Obama sequester demagoguery

[Vyxn]

hypothetically if you had a $100 a week budget and for what ever reason you will be getting $2.40 less each week would you go hungry would you miss out paying any of your bills?

the truth is the 2.4% sequester cut isn't even a cut in the current budget it is a cut in the rate of growth of the budget. the federal government will be getting more money next year then they got this year just 2.4% less of it. So Obama saying that they will be cutting back on fire fighters. policeman. air traffic controls and food inspectors is just an out right lie. It would be be believable if he claimed that might not be able to hire any more but he is being disingenuous saying they will be laid off

Wake up America if we cant cut 2.4% from the rate of growth in the budget with a 16.5 trillion dollar debt with out democrats running around screaming like chicken little that the sky is falling we are in deep trouble we will never beable to solve the budget And debt problem.
And to beat the tax more crowd before they start with the paying their fair share class warfare rhetoric if you tax the top 2% 100% it wont even put a dent in the debt so there has to be cuts but how are we ever going to cut anything if democrats keep going on TV and out in public trying to scare the crap out of the low information voters

[Deadvolcanoes]

Comparing a hypothetical $100 budget to the fiscal policy of the United States is laughable at best.

Cuts to the budget are fine. It's the arbitrariness of these cuts that are problematic. They aren't targeted and they aren't well thought out.

[Reg]

hypothetically if you had a $100 a week budget and for what ever reason you will be getting $2.40 less each week would you go hungry would you miss out paying any of your bills?

the truth is the 2.4% sequester cut isn't even a cut in the current budget it is a cut in the rate of growth of the budget. the federal government will be getting more money next year then they got this year just 2.4% less of it. So Obama saying that they will be cutting back on fire fighters. policeman. air traffic controls and food inspectors is just an out right lie. It would be be believable if he claimed that might not be able to hire any more but he is being disingenuous saying they will be laid off

Wake up America if we cant cut 2.4% from the rate of growth in the budget with a 16.5 trillion dollar debt with out democrats running around screaming like chicken little that the sky is falling we are in deep trouble we will never beable to solve the budget And debt problem.
And to beat the tax more crowd before they start with the paying their fair share class warfare rhetoric if you tax the top 2% 100% it wont even put a dent in the debt so there has to be cuts but how are we ever going to cut anything if democrats keep going on TV and out in public trying to scare the crap out of the low information voters

It's not a lie at all. As populations increase, more police officers, firemen, etc are needed. Not being able to hire more is a cut because there wouldn't be enough public servants to meet the need.

We get it, you hate Democrats. At least come up with a decent reason.

[Deadvolcanoes]

The best part about the sequester is that Obama is willing to give the Republicans 80% of what they want, and has created a plan to do exactly that, yet they rejected it.

[stumpy]

The best part about the sequester is that Obama is willing to give the Republicans 80% of what they want, and has created a plan to do exactly that, yet they rejected it.

98%, according to Boehner.

[Deadvolcanoes]

98%, according to Boehner.

It's like the Republicans actually think they have a card to play here. Any negative effects will get dumped on their lap, and rightfully so.

[Tinykong]

Everyone's budget got cut by 2% on Jan 1.

I really haven't even noticed it. I'm not going to miss $1000 a year, but I imagine 2.4% of the total Federal budget is a pretty decent chunk of change.

[Felya]

It's like the Republicans actually think they have a card to play here. Any negative effects will get dumped on their lap, and rightfully so.

The card is blaming Obama for crap they do. This is all their 'victory' from the original debt ceiling bull shit republicans got. Never has in the history of US, did a political party use paying our bills as a barging chip. Just crazy...

---------- Post added 2013-02-26 at 03:20 PM ----------

The best part about the sequester is that Obama is willing to give the Republicans 80% of what they want, and has created a plan to do exactly that, yet they rejected it.

So, it's just about par for the course?

[Vyxn]

It's not a lie at all. As populations increase, more police officers, firemen, etc are needed. Not being able to hire more is a cut because there wouldn't be enough public servants to meet the need.

We get it, you hate Democrats. At least come up with a decent reason.

do you know how much waste and fraud we have in the federal government? do you know how much foolish spending they do? I will give you a few examples

Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.

Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them -- costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually -- fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve.

The Congressional Budget Office published a "Budget Options" series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.

Examples from multiple Government Accountability Office #GAO# reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs.

Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.

A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples of taxpayer-funded purchases include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, including "over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold." The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.

Federal agencies are delinquent on nearly 20 percent of employee travel charge cards, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.

The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas and $293,451 sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolina to Florida.

Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.

Health care fraud is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $60 billion annually

A GAO audit found that 95 Pentagon weapons systems suffered from a combined $295 billion in cost overruns

The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.
Washington will spend $126 million in 2009 to enhance the Kennedy family legacy in Massachusetts. Additionally, Senator John Kerry #D-MA# diverted $20 million from the 2010 defense budget to subsidize a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute.

Federal investigators have launched more than 20 criminal fraud investigations related to the TARP financial bailout.

Despite trillion-dollar deficits, last year's 10,160 earmarks included $200,000 for a tattoo removal program in Mission Hills, California; $190,000 for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming; and $75,000 for the Totally Teen Zone in Albany, Georgia.

The federal government owns more than 50,000 vacant homes.
The Federal Communications Commission spent $350,000 to sponsor NASCAR driver David Gilliland.

Members of Congress have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars supplying their offices with popcorn machines, plasma televisions, DVD equipment, ionic air fresheners, camcorders, and signature machines -- plus $24,730 leasing a Lexus, $1,434 on a digital camera, and $84,000 on personalized calendars.

.More than $13 billion in Iraq aid has been classified as wasted or stolen. Another $7.8 billion cannot be accounted for.

.Fraud related to Hurricane Katrina spending is estimated to top $2 billion. In addition, debit cards provided to hurricane victims were used to pay for Caribbean vacations, NFL tickets, Dom Perignon champagne, "Girls Gone Wild" videos, and at least one sex change operation.

Auditors discovered that 900,000 of the 2.5 million recipients of emergency Katrina assistance provided false names, addresses, or Social Security numbers or submitted multiple applications.

Congress recently gave Alaska Airlines $500,000 to paint a Chinook salmon on a Boeing 737

The Transportation Department will subsidize up to $2,000 per flight for direct flights between
Washington, D.C., and the small hometown of Congressman Hal Rogers #R-KY# -- but only on Monday mornings and Friday evenings, when lawmakers, staff, and lobbyists usually fly. Rogers is a member of the Appropriations Committee, which writes the Transportation Department's budget.

.Washington has spent $3 billion re-sanding beaches -- even as this new sand washes back into the ocean.

A Department of Agriculture report concedes that much of the $2.5 billion in "stimulus" funding for broadband Internet will be wasted.

The Defense Department wasted $100 million on unused flight tickets and never bothered to collect refunds even though the tickets were refundable.

Washington spends $60,000 per hour shooting Air Force One photo-ops in front of national landmarks.

Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used government-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 on admission to entertainment events, $48,250 on gambling, $69,300 on cruises, and $73,950 on exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.

Members of Congress are set to pay themselves $90 million to increase their franked mailings for the 2010 election year

Congress has ignored efficiency recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services that would save $9 billion annually.

Taxpayers are funding paintings of high-ranking government officials at a cost of up to $50,000 apiece.

The state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 households in order to raise state caseload figures and trigger $43 million in additional federal funds.

Suburban families are receiving large farm subsidies for the grass in their backyards -- subsidies that many of these families never requested and do not want.

Congress appropriated $20 million for "commemoration of success" celebrations related to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Homeland Security employee purchases include 63-inch plasma TVs, iPods, and $230 for a beer brewing kit
Two drafting errors in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act resulted in a $2 billion taxpayer cost.

North Ridgeville, Ohio, received $800,000 in "stimulus" funds for a project that its mayor described as "a long way from the top priority.
The National Institutes of Health spends $1.3 million per month to rent a lab that it cannot use.

Lawmakers diverted $13 million from Hurricane Katrina relief spending to build a museum celebrating the Army Corps of Engineers -- the agency partially responsible for the failed levees that flooded New Orleans

Medicare officials recently mailed $50 million in erroneous refunds to 230,000 Medicare recipients

Audits showed $34 billion worth of Department of Homeland Security contracts contained significant waste, fraud, and abuse.

