February 14, 2005
The Budget Numbers Just Don't Add Up
Is any one else waking up in a cold sweat night after night just thinking of the budget deficits our President is proposing despite his pledge to cut the ballooning budget deficit in half by the time he leaves office? I have to wonder, does Bush really think we are all as dense as he is? Probably so. The numbers just don’t add up, despite the rosy rhetoric from the White House.
After Bush Leaves Office, His Budget’s Costs Balloon
I am left with so many questions and very few answers other then the fact that our President is a dullard who lacks common sense, vision, and the wisdom to occupy the Oval Office. Why is Bush so intent on pushing through a tax cut in a time of war? Why is Bush pursuing a redesign of Social Security despite not having the funds to pay for it; where will the estimated 2 trillion dollars com from Mr. Bush? Why has Bush stated that he would veto any attempt to redesign the Medicare Reform Act in an effort to lower the ballooning costs, costs his administration hid from Congress?
One last question: How, given the continued cost of the twin wars, the redesign of Social Security, the newly discovered addition costs of the Medicare Reform Act-none of which is part of your recent budget Mr. Bush-and more tax cuts are you, Mr. Bush going to keep your pledge to cut the budget deficit in half by 2009? What is the plan Mr. Bush?
I recall a time when it was said the Iraq War would be paid for by the proceeds from the Iraqi oil fields. $200+ billion later and it looks like that’s not the case at all. I fear the Bush administration’s plans for social security and bedget reform are similar bait-and-switch ponzi schemes that will ultimately destroy the coutnry we live in, except for the very rich who can go buy their own islands and sanctuaries.
Iraq is “believed to have 112 billion barrels of proven reserves and another 200 billion barrels of probable reserves.” At $40/barrel the net worth of the Iraqi oil fields is $12.4 trillion dollars. For the Bush administration to spend $200+ billion of the American people’s money to secure these kinds of assets — well, they must be having a great time dividing up the expected profits between the energy companies that dominate their administration. But, oh yeah, we’re there to find WMD. No wait, we’re there to liberate the iraqi people. No wait, we’re there to invoke Democracy. After that scheme collapses, what will it be next year? Oops, North Korea has nukes…
Posted by: Cameron Barrett at February 14, 2005 01:26 PMMr. Martin, how does a capitalist get rid of social programs in a democracy? Via an up or down vote of the public? Of course not.
A capitalist intent on privatizing education, retirement, health care for all who can afford it, the military as much as possible, etc. etc. has only one route to take. Become President, with Congress of his own party, and then bankrupt the government to the furthest extent possible, such that, the only way to save the economy is to end all social spending. That is how a capitalist does it.
Bush is that capitalist and he is not stupid. He has a goal, and he is accomplishing it right under the American voters noses, all the while maintaining a slim majority of support from them. That is not dumb. That is about as politically astute and brilliant as politics gets.
Though I agree, the architect of this ingenius plan is not Bush, he ain’t that capable. But, the folks he has working for him are that capable.
Posted by: David R Remer at February 14, 2005 03:58 PMIt looks bad now, sure, but once we all live forever, we won’t have any need of social programs, from the government or anyone else. In fact, government will probably disintegrate, leaving us with some form of corporate rule a la Neal Stephenson’s classic Snow Crash. Can’t wait!
Posted by: Josh at February 14, 2005 04:37 PMNice article V. Edward - good questions.
David - I agree with you entirely.
Posted by: Adrienne at February 14, 2005 05:21 PMWhat a fanciful world- Bush increases funding for almost every federal program, and he is doing it because he actually believe in capitalism and wants to secret kill these programs?! Come on now.
Its a logiclaly possibly explanation, but i prefer to employs Occam’s razor and deduce the obvious. Bush has bought into the leftist idea that the federal government is the solution to all of our problems, and he is creating bad policy based upon that flawed assumption. Worst of all, conservatives, who grew up and fought against that idea are letting him get away with it; meanwhile, liberals are crying that he isnt wasting enough of our money on nationalized healthcare for the old, education ect. ect. What a strange time we live in.
Posted by: Misha Tseytlin at February 14, 2005 08:19 PMAgree with your post V. Edward and remarks by David and Adrienne supporting. And, he just requested the added$80B for their Mid-east warmongering.
What they have been doing to this country reminds me of the robber barons and pre-middle class conditions.
It’s difficult to keep this short. I have tried to get people to realize what the h… has been going on and vs. the univs. propagandizing for quite a while. Am like a modern “Janus”. This country’s econ is in big trouble. Sorry, but all the univs have been spouting fallacious economic theories and screwed up the country. Been fed a line of baloney with free trade, invisible hand, unbridled immigration, etc. Am keeping it short. Yuppies and now the guppies there. (Full employment for tenured to hide out and screwed over this country, while all walking around thinking they were smarter and knew what they were doing.)
He won by 3%, but some of were just as fearful of the results of the ultraliberals as this Bushie crowd. His practices require Impeachment. But, as stated fear the ultraliberals and their spending. Slicing salaries and benefits of yuppy and offspring guppy are necessary to save this country. (and excluding all non-citizens from govt. benefits usage)
As stated last week in a comment, the non-partisans and moderates must work together and put some pitch forks in rear ends of Sen/Congr Reps with phone calls, e-mails on key topics as they come up…and do whatever we need to do to turn this ship around. This is a war on us.( It started with Clinton and his crew.)
