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Rand Paul's radical budget plan receives significant GOP backing
MSNBC ^ | Aug 18 | By Steve Benen

Posted on 08/19/2021 1:36:20 AM PDT by RandFan

Almost every year for the last decade, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has rolled out a radical budget plan that few bother to take seriously. This year, it fell far short, just as it always does, though the circumstances were a little different.

Last week, as part of the debate over the Democratic budget plan, Paul introduced his own budget blueprint as an alternative and offered it as a proposed amendment. To no one's surprise, it failed in the face of unanimous opposition from the Democratic majority. Some of his GOP colleagues were unimpressed, too: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was "particularly emphatic" while voting no.

But this was not a 99-to-1 vote. On the contrary, as the dust settled last week, 28 Senate Republicans ended up voting for Rand Paul's budget plan.

When the Kentuckian first started pushing his radical plan, it used to pick up support from his most far-right allies, generating around 10 votes. By 2019, however, the Paul plan received 22 votes. Last week, that total reached 28 votes.

Circling back to our previous coverage, this isn't just a proposal that tinkers around the edges of federal spending. Rand Paul's goal is to eliminate a multi-trillion-dollar budget deficit in five years -- for reasons unknown -- without raising any taxes on anyone by any amount.

To achieve such a goal, the GOP senator would mandate enormous cuts to practically every aspect of federal operations, slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in federal investments every year, imposing austerity that would both hurt millions of Americans families and severely undermining the domestic economy.

There are currently 50 GOP senators serving in the chamber, and 28 "yes" votes represent 56% of the conference.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
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Progress!

GO Rand!

1 posted on 08/19/2021 1:36:20 AM PDT by RandFan
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To: Amendment10

Ping!

This might (pleasantly) surprise you.


2 posted on 08/19/2021 1:38:27 AM PDT by RandFan
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To: RandFan

Is this unbiased reporting? Why is everything from the left nazi propaganda? Who are these people and whatever are they trying to do? We have a nice world here and all they want to do is destroy it.


3 posted on 08/19/2021 1:47:59 AM PDT by FreeperCell
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To: RandFan

The annual budget was about $800 billion in the years leading up to Obama’s election.

THEN in 2008-09, with the wild market swings and banks threatening to fail, there was the TARP Program - which, as its name indicates, was supposed to be only a “temporary”, one-time budget boost

But somehow, ever since then, trillion-dollar-plus budgets have become the norm, and have NEVER gone back to the pre-2008 levels .. which were already obscene enough

Rand is right, start the cutting ... and keep cutting!!


4 posted on 08/19/2021 1:56:54 AM PDT by canuck_conservative
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To: RandFan

Senator Rand Paul is Right!

Totalitarianism in all forms is Evil!

Progressive #Progressive_Caucus
Socialist #Venezuela
Marxist #BLM
Fascist #Nazi's (Erdogan’s Turkey)
Communist #Antifa
Dictator #ComDem_Covid19_Dictators
Islamist #ISIS
Bureaucrap #the_Swamp

All Evil. All Fail.

Freedom Works.

It's TIME to DownSize DC!

Restore the Constitution!Size DC!

5 posted on 08/19/2021 1:58:15 AM PDT by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: RandFan

A mild critique. List the 28 brave and thoughtful souls willing to cast their vote for sanity.

A five year plan for a balanced budget? Awesome. Mine was a ten year plan.

Produce a summary of the stuff contained in the bill that according to the doofus writing the article will do so much harm to the American people.

He throws in the mandate word which Congress is so used to using anyway. Aren’t laws mandates and isn’t the Congress the Law making branch of government?

That MSNBC is where this is coming from weaves a tale better than I can tell.

...and no, I chose not to read the article.


6 posted on 08/19/2021 2:03:10 AM PDT by wita (Always and forever, under oath in defense of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.)
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To: RandFan

Remember how the GOP was all for getting rid of Obamacare—until they controlled the House, Senate and WH. They held endless symbolic votes for it until they had the power to do something about it. Then, it was oh, well, never mind!


