Federal Budget

TexasFilly · **Joined:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:52 pm **Posts:** 10764

NYT/CBS News Poll:

Quote:

August 4, 2011 6:43 PM

Poll: Disapproval of Congress hits all-time high

Americans have looked disapprovingly at their representatives in Congress for decades. But it's never been this bad.
[highlight]In the wake of the hard-fought debt limit debate, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that 82 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job - the highest disapproval rating since polling began in 1977.[/highlight] Just 14 percent approve of Congress' performance.

The uptick in frustration comes after Congress narrowly avoided[highlight]an economic catastrophe of its own making[/highlight] by failing to hammer out a deal to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit until the deadline for action. And neither side was happy with the outcome: Conservatives said the final deal, which is projected to cut around $2.5 trillion over ten years from a projected $24 trillion debt, didn't go far enough; liberals complained that the initial deficit reduction came entirely in the form of spending cuts, not revenue increases as Democrats initially demanded.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... ?tag=stack

Boehner's disapproval rose from 40% in April to 57% in this poll. The President's remains at 47% disapproval, with 48% approval, which, according to the article, is about where it's been all year.

TollandRCR · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:49 am

Today may be different. According to CNN,

Quote:

The U.S. job market strengthened in July, a welcome piece of good news that sharply contrasted with Thursday's sell off on Wall Street and readings pointing toward an economic slowdown.

Employers added 117,000 jobs last month, well above the 18,000 jobs added in June, the government reported Friday.

After a shockingly weak jobs number the previous month and a spate of other negative economic readings that followed, many economists had been bracing for the worst from Friday's report.

Trading in U.S. stock futures, which point to the direction stocks will take when regular trading begins at 9:30 a.m. ET, surged after the report was released.

Do note that these jobs were all added before the debt ceiling capitulation laid the basis to cut jobs throughout the government.

esseff44 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:34 am

Yes, yesterday was a slide. Today, it's a roller coaster ride. Fasten your seat belts and close your eyes.

verbalobe · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:44 am

Is it just me, or does the Right Wing use the stock market as a stand-in for the entire health of the economy only when it's crashing?

And when it is stable or gaining, it gets ignored, in favor of other dire indicators?

And in a more general vein: the glee with which the RW greets every shock, glitch and stall that the economy suffers, makes me kinda sick. Both because it shows up their dishonesty, when many of them ran on an economic/jobs platform; and because they simply don't care about America, only about the narrowest slice of special interest that might deliver money and votes their way.

Flash to the GOP: It's HARD WORK to care about all of America!

Bah...

Edit: One more thing: I glanced at that "Pledge For To At America" document the other day. Their website is tracking what they've "accomplished". On the "JOBS" page there are four pledges, and every single one of them basically says "less regulation, more tax breaks for business." There's actually nothing about jobs. Who falls for that?

A couple of them are listed as "done." In that the specific policy goal passed or was repealed, or whatever. But without any indication that any jobs resulted or even that an effort was made to measure it that way. It's so transparent. :evil:

Now I really do have to get to work. You know, in case Meroni gets on my case.

esseff44 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:59 am

verbalobe wrote:

Is it just me, or does the Right Wing use the stock market as a stand-in for the entire health of the economy only when it's crashing?

And when it is stable or gaining, it gets ignored, in favor of other dire indicators?

And in a more general vein: the glee with which the RW greets every shock, glitch and stall that the economy suffers, makes me kinda sick. Both because it shows up their dishonesty, when many of them ran on an economic/jobs platform; and because they simply don't care about America, only about the narrowest slice of special interest that might deliver money and votes their way.

Flash to the GOP: It's HARD WORK to care about all of America!

Bah...

Edit: One more thing: I glanced at that "Pledge For To At America" document the other day. Their website is tracking what they've "accomplished". On the "JOBS" page there are four pledges, and every single one of them basically says "less regulation, more tax breaks for business." There's actually nothing about jobs. Who falls for that?

