Senator Jim DeMint explains why we can't trust my congresswoman, Dr. Nan Hayworth (R-NY-10), nor can we trust Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican House or Senate Leadership, nor of course... obviously nor of course... Obama, Pelosi, Reid, or any of the Democrats:
A LETTER FROM SENATOR JIM DEMINT (R-SC) ON BEHALF OF THE
SENATE CONSERVATIVES FUND:
SENATE CONSERVATIVES FUND:
Despite bipartisan promises to cut spending after the 2010 elections, Washington politicians are still voting to make the government even bigger and more expensive than ever.
Don't believe me? Just two weeks ago, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate passed three new spending bills to increase 2012 funding above 2011 funding levels.
Even though the federal government is nearly $15 trillion in debt, it's spending at record-high levels. Federal spending has gone up 5% in the first nine months of this year alone.
All the talk of cutting spending after the 2010 elections has been just that - talk.
In the spring fight to avert a government shutdown, Republicans promised $100 billion in real cuts but then compromised for $38.5 billion in future savings. In reality, the Congressional Budget Office found the deal still resulted in an increase of more than $170 billion in federal spending from 2010 to 2011.
The "largest spending cut in history" ended up being a spending increase.
Americans were then told the “real” spending cuts would come during the summer fight over the decision to raise the nation's debt ceiling.
Conservatives pushed the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan to balance the budget within ten years in exchange for increasing the legal borrowing limit. Instead of doing that, however, Democratic and Republican leadership made a “compromise” deal to allow President Obama to increase our national debt to nearly $17 trillion, conditioned only on the creation of a “super-committee” that would produce debt-reduction recommendations by the end of the year.
[This “super-committee”] isn't really trying to cut spending. It seeks only to spend the country into bankruptcy a little slower.
Rather than letting the country rack up $23.4 trillion of debt by 2021, the super-committee hopes to keep it to $21.3 trillion. It's the difference between speeding off a cliff at 91 miles per hour versus 100 miles per hour.
One would think that, in the sub-AAA-rated America that's moving down a path dangerously similar to the one Greece is on, members of this super-committee would be eagerly rooting out waste throughout our behemoth government. Not so. Reports indicate that the committee, which works in secret, has spent months debating how high they should raise taxes to lower the deficit.
While everyone is waiting for the super-committee to unveil its grand plan, Congress continues to spend with abandon. Even modest proposals to make small cuts are rejected with overwhelming, bipartisan force.
Oklahoma Republican senator Tom Coburn offered an amendment two weeks ago to reduce funding for the Rural Development Agency (RDA) by $1 billion.
A 2007 Washington Post investigation of the agency stated, "More than three decades after the program was created, USDA officials still don't know whether it works." The [bipartisan] Congressional Research Service has found there are "more than 88 programs administered by 16 different federal agencies to target rural economic development." In recent years the RDA has used taxpayer money to make profligate loans to casinos, beach resorts, and water parks.
Still, 85 Senators, consisting of every Democrat and many Republicans, opposed the cut to this wasteful spending. Only 13 senators, all Republicans, supported Coburn's amendment.
If the Senate can't bring itself to trim $1 billion from a duplicative program, how can it ever be expected to cut the trillions needed to balance the budget?
This isn't some isolated example of the Senate's misguided ways. Even though easy credit fueled the housing bubble and subsequent bust, eight Republicans recently joined 52 Democrats to pass an amendment sponsored by New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez to raise the maximum size of federally subsidized loans to $729,750, pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to back mortgages far above average home prices. It's as if 60 U.S. senators learned nothing from the market crash and have no idea Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in constant need of bailouts from the Treasury Department.
Don't believe me? Just two weeks ago, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate passed three new spending bills to increase 2012 funding above 2011 funding levels.
Even though the federal government is nearly $15 trillion in debt, it's spending at record-high levels. Federal spending has gone up 5% in the first nine months of this year alone.
All the talk of cutting spending after the 2010 elections has been just that - talk.
In the spring fight to avert a government shutdown, Republicans promised $100 billion in real cuts but then compromised for $38.5 billion in future savings. In reality, the Congressional Budget Office found the deal still resulted in an increase of more than $170 billion in federal spending from 2010 to 2011.
The "largest spending cut in history" ended up being a spending increase.
Americans were then told the “real” spending cuts would come during the summer fight over the decision to raise the nation's debt ceiling.
