Republicans Are All Talk...Again!

[piece-itpete]

Ah ah ah, my church is constantly in the red, supporting charities.

Of course, a GOPer would be sure they were deserving and not just lazy...

Pete

[Fast_Eddie]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

If they cut welfare to nothing we can always send the needy to a good libs house

Pete

I won't rehash it again, because it's clearly not going to help. But you could eliminate welfare and it won't begin to put a dent in the problem. Eleminate the ENTIRE budget for EVERYTHING other than SS, Medicade, Medicare and the Military and we STILL don't balance the budget. Sooo. What 'cha gonna cut, Tea folk?

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Of course, a GOPer would be sure they were deserving and not just lazy...

Pete

Horse hockey, near as I recall it was Clinton who straightened out welfare. But as Eddie has pointed out, killing all the programs GOOPers don't like is not going to balane SFA. Now if we were to close all foreign bases and get out of Afghanistan and Iraq, that might balance things, hell there might even be enough left over to fix our rosds, bridges, and power grid.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Fast_Eddie

I won't rehash it again, because it's clearly not going to help. But you could eliminate welfare and it won't begin to put a dent in the problem. Eleminate the ENTIRE budget for EVERYTHING other than SS, Medicade, Medicare and the Military and we STILL don't balance the budget. Sooo. What 'cha gonna cut, Tea folk?

Congressionmal salaries? Maybe that way they could not afford broadband access and would have to settle for their wives.

[Fast_Eddie]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Congressionmal salaries? Maybe that way they could not afford broadband access and would have to settle for their wives.

lol - Classic.

Honestly, being a Capitalist, I think we shoud raise their salaries. Might attract a better class of people. Not kidding about that, by the way. Teachers and Police as well. Think about it, do you really want to be represented by anyone who would take the job? I honestly, no kidding, would NOT take the job if they handed it to me. Not for what it pays. Shoot, I don't think most of them make much more than me. For all that brain damage? You'd have to do better than that. I'm already underappreciated right here! And nobody wants to kill me. I mean, except for some of you guys.

But they must have a good gym. I don't look that good with my shirt off.

[piece-itpete]

I've read the newsaper a long time. Clintons' hand was forced by the GOP controlled Congress. How the left howled when he signed that bill! The media was against it too. Now it's 'Clintons' reform bill

I still remember the hilarity, all these reporters looking for people going hungry. They couldn't find any.

Eddie, your higher pay theory may be put to test in Ohio, our shiney brand new model Fearless Leader has said repeatedly he'll pay what it takes.

I could use a gym or three too

Pete

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Fast_Eddie

I won't rehash it again, because it's clearly not going to help. But you could eliminate welfare and it won't begin to put a dent in the problem. Eleminate the ENTIRE budget for EVERYTHING other than SS, Medicade, Medicare and the Military and we STILL don't balance the budget. Sooo. What 'cha gonna cut, Tea folk?

Cutting the budget is only part of the equation.

I liked some of the things that the deficit panel came up with, but it was about as popular as a turd in a punchbowl.

So let's take a comprehensive approach.

Medicare, medicade, and socialist security take up pretty much half of the budget...depending on which liar you listen to.

I'm thinking we shitcan the PPACA and go straight to single payer. I can't run the numbers, but when you consider how much money is spent on healthcare by the government, businesses, and private individuals there has to be a way to bring things in under budget.

And people need to get used to the fact they they're gonna die.

Socialist security, raise the withholding rate, remove the caps, and means test. Hell, if I were actually rich, I'd be embarrassed to draw it.

Now we have another app 1/3 which goes to the military. Tell all of our "buddies" to take care of their own asses and we'll do the same. Ain't our job to save the world.

Shrink the size of the Federal government...my favorite. Last thing we need is another sumbitch telling us how to live our lives...and billing us for the privilege.

Slap tariffs on any country which sells garbage (China) produced by slave labor and/or manipulates their currency to set their prices artificially low.

We didn't take them bastards to raise, besides, I'd like to be able to buy a vacuum actuator for my Blazer that would last longer than 3 weeks...something the Chinamen don't seem capable of producing.

Modify our monetary system so that interest paid on the national debt goes straight into the public coffers without being filtered through the international bankers.

On 2nd thought, maybe we need to hold military spending at it's current levels until we build a bunch more nukes. Seems like the bankers weren't too happy with Napoleon for refusing to to let them finance his adventures.

Face it, the difference between being crazy or eccentric depends on how much shit you have in your britches. And with enough nukes to turn the planet Earth into something that resembles a grapefruit what's been shot with a .30-06...we would be eccentric.

If all of the above doesn't balance the ledger, raise taxes...starting with the one's who can afford it the easiest.

Probably a few other things I could mention, but you get my general drift.

Now my question is, am I rational, a teabagger, or insane? I know I'm too poor to be eccentric.

Chas

[Charles]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I've read the newsaper a long time. Clintons' hand was forced by the GOP controlled Congress. How the left howled when he signed that bill! The media was against it too. Now it's 'Clintons' reform bill

I still remember the hilarity, all these reporters looking for people going hungry. They couldn't find any.

Eddie, your higher pay theory may be put to test in Ohio, our shiney brand new model Fearless Leader has said repeatedly he'll pay what it takes.

I could use a gym or three too

Pete

Wull, mebee ya kin read ritin', but kin ya rite readin'?

Damm 'publcins always lettin' on 'bout how smart they is.

Chas

[Fast_Eddie]

Well, Chas, I'd say we're in about 80% agreement. And I'd say you're quite rational. Which, by definition, means you're no Teabagger.

Here's the thing- as you say, people had little appetite for these sorts of cuts. We love to talk about the right and the left, but there's no escaping that we're all Americans. And Americans keep saying over and over "cut the budget but don't touch SS, Medi this, Medi that or the Military. If you do we won't vote for you".

So "we" keep saying we want it all and don't want to pay for it. We need some of those yahoos on both sides to say "sorry, folks. Can't have it. Anyone who tells you you can is lying." Then they need to cut the programs very much as you describe (I have some issues with some of your ideas, but on the whole, close enough I'm sure we could reach a deal). AND raise taxes. Pain on the right. Pain on the left. Fall on our swards and none of us will be here after the next election. But we'll get this fixed, or at least get it started.

But it ain't going to happen. It used to be one side saying it, but more and more, both sides are saying you can have it all and you don't have to pay for it.

I have to be honest. I still run into a world of people who say "they just need to cut taxes - that will raise revenue". And as I've said, I don't take issue with the fact that when Reagan did it, that's what happened. But taxes ARE low. Nobody who knows anything is still saying that. But the myth is still out there, and it's not just a few people who believe it. We need Ross Perot to get his charts and markers out again and explain it.

Was he rational? A teabagger? Insane? Dunno. But the crazy bastard was right. How much does that suck?

[merrylander]

Just a couple of points;

SS funds itself, it was the pols who stole the money and left IOUs

Medicare probably comes close to funding itself, I am sure that I am not the only one who pays over $1100 a year for a flu shot. They have raised the level of contribution since I joined. Funny part is that it was a Republican administration that insisted I take SS at 65 although I would have preferred to wait until I retired at 73 simply because they got most all of it back in taxes..

In case no one noticed a goodly number of the countries where we have military bases would just as soon we went home, Okinawa for example. The idea that we are the world's police force is a legend in our own minds.