Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) is 100% correct. Congress cannot afford more spending, Bunning has proposed a way to pay for the extended benefits, but Democrats have rejected it. Have you heard that in the news? Probably not. And as expected, liberals of all sorts are whining about how evil the senator is for daring to deny poor victims their benefits. Like fussy teenagers liberals latch on to the emotional mindset of “I WANT IT” with no regard for how to pay for it. Grow up liberals and find a way to pay for these benefits. Or, listen to Senator Bunning and pull the $11B needed out of the stagnant and useless stimulus funds. It would be nice to see those dollars actually used for something, right?
On March 2, 2010, In Conservatives, Economy, By Paulie
On February 4, 2010, In Economy, By Paulie
Let the numbers speak for themselves. Here is my version of the CBO’s Federal Budget chart. I’ve added the year and colors for those that comprehend better visually. Redish hues stand for Republican numbers, blue for Democrat, and purple for the hybrid government of a Republican president with a Democratically controlled congress.
I would like to point out a few trends in the chart above.
- Yes, GWB inherited a surplus. Any president would have had a surplus after serving during the biggest economic and technological boom of the century. The internet boom was a wonderful thing. The bust, not so much.
- Notice that despite 9/11 and its obvious financial impact, the deficit was steadily decreasing beginning in 2004. Republican economic policies were working. We were on our way back toward budget surplus. PResident Bush decreased the budget every year starting in 2004,with the exception of 2008.
- What happened in 2008? A $300B tax credit has a way of skewing your averages. So does a Democratically controlled congress.
- What happened in 2009? Well, Obama took over and quickly embraced Rahm Emmanuel’s “take advantage of a crisis” mindset. Sadly, many of the proposed budget requests won’t impact us for several years. It was designed that way. Sure, the CBO projects that the deficit will decrease through 2012, but it will never “improve” to even the worst levels of the prior administration
Let’s look at another chart:
Do you see what I see? At the peak of the internet boom we were at virtual unemployment, a rate around 4%. Terrorists helped change that in 2001, but again — despite 9/11 — employment figures continually decreased under Republican leadership. Then the Democrats took over. The housing bubble, a bubble created by liberal policies, finally burst. Hank Paulson scared Congress into giving him $700 billion dollars, and to this day we still have no idea where all of that money went or whether or not it actually made a difference. Sure, we are told that it did, but there is zero data to back it up. Show me direct correlation between the bailout and any improvement in our financial markets.
How high will unemployment go? How low will our deficits drop? At what point does China say “No credit for you!” What will it take to teach people that you cannot help the unemployed by punishing the employer? The 2010 mid-term election could be the most important election America has ever faced. Our financial future depends on it. The scale of these problems is something America has never experienced. In one single year “trillion” has become the new “billion.” Once upon a time “trillion” was a massive number used to describe stars or micro-organisms. Now it is sadly a standard term of reference in the Obama administration.
UPDATE: The purpose of my post is to provide a comparison of the Bush and Obama administrations. I can (and probably will) provide additional charts with a longer time frame for those that feel it is important. But my point is to provide data to liberals that shows how much worse Obama is making things. Yes, GWB spent too much, but does that give Obama carte blanche to take it to an entirely new and previously unforeseen level? I don’t think so.
UPDATE 2: Here is the chart for US unemployment statistics back to 1948. The highest ever was under Reagan’s first term.The largest ever decrease in the unemployment rate was under Reagan’s presidency. However, it should be noted that he took measures to reduce the unemployment rate by lowering taxes and stimulating the economy. Obama is doing the exact opposite. Therefore I think it would be foolish to think that Obama can repeat Reagan’s legacy.
Today I read an article written by Jeff Jacoby at the Boston Globe that had to do with how conservatives “have got it wrong” about illegal immigrants and college tuition. Like so many other emotional people, his arguments center around a victim mentality, not around what is right, fair and just.
Jacoby cites an example of a Brazilian student in Massachusetts who’s parents entered America illegally. He then says: “Her classmates can attend the University of Massachusetts, paying $9,704 a year in tuition, the price tag for Massachusetts residents. She [an illegal immigrant] can attend only if she pays the out-of-state rate of $22,157; if that’s more than she can afford, she’s out of luck.”