Washington recently spent $1.8 million to help build a private golf course in Atlanta, Georgia

Congressional investigators were able to receive $55,000 in federal student loan funding for a fictional college they created to test the Department of Education.

The Commerce Department has lost 1,137 computers since 2001, many containing Americans' personal data.

what i just listed is double the amount that the sequester cuts but Obama would rather lay off policeman fireman airtrafic controller and food inspectors

[Reg]

Will you at least admit that Republicans are at least half to blame for fraudulent spending? Or is this list your way of saying that's all the Democrats fault? No one can take you seriously when every post you make is how some Democrat pissed in your Cheerios.

Funny how that list doesn't include the unnecessary spending for 2 wars and TARP. And let's not forget a bloated Dept. of Homeland Security.

[Felya]

do you know how much waste and fraud we have in the federal government? do you know how much foolish spending they do? I will give you a few examples

Yet, the sequester does not cut a single one of the things you listed. I have no clue how you think a sequester will cut cost of missing computers from 2001...

[Deleted]

do you know how much waste and fraud we have in the federal government? do you know how much foolish spending they do? I will give you a few examples.....*snip*

and all of this just happened? or it's been going on for years but it wasn't an issue when someone you supported was in power?

[Felya]

the truth is the 2.4% sequester cut isn't even a cut in the current budget it is a cut in the rate of growth of the budget.

If that's the truth, why don't you include the actual cuts, instead of crap that includes missing computers from 2001.

[Vyxn]

Will you at least admit that Republicans are at least half to blame for fraudulent spending? Or is this list your way of saying that's all the Democrats fault? No one can take you seriously when every post you make is how some Democrat pissed in your Cheerios.

Funny how that list doesn't include the unnecessary spending for 2 wars and TARP.

Yes it is all their fault, but don't you remember that Obama said he would sit down and go through the budget line by line and there has been may Republicans that offered to help

[Rukentuts]

what i just listed is double the amount that the sequester cuts but Obama would rather lay off policeman fireman airtrafic controller and food inspectors

Yes, that's why Obama is currently waging a PR campaign against the Sequester, right?

[Dezerte]

This is the same guy who believes in virgin births.

[infracted for religion bashing]

[Reg]

Yes it is all their fault, but don't you remember that Obama said he would sit down and go through the budget line by line and their has been may Republicans that offered to help

So the missing computers from 2001 is Obama's fault?

Just the fact you copied and pasted all this information from The Heritage is enough to know you are absolutely ridiculous.

[Felya]

Funny how that list doesn't include the unnecessary spending for 2 wars and TARP. And let's not forget a bloated Dept. of Homeland Security.

I think it's interesting that he lists all this fraud that happens, not as an argument to stop it, but cutting the budget. As if having less money come in, will stop fraudulent spending. In most cases of fraud, resources are spent to combat it, not lower the funds so there is less to misappropriate.

He lists reasons for needing resources to fight fraud, as an argument to cut funding. As if having less cheese will cause rats to not eat it.

---------- Post added 2013-02-26 at 03:39 PM ----------

Yes it is all their fault, but don't you remember that Obama said he would sit down and go through the budget line by line and there has been may Republicans that offered to help

Yeah, there is a bipartisan committee to help with the budget. Want to tell us your view on what went wrong or just pretend Obama is a lonesome rogue?

[Badpaladin]

Yes it is all their fault

You can't seriously be angry about budget issues when you're willfully ignoring multiple trillion-dollar wars, yearly increases in military budgets and vast subsidies given to military technology companies.

[Reg]

A Department of Agriculture report concedes that much of the $2.5 billion in "stimulus" funding for broadband Internet will be wasted.

Has the Department of Agriculture always been in charge of evaluating broadband internet funding?

---------- Post added 2013-02-26 at 10:43 AM ----------

You can't seriously be angry about budget issues when you're willfully ignoring multiple billion-dollar wars, yearly increases in military budgets and vast subsidies given to military technology companies.

He is validating his preconceived ideals with a list put out by a company owned by the Koch brothers. What more can we expect?