I have been twisted and torn by this. Should I support the Boehner plan or not.
One the one hand, even though default on our debt cannot and will not happen no matter what, the political ramifications of hitting a hard debt limit and the choices it imposes will be played up in the media in ways too melodramatic to imagine. And the President, the Democrats, and their minions in the MSM will play this to maximum effect to hurt the conservative cause.
So if the Boehner plan is the best that can be achieved at this point to avoid all that and bring this all back up before the election, perhaps we should support it?
On the other hand, this was an unprecedented opportunity to make some real progress on cutting the budget which is what Boehner et al promised after the continuing resolution debacle. Yet, as it stands, Boehner proposes to actually spend more money next year than this year. How the hell is that cutting anything? And the real cuts in his plan don’t happen until much later and some future congress is under no obligation to do anything this congress says. So the bottom line. NO CUTS AT ALL.
So this is what we are left with? Political and economic disaster vs. status quo. Thank you very much Republican leadership, you completely failed again.
But there is an alternative. The Mack Penny plan. This plan, which I support, cuts actual spending by 1% each year for 8 years. Congress can decide how to allocate it, and if they can’t the cuts are across the board. Simple and effective. This is something they could have sold to the American people if they tried. Alas alack.
So what to do now? Opinions are welcome.
July 29, 2011 at 1:39 pm
1%? Really?
In the last decade, Fed spending has doubled.
The professional pols are not listening. We have a ruling class, and they give us a pat on the head and tell us not to worry, our betters will handle everything.
20% a year for three years. That is a real cut, and will force the pols to finally approach the ugly reality of cuts to entitlements. And the elimination of bureaus, programs, and other detritus of their own making.
Any less is unserious.
July 29, 2011 at 1:42 pm
The only realistic alternative right now is the Boehner plan. President Obama and the Senate Democrats are simply not going to go along with a plan that cuts spending any deeper, and no amount of stomping our feet is going to change that.
What people fail to understand is that this is not the final opportunity to enact real reform. This is just the beginning of a process that can only be completed when Obama is out of office.
July 29, 2011 at 2:23 pm
I'm tempted to say to Republicans, "Vote no" on the Boehner plan. I fear it's a lose-lose situation. But, I'd hate to see the consequences.
First of all, the plan doesn't get to the heart of the matter – overspending. Secondly, the Dems are going to kill it in the Senate (or Obama will veto it).
And, to top it off, the Republicans will get the blame for whatever goes wrong anyway.
So, why not stick to their principles? At least their consciences will be clear for not having compromised what they were elected to do.
It really angers me that the Democrats can publically announce that no matter what the House sends them, they'll vote it down; AND that Reid's own (unwritten, unspecific) plan can't pass the Senate … yet, the House Republicans get the blame.
I say, send Cut, Cap, and Balance. Tell the world, "The House offers a specific plan, in writing, on paper, that addresses the issue. If the Dems don't like it, then let them present their own specific plan, in writing, on paper."
July 29, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Have you seen the cartoon with two news anchors: "Today, both Republicans and Democrats moved closer towards raising the Debt Ceiling to remedy America's financial predicament… And in other news, blood alcohol levels will be raised to solve drunk driving."
July 29, 2011 at 3:14 pm
I say, send Cut, Cap, and Balance. Tell the world, "The House offers a specific plan, in writing, on paper, that addresses the issue. If the Dems don't like it, then let them present their own specific plan, in writing, on paper."
And then . . .
I can see the appeal of hunkering down, but the Democrats are not going to cave just because we want them to.
So many of the people who don't like the Boehner plan think Barack Obama is a hardened leftist socialist. Well, even the ones who like the plan think that, but the point is that the same guy we all think is a leftist radical is not going to accept the biggest rollback of the welfare state since the welfare state came into existence, either as a matter of ideology or politics. If Obama signs cut, cap and balance he guarantees that he is primaried and/or faces a third party run from the left. In other words, he basically seals his fate as a one-termer.
We need to do a lot more to restore our fiscal house, but it's sadly not going to happen while Barry is in charge.
July 29, 2011 at 3:28 pm
The Banksters wil get their money. They always do. All the rest is political strum und drang for those who think that The Banksters, The International Corporations etc do not control America.
The ol' actor, Reagan, the penny-pinching conservative, raised the debt ceiling 17 times as I recall.
Do voters truly think that the powerful forces controlling America are going to let you vote for any individual who will be able to legislate against their interests?
I was reading an investment newsletter, "Strategic Investment," at the time of the "conservative revolution" when Newt Gingrich became SOTH.
He was quoted in that publication as saying (paraphrase) We have to let them (Wall St Banksters) be made whole (on their insane,crummy, and non-productive loans to Mexico that Mexico was defaulting on) before they will let us do what we want.
So, we the people bailed-out The Banksters who made crummy unsecured loans to Mexico. Banksters win when they lose and they win when they win
Socialise debt, privatise profits.
Americas, wadda country….
July 29, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Paul,
I understand – and agree with – what you're saying intellectually. My comment, certainly born of frustration, only indicated what I'm "tempted" to say.
I want to avoid catastrophe, but with both sides playing Chicken, we might just get the doom we deserve. The Boehner Plan is the prudent approach in the short term – both fiscally and politically.
I'm just fed up with it all, and was venting. Not productive, I know – but sometimes theraputic. What's even more theraputic, however, is reading commonsense comments like yours.
July 29, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Blocked by Big Brother on FB, too….
July 29, 2011 at 4:06 pm
I hope we default; this would shut down government. Big government is the problem, not the solution. We have to be willing to sacrifice and suffer if we really want to fullfill our goal of making Obama a one-term president.
July 29, 2011 at 4:27 pm
I appreciate that Nicholas, and I can completely understand the frustration, and share it. We're really on the same side, and we need to focus our frustration on the people that are really holding up reform.
July 29, 2011 at 7:31 pm
I'm a Texan and all I can say is – don't mess with Texas.
July 29, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Perhaps the Honorable Mr. Boehner will don his cute little cheerleader-tryout shorts and again play golf with Dear Leader wearing his presidential pedal-pushers. Really, who can take these gentlemen…um, guys seriously as statesmen?
July 29, 2011 at 11:07 pm
This is the same old blather. They aren't going to cut anything. The plan is to ruin the country, make people miserable and promise them a "strong leader" and assimilation into a "global government" to "fix everything". The U.S. HAS NO MONEY. Period. Time to default. I didn't spend this $, neither did anyone on this forum. We and our children have been yoked by crooks to massive debt. Ron Paul predicted it all and has fought this for 40 years. Time to listen to him, even though we don't deserve him.
July 30, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Why does Boehner look so orange all the time? Does he have liver disease?