They are sending our jobs out and bringing all those imports in to sink this country!
To me: Good jobs and strong national Econ is second as nat. def. of our own soil on our own soil.
This is a war. We may just have to take to more types of actions. This is from a non-partisan lifelong moderate.
Ultra high priced real estate? Means about zero to us as a country. All those low interest rates?
Foreigners have been buying up your country!!!
China, Japan, etc. own your houses too!!!
Oh, yes, I have been trying to get people to wake up to what is going on!!!
Last year, in order to get American to quit buying cheap foreign made goods and fight to good jobs here, I suggest that the unions to stage a dumping event of imported goods (using a boat at dockside harbor and dumping into nets so wouldn’t pollute).
FOLKS: THE BOSTON TEA PARTY WAS ABOUT GLOBALIZATION — SMALL BUSINESSES & Trades IN U.S AND IN BRITAIN BEING MADE HOSTAGE TO THE INTERNAT. TRADE MONOPOLY CONGLOMORATES ( TEA COMPANY CONGLOMORATE, FOR ONE and specious taxing to sell monopoly products and wipe out others.
British screwed over Irish big time too by taking away their means of production and trade then all they owned. Same controlling aristocratic asses went after U.S. and its products.
_______________
China has billions of your U.S. nat. debt and treasuries. And, how many so-called American corprations are over there…already screwing us over?
Another little known factoid the corp owned newspapers don’t want you to churn about: the Asian Beetle came over here in the Asian/primarily Chinese cargo. State of Mi now OH must destroy millions of trees while hoping destruction of trees will be stopped; Ill and Ny lost thousands so far.
And, Japan (and S.Korea) import about zero from U.S. and have gotten away with that for years now.
Meanwhile, they have bought billions of your U.S. national debt and treasuries.
And, all the outsourcing to India, China, etc.
1500 cos. in Bangladore(sp?) alone.
THE OTHER THING I THINK THAT WE ALL HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT IS: HOW TO STOP YOUR OWN U.S. FUNDS FROM GOING OVER TO FINANCE YOU AND YOUR KIDS DEMISE!!! THE WALL ST. CROWD — FUNNY MONEY BOYS & GIRLS, AND BOND FUNNY MONEY BOYS & GIRLS ARE SELLING YOU ALL OUT TOO!!!
We have to do whatever it takes. We have no other choice at this juncture. They’re selling us out and gutting the country.
Good NYT Op-Ed that reiterates something I’ve been saying for a while: Bush may be able to fool some Americans, but he’s not fooling the international financial community,
Lately, Bush has been talking the deficit reduction talk, but there’s no sign that he is willing to walk the walk. In his 2006 budget, he pledges to slash spending, but largely in areas that would have only a small impact on the deficit and where cuts would be politically difficult, not to mention cruel, such as food stamps, veterans’ medical care, child care and low-income housing.Meanwhile, he is pounding the table for more deficit-bloating measures - making his first-term tax cuts permanent, at a 10-year cost of as much as $2.1 trillion; putting into effect two high-income tax breaks that were enacted in 2001 but have been on hold, at a 10-year cost of $115 billion; and introducing new tax incentives to allow high earners to shift even more cash into tax shelters, at a cost that would ultimately work out to more than $30 billion a year when investors cashed in their accounts tax-free.
Oh, yes. Bush also wants to borrow $4.5 trillion over two decades to privatize Social Security, which is a bad idea even without the borrowing and a horrendous one with it.
The global financial community won’t be fooled.
Posted by: American Pundit at February 15, 2005 01:34 AM
Alex—
Eric,
A lot of you stated is a matter of fact for any who care to look. I seriously doubt now that the Republican’s have the best interest of this country at heart. They are in effect bringing all to ruin, and the Democrats are fiddling on a high hill watching it happen, and the American public is depict in their own rape or feel powerless to stop this gross violation of America…
AP,
Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to the American spirit, American pride, and the greatness that once was the American leader and leadership. Now all we have is self-centered idiots with little or no vision running the country. And those (John McCain) with a little integrity sell themselves to the pimps for what, exactly? I don’t understand, do you, does anyone really? All I know is that my once great nation is slowly and painfully declining and we seem powerless to stop the slide.
Ahhh, VEM. Of course I know. I’m the American Pundit. It’s all about the power, the delusion, and the lechuga.
Take McCain for instance. He’s not happy with the GOP leadership, but he won’t bitch too loud because he needs GOP support (or at least consent) to get re-elected. He probably doesn’t, but he thinks he does.
I’m also sure he sincerely believes he can only help by changing the system from within. Powell believed the same thing, as does Feinstein. I think they’re wrong, but it’s different when being a politician is your job and not just a civic duty. It’s easier to convince yourself you’re not really selling out.
They’re human, in other words.
You’ve got the power to fire them. Vote. Campaign for the good guy. Or even just campaign against the bad guys. If I was still living in Texas, I’d be running an “Anybody but Frist” campaign.