Somebody call the wahmbulance, I think I might cry myself to death.
There is nothing in the constitution that states that everyone gets a college education, never mind an affordable college education close to mommy and daddy. If this nice Brazilian high school graduate wants to go to a state school in Massachusetts, she needs to pay out of state tuition, period. Her parents broke the law to enter our country, and her children need to suffer the consequences of their mistake and their unwillingness to correct that mistake during the past 18 years. If she can’t afford the college of her choice she can do what thousands, if not millions, of college students do every year and borrow money to go to college.
My opinion is based on my own college experience. For my chosen major I had three solid schools to choose from that were at the top of my chosen field: University of Miami (FL), Eastman University (NY) and North Texas. In the early 1980s the annual out of state tuition for these three schools was $12,000, $13000, and $4000 respectively. North Texas was actually less expensive than in-state tuition at UConn. Where did I go? I went where I could afford to go: North Texas. And I still had to use student loans to pay for school. Who says that students get to choose everything they want? Nobody. Tough it up, deal with it and move on. Not everyone gets a trophy. (as a brief aside: At the beginning of my sophomore year North Texas tripled its out of state tuition rate. Did I march outside and protest? No, I went to class. So to all of the whiny California students moaning about a 32% tuition increase: I suggest you swing by Starbucks on the way back to those classes that your parents are probably paying for and pick up a cup of Shut The Hell Up.)
Jacoby loses me for good with this statement: How is Massachusetts improved by making it impossible for an accomplished high-school graduate, a lifelong resident of the state, to gain a university degree?
Um, Jeff? Isn’t that a little dramatic? She can choose from hundreds of schools, colleges and universities all over America, as well as the rest of the world. She simply cannot get, nor does she deserve, the discount afforded to legal citizens that live in Massachusetts. Students in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have to pay out of state, so should the girl actually from a place more than 4,000 miles away.
Jacoby rightfully says that the problem “can only be solved by overhauling our dysfunctional immigration laws, not by demonizing or scapegoating illegal immigrants.” He then makes the generalization “those immigrants didn’t come here in order to be lawbreakers; they broke a law in order to come here.” Well, I think most of them come here for a better life, but there is plenty of evidence that a significant percentage of those crossing the border are here to do no good at all. While the following stats are a couple of years old, they still mean a lot to me:
- In 2006, twelve Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens (4,380 in 2006). (source)
- Thirteen Americans were killed every day by drunk illegal alien drivers (4,745 in 2006) (source)
- Eight American children were victims of sexual abuse by illegal aliens every day (2,920 in 2006) (source)
- There are about 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders in the United States who have had an average of four victims each. (source)
So while I can understand Mr. Jacoby’s perspective I think his is an emotional argument, not a practical one. Enforce our borders, enforce our existing immigration laws and fix our broken immigration system. At the end of the day life is not fair, and sometimes when you are 18 years old things don’t go your way. But in America you have choices, whether you are here legally or not. Make the best of it, quite whining, or go live somewhere else.
On November 20, 2009, In Economy, Finance, Glenn Beck, Politics, Uncategorized, history, taxes, tea party, By Paulie
If your home caught fire while you were asleep would you really care who yelled to wake you up and save your family’s life? Would his/her race, age or religion matter? Of course not.
Well America, our financial house is on fire and the only person out there screaming to wake us up is Glenn Beck. To my liberal friends and to my moderate friends that have heard negative things about Glenn Beck: I don’t care what you think of him, you need to listen to the message he is delivering. Ignore that it’s Glenn. Ignore the fact that it’s Fox News. Ignore the pink shirt. Listen to the message.
The first video is actually the fourth segment from this particular show (aired on Nov 17), but I think it is a good starting point for those of you that have never watched Beck, or for those that perhaps watched his early shows on HNN. All I ask is that you watch the first clip below. If it piques your curiosity or captures your attention, please watch the remaining clips. They include compelling data that should shock you into reality about America’s financial sitation.
Hopefully the video above opened your eyes. Now for some details:
Can anyone tell me where Glenn or his guests are wrong? Can you then explain why nobody else is yelling fire?
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