Obama takes axe to bloated government spending

AFP on Yahoo ^ | 3/4/09 | AFP

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday promised to save American taxpayers 40 billion dollars a year by slashing waste in government contracting, with a special eye on bloated spending on defense.

"I reject the false choice between securing this nation and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars," Obama said on a day when he signed a presidential memorandum reforming the contracting system across the entire government.

"In this time of great challenges, I recognize the real choice between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are designed to make a defense contractor rich," Obama said.

The president's promise to clean up contracting was in line with his pledge to cut the soaring federal budget deficit in half by the end of his mandate in 2013.

As Obama spoke, he was flanked by his former Republican rival for the presidency, Senator John McCain, who is a hawkish opponent of wasteful spending in the Pentagon, and scours legislation for lawmaker's pet projects.

Obama honed in on runaway Pentagon spending, vowing that "the days of giving defense contractors a blank check are over," and highlighted work by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to overhaul military procurement at the Pentagon.

[cookcounty]

We need a independent special task force to inspect Obama’s Porkulus performance.

[AmericaUnite]

From what I heard it was all military spending.

[Grunthor]

“Obama takes axe to bloated government spending”

He has spent the first month-plus signing pork laden bills to put our childrens children into debt and now the MSM wants to call him fiscally reponsible? Just how stupid do they think we are?

[Gabrial]

Yep - Trillions can be flushed down the welfare hole never to be seen again, and not be “bloated” spending.

However, in “Obama World” the budget supporting war-fighters is “bloated” and should be cut.

I hope we can survive.

[ichabod1]

Aah, what’s 40 Billion anyway. Chump change.

[ichabod1]

The five year plan is right on schedule.

[headstamp 2]

The idiot voters will eat this up. Truly this guy is a master propagandist.

I’m sure this will be limited exclusively to DOD. Other government “waste” is just too important to do anything about.

This idiot will use this as a pretense to cut the military to the bone. He’s fight “waste” you know.

[Hoffer Rand]

Well, they need those funds to research grapes and why pigs smell. Really... Oh, and that rail from Disneyland to Vegas, can’t do without that, matter of national security.

[BJClinton]

Obama takes axe to bloated government spending<

lol Scrappleface?

[ichabod1]

They don’t even have any idea how big the deficit is going to BE yet, so how can they talk about cutting it in half? 1 Trillion? 2 Trillion? 3 Trillion? More?

[April Lexington]

Obama takes ax to America!

[April Lexington]

I think McCain has gone senile. He was wobbling in October and the loss must have pushed him over the edge. Kowtow in Asia...

[ExSoldier]

There was a legend I once heard as an army officer that the US Air Force always had the best Officer's Clubs in the land. Reason for this, as the legend went, was that the air force always made certain the club facilities were built first on new bases. Then later, when money got tight, they'd go whining to Congress about not having enough moola to build those airstrips, which are of course the seminal reason for the existence of any airbase! Anyway, so went the legend. Always sounded logical to me. Air Force clubs were pretty good, back in the day.

They had some cool sounding drink names at the bar. Changed the vodka drink known as a Kamakazi to the "Spin, Crash & Burn." I think that recipe was a double shot of vodka, a dash of Roses Lime and a dash of Triple Sec. It used to be my favorite libation during my hard chargin,' iron fisted, drinkin' days on active duty. I don't think I've had one of those in over 20 years...

[April Lexington]

Actually, he just gave $900 million (that’s almost $1 trillion) to HAMAS!

[ichabod1]

Wars are not something that we fight because we like to have wars. Wars are to protect ourselves. Prepare yourself for the inevitable. Terror strikes on US assets overseas, and sooner or later on the homeland itself, with weak-to-no response from the pussifist gobberment. Kind of like India and the terrorist attacks on Bombay.

[Myrddin]

Aah, what’s 40 Billion anyway. Chump change.

It's a hell of a lot of money when directed into the hands of productive people. Alternatively, GM can use it to pay union benefits and squander all of it in 4 months...with nothing to show for the money.

[TheDon]

LOL! No bias in that title!

[prismsinc]

Obama=Jimmy Carter on steriods, dipped in chocolate botox

[kenavi]

"I reject the false choice between securing this nation and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars,"

He is saying he will do both.

[DilJective]

So, cutting funds to the only part of the government that functions as intended (wins wars), but no cuts in the failed parts of the government like all the social programs (war on poverty that really is a quagmire and unable to be won by the public sector).

This guy is dumb. Very dumb.