A couple of them are listed as "done." In that the specific policy goal passed or was repealed, or whatever. But without any indication that any jobs resulted or even that an effort was made to measure it that way. It's so transparent. :evil:

Now I really do have to get to work. You know, in case Meroni gets on my case.

However, they want to force everyone into privatizing their retirement and do away with the safety of Social Security. They do not understand the 'security' part. It has 'social' in the phrase, so it must be evil and has to be destroyed.

TexasFilly · **Joined:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:52 pm **Posts:** 10764

Yes, Verbie, you are correct. The RWNJs are positively gleeful when the stock market goes down dramatically or when there is other bad economic news. Cases in point: SSI fraudulent recipient, Greg Howard; Orlanna Taitz. Now, in Howard's case, he doesn't have a pot to piss in, so rooting for stocks to implode has no direct effect on him. Orlanna, OTOH, is probably losing tens of thousands a day in stock accounts when the market is down, but she's too stoopid to realize that. All they care about is anything that can hurt the President. They have no concern for their fellow Americans, or their fellow human beings, anywhere.

TollandRCR · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 1:05 pm

The Tea Party is boasting that it is changing the debate in Washington from "how much more should we spend?" to "how much more can we cut?"

I have yet to read a satisfactory answer to why there need to be any cuts at all, although it seems that the President and almost the entire Congress are convinced of the need for cuts.

We are still in the Great Recession, and we may be headed for another dip. This is precisely the wrong time to cut Federal spending.

We need to invest where Keynes told us to invest: our physical infrastructure (deteriorating for at least 40 years), research and development, and human capital.

But "we cannot afford such investments" and "the government is no good at making such investment decisions." The evidence of this is weak and runs contrary to American experience. I love the MSNBC spot of Rachel Maddow standing at the base of the Hoover Dam. That project of the Great Depression made possible the settlement of the desert Southwest.

As for being able to afford such investments, our deficit problem is self-inflicted. We fought two very expensive wars without raising taxes; in fact, we cut taxes as those wars ramped up. We have the lowest marginal tax rate for the extremely rich since the 1950s.

Has anyone seen an authoritative chart or table of what the Federal deficit might look like without the Bush tax cuts? I know such data would be highly controversial, partly because some would argue that the economy would not have grown as it did without the Bush tax cuts. This is not an insoluble problem; economists can estimate how much the Bush tax cuts contributed to economic growth, and the answer is "not much." I would be perfectly happy to accept a band of estimates rather than point estimates.

Then take this chart and also take out Federal spending for two wars. Again, this would be controversial, because wars take young men and women out of the labor force and provide jobs for others in the defense sector. I think this effect on economic growth is harder to estimate than is the economic impact of the Bush tax cuts, but I am not an economist.

My strong suspicion would be that, with these two changes, the nation's debt would have continued the decline that it experienced in Clinton's last year.

Assuming that my suspicion is correct, why are we not hearing this from the White House and Democratic members of Congress?

MaineSkeptic · **Joined:** Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:48 pm **Posts:** 5295

TollandRCR wrote:

Assuming that my suspicion is correct, why are we not hearing this from the White House and Democratic members of Congress?

Along those lines, I am most concerned about the position the Democrats have left themselves in.

This "deal" to cut spending is going to have a disastrous effect on job creation and economic recovery -- and the TPers are going to say, "Don't blame us, we voted against it."

GreatGrey · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:51 pm

New CBS poll.

It's Bush's fault, the GOP were/are dicks pricks, and they want taxes.

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2 ... nd-cbs.pdf

.

verbalobe · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:19 pm

US credit rating downgraded by S&P. New thread started here.

TollandRCR · **Posted:** Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:55 pm

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette August 10, 2011 We apologize for sorry state of U.S. affairs by Reg Henry

Quote:

Dear Generations as Yet Unborn,

If American society is as dysfunctional and discourteous in your time as it is in ours, nobody has bothered to apologize to you for the legacy my generation has visited upon yours.