Conservatives pushed the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan to balance the budget within ten years in exchange for increasing the legal borrowing limit. Instead of doing that, however, Democratic and Republican leadership made a “compromise” deal to allow President Obama to increase our national debt to nearly $17 trillion, conditioned only on the creation of a “super-committee” that would produce debt-reduction recommendations by the end of the year.
[This “super-committee”] isn't really trying to cut spending. It seeks only to spend the country into bankruptcy a little slower.
Rather than letting the country rack up $23.4 trillion of debt by 2021, the super-committee hopes to keep it to $21.3 trillion. It's the difference between speeding off a cliff at 91 miles per hour versus 100 miles per hour.
One would think that, in the sub-AAA-rated America that's moving down a path dangerously similar to the one Greece is on, members of this super-committee would be eagerly rooting out waste throughout our behemoth government. Not so. Reports indicate that the committee, which works in secret, has spent months debating how high they should raise taxes to lower the deficit.
While everyone is waiting for the super-committee to unveil its grand plan, Congress continues to spend with abandon. Even modest proposals to make small cuts are rejected with overwhelming, bipartisan force.
Oklahoma Republican senator Tom Coburn offered an amendment two weeks ago to reduce funding for the Rural Development Agency (RDA) by $1 billion.
A 2007 Washington Post investigation of the agency stated, "More than three decades after the program was created, USDA officials still don't know whether it works." The [bipartisan] Congressional Research Service has found there are "more than 88 programs administered by 16 different federal agencies to target rural economic development." In recent years the RDA has used taxpayer money to make profligate loans to casinos, beach resorts, and water parks.
Still, 85 Senators, consisting of every Democrat and many Republicans, opposed the cut to this wasteful spending. Only 13 senators, all Republicans, supported Coburn's amendment.
If the Senate can't bring itself to trim $1 billion from a duplicative program, how can it ever be expected to cut the trillions needed to balance the budget?
This isn't some isolated example of the Senate's misguided ways. Even though easy credit fueled the housing bubble and subsequent bust, eight Republicans recently joined 52 Democrats to pass an amendment sponsored by New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez to raise the maximum size of federally subsidized loans to $729,750, pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to back mortgages far above average home prices. It's as if 60 U.S. senators learned nothing from the market crash and have no idea Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in constant need of bailouts from the Treasury Department.
Folks... we're in deep, deep trouble.
Like it or not, America is a two-party state and both parties are overwhelmingly corrupt. This venial majority is not... I repeat... not... going to be thrown out of office come next November and replaced by principled, financially responsible constitutionists.
I and other citizens like me got Nan Hayworth elected to the House in November of 2010. To say that she's been a disappointment would an understatement. She is loyal to John Boehner and that's that. She was "captured" by Boehner and the House GOP leadership months before she was sworn into office. Guess what folks...? She's gonna be re-elected next year. I doubt she'll even be challenged for re-nomination!
There are literally a handful of Senate Republicans who can be trusted.
There are maybe... maybe... forty... fifty... sixty (tops!) House Republicans who can be trusted.
Few of our elected federal representatives are literally morons. By and large you can't rise to the level of being chosen by one of the parties and then elected to the House or Senate if you're a literal moron. This said, I doubt many members of the House or Senate have the basic factual knowledge concerning what ails this country that I do - or that any daily "Newsbites" reader does. (And even the ones who do... how often are they 100% honest with their constituents, with the American People? You know the answer...)
We've got a dysfunctional system, folks. We have the inmates running the asylum and by their actions they're literally setting this nation and our People up for a fall such to make the Great Depression look like a mild downturn.
How do we save America?
Our "Republic" is no more. (If you don't understand what I mean by this there's no point in your reading further.)
The Rule of Law is routinely skirted and often trampled by those responsible for writing, enforcing, and interpreting it.
Via crony capitalism (and crony socialism!) our politicians are all too often bought and paid for, yet, due to the powers delegated to the parties via gerrymander and legal regulations (campaign laws) written by these same politicians, it's quite difficult to dislodge incumbents and even when incumbents are dislodged... the "better" choice is often only a better choice in comparison.
Again, folks... Boehner? Sure... better than Pelosi... but not the man the country needs! Nan Hayworth? Head and shoulders above her proudly left-wing predecessor, John Hall, but with the proof being a federal government which has grown by 5% during her brief tenure so far in office... obviously she's not the woman I thought I was voting for.
How do we save our country, my friends? How do we save America for our children... our grandchildren... and for generations yet to come?
No comments:
Post a Comment