Posted on 04/28/2010 6:30:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Americans are rightly outraged over our nation's fiscal situation. The course we're on will lead to public debt that will exceed the size of our entire economy, and a government that will eventually exist to do only two things: fund entitlement programs and make interest payments. Americans may be wondering whether the Greek financial crisis could happen here.
It will—unless we change course. There's a myth that our budget deficit mess sprang into existence at the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009. But in truth, more than 90% of the projected deficit we will face over the next decade is the result of President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rescue of the financial sector he began in the last few months of his presidency, and lower revenues from the recession. And the greatest driver of our long-term deficit is rapidly growing entitlement and health-care spending.
Both parties must learn: What is politically easy is often fiscally deadly. It's easier to hide the costs of war than to put those costs in front of the public. It's easier to promise 95% of Americans that we won't consider raising their taxes than to have a frank conversation about the realities of our balance sheet.
Voters are demanding that Washington take fiscal responsibility seriously. Democrats agree. But the public has a responsibility, too: To understand that lower taxes and higher spending may be popular, but they are a dangerous combination that leads to exploding deficits.
Health-care costs, as I noted, are one of our main challenges. According to the Congressional Budget Office the health-care bill will put us on a path to bring down those costs, incorporating many of the best ideas from both Republicans and Democrats.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Cut entitlements.
Guess that’s why he’s the powerful politico and we’re the subjects: he can say all that with a straight face and never once even allow the implication that he might have had anything to do with creating the mess.
Maryland, please do your patriotic duty and put this man in a job that he deserves for what he has helped do to you and the rest of us: gong farmer.
You really have to stand amaze at the amazing half-truths Hoyer is willing to tell (in the hope that ignorant people will believe him). Just consider this statement he made in the article :
“...nobody likes raising revenue—but sometimes it’s necessary. President Bill Clinton raised taxes and cut spending in 1993 to balance the budget, and it paved the way for historic prosperity. We could also learn from the bipartisan collaboration of President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill. In 1983, they agreed on a package of reforms to save Social Security, and in 1986, they made our tax code simpler and more efficient.”
The “shared sacrifice” will be all RATs voted out in November. Steny can bet their corrupt backsides on that one.
You really have to stand amaze at the shameless half-truths Hoyer is willing to tell (in the hope that ignorant people will believe him). Just consider this statement he made in the article :
“...nobody likes raising revenue—but sometimes it’s necessary. President Bill Clinton raised taxes and cut spending in 1993 to balance the budget, and it paved the way for historic prosperity. We could also learn from the bipartisan collaboration of President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill. In 1983, they agreed on a package of reforms to save Social Security, and in 1986, they made our tax code simpler and more efficient.”
Make all ‘rats turn in their wealth.
So Steny, you, Bam and my Congressman Dave (Been In There Way Too Long) Obey have spent us into oblivion and now, of course, you want US to pay for it. Can’t wait until November!!!
Especially because the solution was to reduce taxes, not raise them.
Cut the spending, that is our "Shared sacrifice".
The Liberal Tax of 100% on liberals must be enforced vigorously.
“Sacrifices”
When has government ever had to sacrifice over anything? It has no idea what that means.
The last Clinton budget plan before the Republicans took over in Jan 1995 projected annual defecits in the $200 billion range for the rest of the decade. His tax hikes did NOTHING to balance the budget. It is not a “half truth” it is an out and out lie
Shall we start the sharing, lets reduce congressional clunkers salaries to the AVERAGE for the USA, no [planes, no perks, no more elite ruling class. And then lets reduce government so that no staffers or persons working in Government anywhere shall be paid more than the average salary of the USA. An exception for our troops and safety personnel, because we want the best doing that work, not some foreign no speak English drones.
Once we get that done, then we can talk about the rest of the sharing, by starting with massive spending cuts. Apparently he hasn’t been following the welfare state collapse in European.
When only 50% of the people pay taxes, any sacrifice is hardly shared!
Given the recent RINO gum-flapping about the Arizona immigration law, I fear that number is microscopically low.
How about lower taxes and lower spending?
I'm a citizen and the spending stuff sure wasn't popular with me.
They already gutted Medicare by $523 BILLION. And are going to raise our premiums by 10%, and decrease our benefits by 8% under obamacare. While paying the doctor 20% less, ditto for Tricare for Life (retired Military over 65 health ins) reimbursement to the doctor. We seniors are getting the royal screw job out of this.
I don’t see these multimillionaire congress critters cutting their own salaries or refusing to except them. When are they going to SACRIFICE FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY? No they just exempt themselves from it all and keep giving themselves hefty pay raises each year, while imposing MORE taxes on us.
“shared sacrifice” = making everyone pay for the mistakes of the few. Kind of like sending the whole country to prison because one person committed the crime.
Here’s a great idea - how about cutting entitlements and cutting spending by 50% on ALL government programs.
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