Posted on 07/22/2011 8:15:46 AM PDT by BfloGuy
The Democratic-controlled Senate on Friday narrowly voted to block a Republican measure that would force Congress to pass a stringent balanced budget amendment and cap spending before increasing the debt ceiling.
The legislation, a conservative priority, never had a chance of passing, but the strictly partisan 51-46 vote to table the “Cut, Cap and Balance” bill highlighted the partisan divide in Washington over how to tackle spending and raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Then the RNC needs to buy it - they can consider it a savings on running election ads next year.
Damn right! Daily ads, hammer it home, send to everyone you know:
Democrats REJECT a Balanced Budget!
You are so right about that.
We need to cure America of its normalcy bias PRONTO, because that is exactly how the “good” people let Hitler get in power.
Folks thought a holocaust could not happen in Luther’s “holy” Germany.
Never in “Christian” America, right? (See my tagline)
The Cowardly Democrats were afraid of a straight up and down vote on Cap, Cut, and Balance.
Finally, the basis of this country's no taxation without representation is now being put to a test.
I strongly recommend RECALL EFFORTS AGAINST COWARDLY DEMOCRATS.
These Democrats want to raise taxes without representing their constiuency.
Recall Senator Landrieu of Louisiana!
Recall Senator Lautenberg of NJ!
Recall Senator McCaskill of Missouri!
Let a new American Revoltion occur!
Let the lessons of the original Boston Tea Party be taught and echoed throughout this great land!
In looking at this chart, it brings up something that bothers me about Congressional practices.
First, you shouldnt be able to not vote. If you dont vote, you should leave.
Second, The way the vote is phrased, you have to say yes to “table” it, so it looks like the dems voted in affirmation of the bill, when really they voted in affirmation to drop it.
I know that this is a little off topic, but when the subject of “disabled” people carrying public aid cards, driving Cadillacs to the grocery store really frosts my backside. As someone who is truly disabled on a fixed pension, I try and make each dollar work every week. To see the blatant fraud in the system without any oversight or regulatory investigation, I want to grab that person in line in front of me and shove them out the door on their ear.
The Trust Fund Myth
People tend to think of their Social Security benefits as an actual account, in their name, which contains cash or investments. In reality, the Social Security trust fund contains nothing more than IOUs that have no value beyond a promise to impose higher taxes on future workers. The annual surpluses that many thought were being used to build up a reserve for Baby Boomers have been spent on other government programs or to reduce government debt.
Pay-As-You-Go System
Social Security is not like a savings account in which payroll taxes are saved for retirement. Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system, meaning that the taxes paid by today’s workers are immediately sent out to pay the benefits of today’s retirees.
The problem with this system is that it only functions when there are a lot of workers paying payroll taxes and just a few retired people getting benefits. This is no longer the case. Our senior population is growing much faster than our working population and this means there are fewer and fewer workers supporting more and more retirees.
No Cash Is Being Saved
Today Social Security is collecting more money than it needs to pay benefits, but by 2018 it will begin running a deficit—collecting less in taxes than it pays in benefits. Many shrug off this looming shortfall thinking that the Social Security “trust fund” will help pay benefits and put off the need for tax increases or benefit cuts. This is not the case.
The government does not save our Social Security taxes for future retirees. Congress borrows this extra money and uses it to make up for deficits elsewhere in the budget. Thus the Social Security trust fund contains nothing but IOUs the government has written to itself. And when Uncle Sam goes to repay those IOUs, you know who pays the bill: we do. That means that in order to repay those IOUs, the government will have to either raise taxes or cut programs.
Social Security is already the biggest tax that most workers pay, but to keep the system afloat payroll taxes will have to rise even higher—to 20 percent of each worker’s wages.
How the Social Security Trust Funds Differ from Real Trust Funds
The Social Security trust fund consists totally of special issue Treasury bonds and certificates of indebtedness. They are special in that these bonds can only be issued to and redeemed by the Social Security trust funds. These bonds cannot be sold in the open market.