7 posted on 08/19/2021 2:05:22 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: RandFan

“ Rand Paul’s goal is to eliminate a multi-trillion-dollar budget deficit in five years — for reasons unknown — without raising any taxes on anyone by any amount.”

Reasons unknown? Who doesn’t know the reasons for eliminating a multi-trillion-dollar budget?

But I wonder how sincere those Republicans are. It’s easy to vote for something when your vote doesn’t count. How many of them would still vote for it if theirs were the deciding vote, and how many would do a McCain?


8 posted on 08/19/2021 2:26:50 AM PDT by djpg (,)
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To: RandFan

“ Rand Paul’s goal is to eliminate a multi-trillion-dollar budget deficit in five years — for reasons unknown — without raising any taxes on anyone by any amount.”

Reasons unknown? Who doesn’t know the reasons for eliminating a multi-trillion-dollar budget?

But I wonder how sincere those Republicans are. It’s easy to vote for something when your vote doesn’t count. How many of them would still vote for it if theirs were the deciding vote, and how many would do a McCain?


9 posted on 08/19/2021 2:26:57 AM PDT by djpg (,)
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To: djpg

>Reasons unknown? Who doesn’t know the reasons for eliminating a multi-trillion-dollar budget?

Socialists/Communists.


10 posted on 08/19/2021 2:39:32 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: 9YearLurker

I left that worthless POS party last January and regret only not having done so sooner.


11 posted on 08/19/2021 2:48:50 AM PDT by MachIV
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To: 9YearLurker

Exactly. The GOP has no intention of ever following through here. How nice of Rand to give his Senate buddies fake conservative credentials.


12 posted on 08/19/2021 2:51:39 AM PDT by lodi90
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To: RandFan

Radical only to the corrupt


13 posted on 08/19/2021 2:52:02 AM PDT by ronnie raygun (“When the people fear the government you have tyranny, when the government fears the people you have)
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To: MachIV

I did the same this year as well.


14 posted on 08/19/2021 3:00:05 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: lodi90

Yes, the role of a Rand in handing out the fake fig leafs is well worth noting.


15 posted on 08/19/2021 3:00:53 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: RandFan

“Radical plan by far right extremists “ that actually cuts out corruption and wasteful spending.

The articles are worse than what Goebbels would draft.


16 posted on 08/19/2021 3:08:13 AM PDT by mikelets456
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To: RandFan

Rand Paul 2024!


17 posted on 08/19/2021 3:19:23 AM PDT by thegagline
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To: RandFan

MSNBC sure has their panties in a wad over actually balancing the budget deficit. Must be the right thing to do.


18 posted on 08/19/2021 3:45:07 AM PDT by Bearshouse
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To: RandFan

If every job opening in the US Federal government was removed, that would save billions right off the bat. Agencies receive funding to fill those positions. Then cut 15% across the board. Every agency will have to take a 15% haircut. If they cannot figure out how to do it, I’m sure some outside oversight group can do it for them. (If you just cut the military by 15%, with a 600 billion budget, that’s a savings of 90 billion right off the bat. And that should complete the southern border wall, but I digress.)

Next, any government contract that is not completed in the timeframe proposed by the vendor will not receive additional funding. Make every contract a fixed price contract. Another few billion saved.

Term limits and retirement and medical plans. The more years you serve, the less benefits you receive. There is no reason a member of congress should be receiving lifetime benefits. Do your two terms and go find a real job. And, that real job cannot be working for a lobbyist, the media or any other government related job.

Cut all social programs by 15%. Consolidate duplicate agencies and remove duplicate positions within the agency. Consolidating and cutting will return approximately 175-200 billion a year to government coffers.

That’s off the top of my head. Anyone else want to contribute to how we save money and reduce the national debt?


19 posted on 08/19/2021 5:01:43 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (I got the shot. Not because I wanted to. Because I had to, in violation of my civil rights.)
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To: FreeperCell

.


20 posted on 08/19/2021 6:13:41 AM PDT by sauropod (Time is like quicksilver, smearing the years... - Bill Nelson)
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