Let me make amends. Of course, I am not sure how I am going to bring this sorrowful message to you, but perhaps you will do a computer search for the words "What were they thinking?" and come upon this mea culpa.

TexasFilly · **Joined:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:52 pm **Posts:** 10764

Quote:

Bernanke Blames Politics for Financial Upheaval

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, said Friday that the political battle this summer over the federal government’s borrowing and spending had disrupted financial markets “and probably the economy as well.”

****

On Capitol Hill, Democrats seized on the Fed chairman’s remarks to criticize Republicans for what they described as intransigence during the debt ceiling negotiations.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic whip, said in a statement, “I believe that Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke was correct today when he observed that partisan brinksmanship over the debt limit damaged financial markets and the American economy.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/busin ... ml?_r=1&hp

Sterngard Friegen · **Posted:** Sat Aug 27, 2011 1:12 am

What else would you expect? Bernanke was appointed by Obama Clinton Bush???

TexasFilly · **Joined:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:52 pm **Posts:** 10764

Quote:

Thune: Top Message I Got From Town Halls Is ‘Don’t Cut My Social Security And Medicare’

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Aug 29, 2011 at 3:05 pm

As Republican lawmakers held constituent meetings in their home districts over the August recess, they were often confronted for taking hard-right positions on everything from taxes to entitlement reform, sending a message that at least Sen. John Thune (R-SD) seems to have noticed. Thune said the main things he heard from constitutes was frustration over Congress’ inability to work together and opposition to cuts to social safety net programs, the Argus Leader reports:

“Do something,” Thune said Wednesday after a town hall meeting at the Brandon Municipal Golf Course. “Why can’t you work together? There’s a high level of frustration with the inaction, and there’s a lack of confidence in the country and the economy. They want to see us get something done.”

That’s one of the major insights he’ll take back to Washington, D.C. after the August recess, he said.

It ranks behind “don’t cut my Social Security and Medicare. I’ve heard that quite a bit,” Thune said.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/0 ... dicare-ss/

realist · **Joined:** Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:33 pm **Posts:** 23933

Round 2...

News Alert: House rejects resolution to fund government after Sept. 30
September 21, 2011 6:07:26 PM
----------------------------------------

The House rejected a resolution Wednesday to fund the government through Nov. 18, as GOP leaders were unable to overcome opposition from Democrats who wanted more disaster relief and conservatives who wanted to cut more deeply. President Obama must sign a continuing resolution by Sept. 30 or risk a government shutdown.

http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/ ... PICPM/UP/h

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com

mimi · **Posted:** Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:16 pm

realist wrote:

Round 2...

News Alert: House rejects resolution to fund government after Sept. 30
September 21, 2011 6:07:26 PM
----------------------------------------

Yeah, Brian Buetler was tweeting the vote.

He posted about the issue here:

Quote:

House Dems Whip Against GOP Government Funding Bill Over Disaster Relief
Brian Beutler | September 21, 2011, 2:21PM

House Dem leadership is urging all caucus members to oppose the Republican legislation to continue funding the government past September 30 on the grounds that it cuts a popular manufacturing program to pay for federal disaster aid.

"Democratic Members are urged to vote NO on the previous question and the bill -- as disasters are an emergency and we should not have to cut good-paying American jobs to provide essential disaster relief for families, small businesses, and communities," reads a memo from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office.

Their hard line follows an internal whip effort by House progressives, and a letter authored by Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), cosigned by 100 Dems, urging House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to scrap the offset, which nixes a hybrid vehicle incentive.