The Social Security trust fund bonds pay the same interest as regular Treasury bonds issued on the same day and in the same maturity. When the bonds mature, they are rolled over into new bonds that include both the original issue amount and any interest due. The new bonds pay whatever interest as regular Treasury bonds of the same maturity issued on that date.
These bonds are really nothing more than IOUs from one branch of government to another. They are not a real financial asset.
Until relatively recently, these bonds only existed as entries in a record book. However, now when a new bond is issued, it is printed on a laser printer located at the Bureau of the Public Debt’s Martinsburg, WV office. The bond is then carried across the room and put in a fireproof filing cabinet. That filing cabinet is the Social Security trust fund.
At some point in the future, Social Security will need to spend more than it receives in payroll taxes. At that point, it will begin to cash in the bonds in the trust fund. Where will the money come from?
According to the OMB, there are only four sources that money can be drawn from. Congress could repay the money by raising other taxes. It could also authorize the Treasury to just borrow the needed funds. Another alternative would be for Congress to reduce other federal programs and to use the money that was to have been spent for them to redeem Social Security bonds. Finally, Congress could reduce Social Security benefits.
http://www.uschamber.com/issues/retirementpension/socialsecurity/trust-fund-myth
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/09/AR2010080905559.html
So now who is the party of NO? Oh, right, it is the Dums, doesn’t matter though, they get a pass.
I understand how it must feel to see the abuse.
It’s almost hilarious to see MSNBC (MSBHO) defending the Black “farmer” giveaway. Anyone who has a potted plant and is black gets $50,000 because of “discrimination” by the USDA. Oh please......
Bottom line, the Democrats don’t get it. They’re ‘rats. They need to be exterminated from Congress. And I think I have a way to attract the youth vote. It could be an ad like this. Air it on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, etc.:
“Michelle and Barack Obama have been campaigning on anti-obesity. They have taken away soda machines and tasty lunches from your schools, taking away your freedom to choose. Yet the Obamas have been seen at steakhouses in Colorado and burger places in Washington DC, consuming upwards of 1000 calories in 1 meal. Barack and Michelle Obama: One set of rules for themselves, another for everyone else. Support individual freedom: tell your parents to vote Republican.”
Then, a more serious ad.
“Barack Obama said he wanted “change” in 2008. But look at what that’s done to us. Unemployment is over 9%, gas prices are skyrocketing, and the national debt is over 14 trillion dollars. Kids, this election is important because your future is on the line. If we don’t solve our deficit problem, America will not be the best country in the world anymore. The country will not be the way it used to be. Kids, tell your parents to vote Republican for a new direction, and stay involved to make sure this won’t happen ever again. I’m “GOP Nominee’s Name” and I approve this message because it’s time for a President who cares about our children.”
“Or the House could double-down and re-pass the bill with even larger cuts to Dhimmi programs”.
“You are a genius! That is EXACTLY what the House should do”.
We’re all in agreement.
I need to see if certain web page names are available like Fire Senator Landrieu.com, but of a more generic name.
Thats not correct. The Social Security holds about $2.4 trillion in US Tbills which it can cash in anytime it wants to make sure the social security checks go out.
Did you read the articles? They don’t have REAL T-Bills they have “special” T-Bills that can ONLY be sold to the US government. Which means the money has to come from current income.
Wrong.
“The Social Security trust fund holds about $2.4 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds, which its trustees are legally entitled to redeem whenever Social Security is running a current account deficit. Thus, if we reach the debt ceiling (which I continue to think is a remote prospect, even if less remote than it seemed a week ago), this is what will happen. The Social Security trust fund will go to Treasury and cash in some of its securities, using the proceeds to send checks to recipients. Each dollar of debt that is redeemed will lower the outstanding public debt by a dollar. That enables the Treasury to borrow another dollar, without violating the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is not a prohibition on borrowing new money; it is a prohibition on increasing the total level of public indebtedness. If Social Security cashes in some of its bonds, the Treasury can borrow that same amount of money from someone else.”
LOL
OK, believe anything you want.
LOL
OK, believe anything you want.
Nope, I think it's a great idea - a universal slave card.
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