You can't be that naive. Of course tax dollars go to abortions: http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/04/the-latest-fight-over-federal-tax-dollars-and-abortion.html And of course the money going to Planned Parenthood indirectly funds abortions: http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/117552253.html
Well, that ends a too-stressful-bunch-of-extra-hours kind of week. If I imbibed, I'd start getting drunk right about now.
We had to fly everyone home today so they wouldn't be stuck somewhere... detailers in other offices, people on training, etc. Now, they get to turn around and go back on Sunday so they can work again on Monday. We cancelled tons of training, notified hundreds of contractors to prepare to stop work, and told seasonal hires who were going to start work on Monday to stay home. We cancelled guided hikes for school kids, closed campgrounds, cancelled projects with partners, and did a bunch of other stuff that caused people in and out of government a bunch of stress. Now we get to undo everything on Monday. Not to mention the emotional costs. Jeez.
All of this could have been avoided if them Democrats would have done their job last year and passed a budget when they controlled the House but then again that would have meant more government waste. In reality, these cuts a very small compared to the deficit. I guess fiscal sanity has to start somewhere. Raising the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget battles will be even more craziness.
All of this could have been avoided if Bush Jr. didn't spend the rainy day fund on illegal warfare. All of this could have been avoided if Reagen did not extensively cut tax rates. All of this could have been avoided if Nixon did not take us off the gold standard. All of this could have been avoided if John Maynard Keynes had become a priest. and etc. etc.
It was the Congress's job to pass a budget for fiscal year 2011. That budget should have been passed before Oct. 1, 2010. Last time I checked the Dem's had control of both houses and the oval office at that time. They could have passed as big of a bloated budget as they wanted and the Republicans could have done about it. BTW, some of your points are valid but you are dead wrong about Reagan's tax cuts. When Reagan cut taxes it caused the government revenue to almost double by the end of his second term. The problem was spending just as it is today.
Not true - the GOP had filibuster power in the Senate. In case you weren't paying attention, both sides had agreed to the budget framework in 2010 that included a number of spending cuts, and both sides had agreed to pass it during the December session to avoid the politics of it during the election. At the last minute in December, the GOP in the Senate changed their mind and rejected the budget that they themselves had actually participated in crafting. So yes, the Dems failed to pass a budget. The reason was that the GOP bailed on what they had agreed to. So if there was a lesson there, it was to simply to not trust the GOP's word.
What are you talking about? The House was part of the budget negotiations and had agreed to the same basic framework. Everyone was in agreement that all the votes would be held in the December session. Both sides had agreed to all of this and developed the budget together. It was just considered a formality before the GOP changed their minds. Given that everyone knew they were going to lose seats and probably control of the House last year, don't you think the Dems would happily have passed their own 2011 budget rather than let the GOP have a say this year?
All's well that ends well -- and we saved $40B or so this year and even more in future years. All in all, the old budget bird was stripped of some feathers but we'll we keeping our axes sharp and the chopping chop handy in hopes we can carve it up into bite sized pieces.' I wish DonnyMost could find a carcature of sacred cows with their eyes wide open staring at the slaughterhouse.
It is a crying shame and a moral disgrace that we just insured that millions of poor folks will unnecessarily be cold during the winter, kids will not go to pre school and millions of others will suffer needlessly etc. because our the elite who control the media and the corporations, and who are personally comfortable almost beyond belief, sefishly want more tax breaks for millionaries and billionaires. I guess you can call the budget a mean hearted anti-stimulus bill.
Republicans were filibustering everything (including the budget) during the time period you are referring to. When Reagan cut taxes, the short term effect was to reduce the amount of money the federal government brought in. Then, GDP growth continued at the same rate it had historically, which brought up tax revenues. Correlation <> causation. Tax revenues go up with GDP growth and inflation, that is just a fact of economics.
How embarrassing for the speaker Spending Bill Passes House Despite Mass Republican Defections From Boehner With the help of 81 Democrats,the House passed legislation Thursday to fund the government through September and avoid a government shutdown. Fifty-nine Republicans defected from GOP leadership, leaving Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) woefully short of the necessary majority to pass the bill without Democratic help. The final vote was 260-167. The fact that Boehner needed nearly 40 Democratic votes to pass the resolution and avoid a government shutdown was a stunning blow to his leadership, especially after he shut House Democrats out of budget negotiations and just a few days ago dismissed the need to secure any Democratic votes.
Only a truly disingenuous right-winger such as yourself would blame the Democrats for not passing a budget when the GOP filibuster is the reason it didn't happen. Please provide something to the discussion other than lies and misdirection.
