Posted on 02/09/2018 7:03:57 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON — Just add cash.
That was the ingredient Republican and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill needed to strike and pass a long-term budget deal after months of bitter fighting across and within party lines about how to spend funds that had been limited by budget caps.
An $89 billion injection "changes a lot of votes," explained North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, the chairman of Republicans' arch-conservative Freedom Caucus and an opponent of the bill, hours before it passed.
And that figure, an important factor in securing the support of lawmakers from the Republican-heavy states of Texas and Florida, only accounted for the disaster-recovery portion of an agreement that clears the way for Congress to commit to an additional $400 billion-plus in deficit spending over the next decade.
Democrats hardly walked away empty-handed. While they lost out on an Obama-era mandate to treat defense and domestic spending equally, the agreement calls for an increase of $131 billion on the domestic side of the ledger. It also funds opioid abatement and community health centers, priorities that had bipartisan support.
That lucre proved too enticing to turn down, even for some Democrats who campaign as fiscal hawks.
"No one can say what we're doing is responsible," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said before voting for the bill. But, he explained, "I've got opium money coming, and I've got to make sure I defend my state."
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Cash is always KING in DC, but my guess is that the DEMS had private polling data that said in huge letters, “DROP THE DACA NONSENSE!”...........
Is it time to fiddle yet?
Spending always increases. It what it buys and for whom is what matters.
Yes, and it won’t stop until this country is bankrupt, because, in spite of what they say, Americans want more stuff from the government. They want the other guy’s place at the trough removed, but they want to keep theirs.
An $89 billion injection "changes a lot of votes," explained North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, the chairman of Republicans' arch-conservative Freedom Caucus and an opponent of the bill, hours before it passed.
And that figure, an important factor in securing the support of lawmakers from the Republican-heavy states of Texas and Florida, only accounted for the disaster-recovery portion of an agreement that clears the way for Congress to commit to an additional $400 billion-plus in deficit spending over the next decade.
With the tax cut stimulus, the federal tax receipts stand to increase as much as 100%, during that same period.
Unless I’m missing something, this IS NOT a bad deal.
Spending -money-out-of-thin-air is the fuel of the cancer which has become unconstitutional DC.
The _federal_reserve_ is the source of the fuel.
$21 trillion debt + rising interest rates = train wreck
Please read my post again.
Any increased tax revenue should be used to defray existing debt. We already spend about $4 trillion a year. That’s about equal to Germany’s GDP.
While I do want to see the debt brought down, and ASAP, I try to look at this more like I would my own budget.
No, none of us can go upside down like this. What we can do is continue to pay a bit more each year for the cost of living.
A number of our expenses go up from year to year. The same thing happens for the federal government.
My observation on this thread was off. I double reduced the yearly two year to one year rate, causing the percentage growth per year to look too rosy.
Trump said he would start paying down the debt. I believe he intends to. He knows finances far better than I do, so I’ll give him space for now.
I want to see downward movement by the end of his first term.
We’ll see.
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