Posted on 03/17/2013 11:32:26 AM PDT by Kaslin
"In short, this document gives voters no reason to believe that Democrats have a viable plan for — or even a responsible public assessment of — the country’s long-term fiscal predicament."
Washington Post Editorial, March 14, 2013
Somebody must have realigned the planets. That's the only explanation I can fathom for the harsh criticism the editors of the Washington Post unloaded on the Senate Democrats newly released budget. The first budget Harry Reid & Co. has even bothered to introduce in four years, in case anyone is still keeping score.
The WaPo editors took some jabs at the House GOP's budget, as expected. But, the dissing of the Dems is nearly unprecedented.
The editors establish the foundation for their criticisms by citing a Feb. 28 analysis by William Gale and Alan Auerbach of the left-leaning Brookings Institute, as follows:
There has been halting but real deficit reduction progress in recent months. The United States faces no imminent budget “crisis.” Nevertheless, the economists write, “the 10-year budget outlook remains tenuous.” Even assuming steady economic growth, the national debt in 2023 will be twice as high as its historical average, as a percentage of the economy — and poised to resume rising. That long-term fiscal problem, driven by the growth of entitlement programs for an aging population, remains unaddressed. Dealing with it, Messrs. Gale and Auerbach write, will take tax and spending changes “several times the size of those adopted under the recent legislation.”
Thereafter, the editors unload:
Except for the part about no imminent crisis, the Senate Democratic budget recognizes none of this. Partisan in tone and complacent in substance, it scores points against the Republicans and reassures the party’s liberal base — but deepens these senators’ commitment to an unsustainable policy agenda….
It is on the issue of entitlements that the Democrats’ document really disappoints. There is literally nothing — not a word — suggestive of trimming Social Security, whether through greater means-testing, a more realistic inflation adjustment or reforming disability benefits. The document’s fuzzy call for $275 billion in “health savings” is $125 billion less than the number President Obama has floated.
As for the coming flow of baby boomers into Medicare, the Democrats declare that “new retirees deserve the same promise of quality, affordable health care from which their parents have benefitted — and it is the position of the Senate Budget that they ought to get it.” There’s plenty of excoriation for the GOP “premium support” plan. But there’s no explanation of how the Democrats would pay for their “promise” — nary a hint of the many cost-saving reforms that would extend Medicare’s life without embracing the GOP plan.
In short, this document gives voters no reason to believe that Democrats have a viable plan for — or even a responsible public assessment of — the country’s long-term fiscal predicament.
Bump!
Bring back US jobs. Now.
Right on
Democrats are starting to realize that Obama’s scorched earth policies will destroy their half of America too. The LIVs are too stupid to see it (and are fully invested in bringing everyone down to their level), but the ones with 3 digit IQs are beginning to wake up.
It’s not just Democrats exporting US jobs.
Bring back US jobs, which both parties have exported now for almost three decades.
Now.
It’s time for the people living in this country to stop thinking about themselves ALL OF THE TIME and start thinking about the future of America. Our children, grandchildren and their grandchildren are in deep Kimchi if we don’t do something quick. This so called government is out of control.
Proven: the two dozen howler monkeys in the washroom of the WaPo, banging away 24/7 on typewriters have finally produced a piece worthy of print!
In short, this document gives voters no reason to believe that Democrats have a viable plan for -- or even a responsible public assessment of -- the country's long-term fiscal predicament.It's code for, "see, we finally have what we've wanted!!!" Partisan Media Shills alert.
Bring back US jobs. Now.”
The jobs are gone. If Obama has his way, the petrochemical industry will be gone.
Until the EPA, Transportation, HHS, Homeland Security, Energy, NLRB, FDA and many, many other government agencies are shut down nothing is going to get better.
IMO if the House does bring up the bill on Obamacare again and keeps it in the CR and allows the amnesty bill to go through, you can forget ever having a Republican majority in the House in 2014.
So we need to bring back US jobs, now.
I’m serious.
Bring back US jobs.
You can’t expect the libs to see it with their pea-sized brains and their head stuck up their derriere
You’re welcome
This kind of crap annoys the hell out of me.
The Dems did have a budget the past 4 years, how do you think the government operated during that time - it certainly wasn’t under Ryan’s budgets. Yes, they had a budget, but no, they didn’t put it out for all to see months ahead - they just waited until it needed to be passed, and then it was passed.
And those budgets had deficits on the order of $1.5T each year...and maybe they missed that also?
They passed budgets? Interesting.
“Until the EPA, Transportation, HHS, Homeland Security, Energy, NLRB, FDA and many, many other government agencies are shut down nothing is going to get better.”
Actually outlawing labor unions would almost do as much as everything up there.
In any case, nothing is going to get shut down (except NLRB, and that’s only if unions are outlawed). Like it or not, a LOT of what you listed is needed - go to Shanghai and try to breathe if you don’t believe me. But the excesses from these agencies have to be stopped, PRONTO!!!
“They passed budgets? Interesting.”
Yep, as far as I know, the government was running, so money was budgeted by Congress for spending by the Executive.
>>
>>It’s not just Democrats exporting US jobs.
>>Bring back US jobs, which both parties have exported now for almost three decades.
I agree. It isn’t the Dems who are shipping our jobs overseas for a quick bounce in stock prices and then bitching about unemployment. The Dems have let the GOP help them dig America’s grave for decades and now they’re all getting ready to shove the working people into it. Its all about the New World Order for them.
That’s why I said that some Dems are starting to wake up. They’ve just figured out that there isn’t much advantage in being a Block Warden for the regime when the whole block gets “relocated” to find “work”.
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.