi-partisan sollution. Seriously? More tax cuts for top earners, changing Medicare to block grants that the states will manage.

Good thing grandma hasn't retired yet, we need her to work until she keels over on the job to pay her own healthcare even though she has paid social security and medicare taxes all of her life.

The US defense spending is 46% of all defense spending in the entire world. Its 22% of our total budget. Everything else: education, transportation, roads, NPR fall into the 18% slice.

Why doesn't this proposal look at ways to increase revenues? Can't we eliminate some subsidies?

I'm all for cutting subsidies and even reducing military spending. But the fact that this proposal is not "bipartisan" is unimportant (remember how "bipartisan" HCR was) to me. Right now we have no budget and the dems have made no serious plans to tackle the debt/deficit. He!l, we can't get the dems to agree to cutting the deficit by a paltry $61B, which is part of the reason why this shutdown is looming.

Other than eliminating subsidies, how else can we increase revenue? More taxes on just certain people, more tariffs on imports? I will listen.

[carltonplace]

Let the Bush tax cuts expire

[Gaspar]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/government-shutdown-obama-urges-republicans-democrats-act/story?id=13295407

There is one spending bill that has been offered.  NO alternative has been presented by the Democrats.  There is now an open offer on the floor. . .a plea from Rick Crawford. . .please offer and pass a bill, "the House and Senate can meet in conference to reconcile any differences and then forward the final bill to President Obama."

So, the offer stands.  All the Dems need to do is offer and agree to pass a bill.  Hell. . . even a bill with extra cash for Cowboy Poetry, and then they can move to conference.  

Until the Dems agree to pass the Republican bill or craft one of their own, it's a stalemate.  But. . . according to Dem leadership, that's exactly what they want to happen.  They want a government shutdown so that President Obama can pretend to go into a telephone booth and turn into HopeyChangeMan.  

Well, the problem is that when this worked for Clinton, the public was so wrapped up it tabloid antics that they had no understanding of the situation and Clinton was able to receive full credit.  Today we are not asleep.  We are watching the drama.  We know there is no Dem solution proposed, just an unwillingness to work with Republicans.  

Dems sitting around with their arms crossed will accomplish nothing.  Get something to the table or leave the table, but don't pretend to care.

This is an example of the ultimate opportunity for President Obama to emerge as a leader, but as you can see we get a very limp politicalized response.
 
"At a time when the economy is just beginning to grow... the last thing we need is a disruption that's caused by a government shutdown, not to mention all the people who depend on government services," the president said today. "It would be inexcusable for us to not be able to take care of last year's business... simply because of politics."

"What we can't do is have a my way or the highway approach to this problem," the president said. "Nobody gets a 100 percent of what they want. We have met the Republicans more than halfway at this point."

The Democrats proposed no bill and refused almost all of the cuts in the Republican solution.  They simply said NO, NO, NO.  They were invited to present their own solutions, their own spending bill, their own cuts, and refused.  

How do you fight that?  You can't, this is passive resistance.  Harry Ried has chained himself to spending and will not budge.

[Townsend]

He!l, we can't get the dems to agree to cutting the deficit by a paltry $61B, which is part of the reason why this shutdown is looming.

So the republicans are locking this thing up because of $14,210,000,000,000 v $14,149,000,000,000.

That number looks like it could use some tax increases and reduction of tax breaks.  Serious cuts in many programs.

NPR won't get it.

[Townsend]

There is one spending bill that has been offered.  NO alternative has been presented by the Democrats.  There is now an open offer on the floor. . .a plea from Rick Crawford. . .please offer and pass a bill, "the House and Senate can meet in conference to reconcile any differences and then forward the final bill to President Obama."

So, the offer stands.  All the Dems need to do is offer and agree to pass a bill.  Hell. . . even a bill with extra cash for Cowboy Poetry, and then they can move to conference.  

Until the Dems agree to pass the Republican bill or craft one of their own, it's a stalemate.  But. . . according to Dem leadership, that's exactly what they want to happen.  They want a government shutdown so that President Obama can pretend to go into a telephone booth and turn into HopeyChangeMan.  

Well, the problem is that when this worked for Clinton, the public was so wrapped up it tabloid antics that they had no understanding of the situation and Clinton was able to receive full credit.  Today we are not asleep.  We are watching the drama.  We know there is no Dem solution proposed, just an unwillingness to work with Republicans.  

Dems sitting around with their arms crossed will accomplish nothing.  Get something to the table or leave the table, but don't pretend to care.

This is an example of the ultimate opportunity for President Obama to emerge as a leader, but as you can see we get a very limp politicalized response.
 
"At a time when the economy is just beginning to grow... the last thing we need is a disruption that's caused by a government shutdown, not to mention all the people who depend on government services," the president said today. "It would be inexcusable for us to not be able to take care of last year's business... simply because of politics."

"What we can't do is have a my way or the highway approach to this problem," the president said. "Nobody gets a 100 percent of what they want. We have met the Republicans more than halfway at this point."

The Democrats proposed no bill and refused almost all of the cuts in the Republican solution.  They simply said NO, NO, NO.  They were invited to present their own solutions, their own spending bill, their own cuts, and refused.  

How do you fight that?  You can't, this is passive resistance.  Harry Ried has chained himself to spending and will not budge.

Let's see that link.  Is it a real news source or are you quoting a blog again?

[Gaspar]

Let's see that link.  Is it a real news source or are you quoting a blog again?

That was your link from ABC news above.  Or do you just post em like AOX/FOTD/TEATOWN?

[Townsend]

That was your link from ABC news above.  Or do you just post em like AOX/FOTD/TEATOWN?

Obama chided Republicans for not meeting Democrats halfway, pointing to what he described as $73 billion in cuts, and for inserting proposals that he says are based on ideology.

How does that sound that there's been no Dem proposal?

[guido911]

Let the Bush tax cuts expire

So raising taxes on me and not on thee is the solution?    What do want to do about all the entitlements out there?

[Townsend]

So raising taxes on me and not on thee is the solution?    What do want to do about all the entitlements out there?

Anyone on the goverment dole gets a mark on their ID.  No liquor or tobacco sales allowed.  That'd get almost anyone able to be off of the teat off the teat.

edit:  Anyone getting subsidies for HVAC gets a control that only allows for a certain range of cooling or heating depending on the season.

[Gaspar]

How does that sound that there's been no Dem proposal?

There has not.  Only disorganized rebuttal and counterargument.  They have introduced NO measure.

[guido911]

Not sure if we are talking about the CR or next year's budget re: dem proposals, but there is no proposal on the budget according to The Hill:

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/153711-dems-likely-to-offer-budget-alternative-to-ryan-plan

There is an interesting take in this piece on how the dems last year made noise about the repubs not offering alternatives, and they in effect doing the same by not having an alternative budget.

[Cats Cats Cats]

Anyone on the goverment dole gets a mark on their ID.  No liquor or tobacco sales allowed.  That'd get almost anyone able to be off of the teat off the teat.

edit:  Anyone getting subsidies for HVAC gets a control that only allows for a certain range of cooling or heating depending on the season.

That is actually a really good idea.  I struggle to see how with such a huge budget 60 billion has to come out of medicare/social security.  On a side note, they should make medicare the secondary insurance instead of primary insurance.  They can cut costs without effecting their benefits.

[Cats Cats Cats]

How does that sound that there's been no Dem proposal?

I believe they haven't introduced a bill but have put together a list of all the cuts by program.