Posted on 01/30/2013 10:10:13 AM PST by blam
CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: Spending Cuts Are Pushing Us Towards A Recession
Brett LoGiurato
January 30, 2013
Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin has joined the voice of many conservatives lamenting the surprising drop in GDP last quarter.
In her post, Rubin argues that spending cuts and Obama's regulations are pushing us toward a recession.
The big reason for the surprise drop in fourth-quarter GDP was because of a drop in government spending, particularly a stunning fall in defense and military spending.
Rubin writes:
"I don’t know why they say the drop is unexpected. We are preparing to decimate national security, at a cost of perhaps 1.2 million jobs. The country was and still is poised to accept more tax hikes. The regulatory burden on employers and the prospect of Obamacare hang over our heads. No wonder we are in an economic slump. One more quarter of this, and, according to the technical definition, we will be in a recession. [...]
"This is why Republicans must talk growth, jobs and economic opportunity. The president isn’t because his policies stifle all three."
Conservatives and Republicans want to cut government spending, which they often say is out of control. The Republican argument on the GDP report, as noted by RNC communications director Tim Miller in an email, is that the economy is not in a good spot when government spending cuts combined with already-large deficits creates GDP shrinkage.
The U.S. is scheduled to endure more across-the-board spending cuts as a result of sequestration, which both parties agreed to as part of the Budget Control Act. As of now, both parties seem resigned to letting that happen. Earlier this month, House Speaker John Boehner said he was willing to let it happen and had Republican support in his pocket.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Is the anti-business agenda of this administration.
and its about as surprising as snow in January.
Is the anti-business agenda of this administration.
and its about as surprising as snow in January.
Artificially pumping up the highly visible enterprises in an effort to provide the illusion that the economy is growing is self-defeating in the end. The inevitable contraction is only postponed for a little while. Meanwhile, even more resources committed to continue the facade of prosperity are simply lost, as the house of cards continues to collapse.
If the idea is simply to squander our inheritance, Bronco Bama is doing very well at that task. He is like the winner of the lottery, who, after years of living in poverty, winds up blowing not only the entire amount of the winnings, but a considerable amount of incurred debt as well, and instead of being merely poor, he is hopelessly mired in to what, to him, would have been a unimaginable burden.
We are watching the deliberate collapse of the western nations by socialists.
Jennifer Rubin is not, and has never been, conservative.
There have been no spending cuts. We’re spending more this year than last year, and last year we spent more than the year before that.
If I reduce my spending and stay within my means, that leads to prosperity for me, not recession or poverty.
Here too:
Rush To Safety: Americans Buy Nearly Half a Billion Dollars Of Gold and Silver In January
RATspeak regarding cuts:
I have 50 billion.
I asked for 60 billion.
I only got 52 billion.
I got cut 8 billion.
Combination of both.
Defense spending falls into the “trickle down” economics category. The govt. actually gets something in return for what it spends, same as you buying a car, and both create jobs and the wealth flows down to the people making what the military needs.
Entitlement spending on the other hand is “trickle up” economics.
If the govt is willing to pay $500 to rent an apt. for a welfare bum when the apt is only worth $400, people that work and pay for their own apt will then have to pay $500 for a $400 apt. That’s $100 bucks that could be spent on something else that would create jobs.
Raise the taxes on the RICH guy that owns the apt building to pay for more govt handouts, and the price of rent goes up.
The higher you raise taxes on the rich to provide goods and services for the poor the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.
Many who call themselves conservative are dependent on local regulatory bureaucracy, government education (useless, detrimental), pensions from the same, government-supported services, etc. So yeah, both political parties are quite soiled.
But spending cuts must happen sooner or later. Much rougher, if they happen later. Because if not done now, the numbers of layoffs of government regulators, teachers who should be privately employed in their work, haircuts of pensions (’cause bond investors will take their “haircuts”) and many others in the near future will be enormous under the bond collapse and forced repudiations to come.
I’m waiting for the headline that says ‘ LIBERAL COLUMNIST: Spending Excess Pushing Us Toward Depression..’
I’m waiting for godot too...
I’m 41. If they cut off all social security benefits for me right now, I wouldn’t care...
...so long as I knew the tax burden for SS would decrease over my remaining 25 working years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.