tomder55
Jan 27, 2010, 06:02 AM
During the campaign candidate Obama mocked Sen McCain's proposals for having a spending freeze for budget balancing . Obama said the budget required a scalpel and not a hatchet.
Now hours before his State of the Union Address ;and clearly reacting to the election results in the Massachusetts special election for Senator,the President is proposing a spending freeze . Is this part of that on the job training ?
But a closer examination of this proposal reveals that his proposal is so much more smoke an mirrors.
The spending freeze, expected to be proposed by Obama during the State of the Union address on Wednesday, would apply to a relatively small portion of the federal budget, affecting a $477 billion pot of money available for domestic agencies whose budgets are approved by Congress each year. Some of those agencies could get increases, others would have to face cuts; such programs got an almost 10 percent increase this year. The federal budget total was $3.5 trillion.
CBO: Federal Deficit Projected at $1.35T - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9661795)
The truth is that this is neither a hatchet or a scalpel. It's more like a plastic butter knife. You can add his “Hard Freeze” rhetoric in the scrap heap alongside that special bi-partisan committee he proposed for making deficit reduction proposals that apparently both sides of the aisle objected to . From his own side Harry Reid replied that he does not agree with a spending freeze. Charlie Rangel Chair of the Ways and Means, does not agree with the freeze. And to put a cherry on top,the liberal bloggers are going nuts .
Further ;it is far from an across the board freeze ,as is being claimed. Among the exempt budget items are all entitlement programs, unspent bucket list stimulus money is exempt and many of the President's favorite pet projects are exempt.
The truth is that the President and his cohorts in Congress have already jacked up discretionary spending beyond what he is proposing the freeze. His proposal affects 3% of new expenditures already budgeted. This “freeze” is only coming after huge budget increases in 2009 that doubled the size of discretionary spending .His austerity measures still amount to huge budget increases.
McCain for his part is foolishly going along with this charade which will give the President bi-partisan cover for this smoke and mirror game. McCain faces a primary challenge this year by former Congressman JD Hayworth. It's time for McCain gracefully retire.
Now hours before his State of the Union Address ;and clearly reacting to the election results in the Massachusetts special election for Senator,the President is proposing a spending freeze . Is this part of that on the job training ?
But a closer examination of this proposal reveals that his proposal is so much more smoke an mirrors.
The spending freeze, expected to be proposed by Obama during the State of the Union address on Wednesday, would apply to a relatively small portion of the federal budget, affecting a $477 billion pot of money available for domestic agencies whose budgets are approved by Congress each year. Some of those agencies could get increases, others would have to face cuts; such programs got an almost 10 percent increase this year. The federal budget total was $3.5 trillion.
CBO: Federal Deficit Projected at $1.35T - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9661795)
The truth is that this is neither a hatchet or a scalpel. It's more like a plastic butter knife. You can add his “Hard Freeze” rhetoric in the scrap heap alongside that special bi-partisan committee he proposed for making deficit reduction proposals that apparently both sides of the aisle objected to . From his own side Harry Reid replied that he does not agree with a spending freeze. Charlie Rangel Chair of the Ways and Means, does not agree with the freeze. And to put a cherry on top,the liberal bloggers are going nuts .
Further ;it is far from an across the board freeze ,as is being claimed. Among the exempt budget items are all entitlement programs, unspent bucket list stimulus money is exempt and many of the President's favorite pet projects are exempt.
The truth is that the President and his cohorts in Congress have already jacked up discretionary spending beyond what he is proposing the freeze. His proposal affects 3% of new expenditures already budgeted. This “freeze” is only coming after huge budget increases in 2009 that doubled the size of discretionary spending .His austerity measures still amount to huge budget increases.
McCain for his part is foolishly going along with this charade which will give the President bi-partisan cover for this smoke and mirror game. McCain faces a primary challenge this year by former Congressman JD Hayworth. It's time for McCain gracefully retire.