"While the government has a responsibility to fund disaster response in places that were devastated by Hurricane Irene or other natural disasters, it is unconscionable to use funds designed to create jobs in manufacturing states to pay for it," the letter reads.

remainder:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011 ... hp?ref=fpb

TexasFilly · **Joined:** Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:52 pm **Posts:** 10764

I hope the White House has learned the lesson from the debt ceiling bullshit and jumps on this and manages the message. 24/7, relentless pounding of the GOP, who don't want to help disaster victims and who are trying to ruin America. Oval Office address, directly to the American people. Send Biden out to every damned tee vee show. Unleash him. Pound, pound, pound the GOP into shameful submission. It's the only way to deal with bullies.

mimi · **Posted:** Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:25 pm

Brian Buetler updates:

Quote:

GOP legislation to continue funding the federal government failed in the House Wednesday by a vote of 195-230, after Democrats rejected a controversial measure to nix a popular manufacturing program to offset federal disaster aid.

A successful Democratic whip effort left Republicans without enough support in their caucus to pass the bill along party lines. Over 40 Republicans, demanding steeper cuts to federal programs, rebelled against GOP leadership.

[snip]

The bill's failure in the House foils the GOP's effort to jam the Senate, which recently passed stand alone legislation to provide FEMA significantly more emergency funds, without a partisan budget cut to offset it.

Now House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and his leadership team must decide whether to acquiesce to the Democrats, or to cut discretionary spending below the level provided for in this bill. Neither option is good from Boehner's perspective. Appeasing Democrats will cost him support in his caucus, further weakening his standing in his party. But bowing to his own members by cutting spending even further would violate an agreement he struck with Democrats during the debt limit fight, and poison an already sour relationship between leaders of both parties.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011 ... g-bill.php

Suranis · **Joined:** Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:04 am **Posts:** 5351

Brian Buetler is spinning this against the Democrats. What happened is that the Senete passed a clean 7 billion funding bill for FEMA, with 10 GOP guys voting for it. It was sent to the house and the House GOP rejected it and tried to pass their own bill which linked it to Hybrid cars.

By not mentioning that first vote Butler is trying to blame the democrats, when in fact its the House GOP acting contrary even to the wishes of the Senate GOP.

But yeah this seems to be the issue the Dems are drawing the line in the sand on. All the house has to do is pass the first bill and its straight to the presidents desk

mimi · **Posted:** Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:59 pm

buetler isn't spinning against dems. maybe i didn't pick a good selection to paste.

Sterngard Friegen · **Posted:** Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:01 pm

TexasFilly wrote:

I hope the White House has learned the lesson from the debt ceiling bullshit and jumps on this and manages the message. 24/7, relentless pounding of the GOP, who don't want to help disaster victims and who are trying to ruin America. Oval Office address, directly to the American people. Send Biden out to every damned tee vee show. Unleash him. Pound, pound, pound the GOP into shameful submission. It's the only way to deal with bullies.

I concur. If the Government shuts down it's the Republicans' fault. And Obama will be in the same position as Clinton and Truman to campaign against these miserable economy-killers.

Plutodog · **Posted:** Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:01 am

Heah we go again.

Quote:

Debt Limit Hike Causes Behind The Scenes Commotion On Capitol Hill

We’re trying to sniff out exactly how this happened and what’s being done to sort it out. But the Obama administration’s announcement that it will certify this week its intent to raise the debt limit didn’t sit well on Capitol Hill.

The key issue is the 15-day deadline Congress has to vote on a resolution of disapproval of the President’s request to raise the debt ceiling. The timing of the administration’s planned certification implies that the 15 days would be up before Congress returns in January from its holiday recess. Whether this was an accident or not, we’re told that the calendar issue created a behind-the-scenes mess — with Republicans threatening to return early from recess — and that the administration is trying to figure out a way to keep it from spilling out into the public.

I’ve reached out to the administration for further guidance on both questions. It’s still unclear whether this was a hardball political move, a dumb mistake, or just a misunderstanding — or what, if anything, can be done to avoid a public clash with the GOP over the timing.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011 ... l-hill.php

Edit: More at this link: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011 ... eiling.php

Falsehoods unchallenged only fester and grow.

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