Margaret Thatcher had a great line about less than reliable allies. She used to say, they were going wobbly on us.
I have to wonder if the GOP in the House is going wobbly on us.
The GOP rode into town this week and promised to cut $100 Billion from this year’s budget. Suddenly that was cut to perhaps $50 billion. The lame stream media said the GOP was discovering how hard it was to govern. Perhaps they were just discovering how easy it was to go along without fighting.
I do not claim to be an expert in the budgeting process, however there are some things that seem obvious. For this year, the congress has not passed a budget. The government is funded through March 4th with a continuing resolution. The government’s fiscal year begins October 1st of each year. Using the numbers for the 2009 budget, of $3.52 trillion, the remaining budget for this year that this congress will address includes about $1.8 trillion in spending. Out of that, they cannot cut $100 billion?
It would seem they are either unable, or more likely unwilling, to make those cuts.
Without breaking a sweat, Obama is planning to cut $78 billion from defense, which has been eviscerated already.
And the GOP cannot cut $100 billion from the budget?
I bet the Tea Party could figure out some budget cuts.
Here is one budget cut. Eliminate the “Obama phones.” The government is now paying for cell phones for people on welfare and the latest is the government will pay for two months of your house phone bill. All you have to do is be on Foodstamps, Medicaid, SSI, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
As long as you make 135% of the poverty line or less, you can qualify. This program is paid for by taxes on the phone companies. This is the fastest growing welfare program and the government will spend over $1 billion dollars on it this year.
Phones are not that expensive. Anyone, even someone on welfare can afford a basic phone. There is a company that offers phone service for $20 a year. It is called Magic Jack. Why do welfare recipients need the government to pay for their phones when there is a service out there that offers phone service for $20 a year?
I saw an ad last night on cable for anglescom.com. They advertise that if you are on welfare, and sign up with them, the government will pay two months of your phone service.
This company finds it profitable enough to advertise this government program so they can get these people to sign up and have the government pay the company for the phone service for the welfare recipients.
And who is angelcom.com? It is a company out of Orlando, Florida that resells telephone services for Bell South.
Can anyone say, “corporate welfare?”
House GOP, I think I have found your first billion to cut.
Permalink Reply by tom whitmore on FYI, to use MagicJack you must have a computer, internet service and a credit card.
Millions, at least, could be cut from the Federal Department of education for the useless programs we pay for that have been documented as NOT being effective.
Michelle Obama cannot possibly need a staff of 22 in the middle of a recession. Do we really NEED 34 czars to advise the President? Dimes add up to dollars.
Medicaid funding for medical care should be on a sliding scale: EVERYONE should have to pay SOMETHING for the services they use. I was a nurse in a family practice clinic. Medicaid pays for OTC medications like ibuprofen and cough syrup if the doc writes a prescription. The same things are available at the Dollar Store for $1.00. That's where I have to get mine.
NO ONE NEEDS a cell phone. We got along without them for millinia and we can get along without them now. Those same people who NEED a government cell phone can afford to fund their cigarette habit, I'll bet. I shudder to think how much it costs to smoke a pack a day now. How much does it cost to get your whole arm or leg tattooed?
Permalink Reply by Susan Anderson on Right on!
I've heard where even paying for the idiots to have the tattoos taken off !
It's time for real justice!
Permalink Reply by Gerard Beloin on The department of education!! The bureaucrats running that program are a waste of skin. How many billions is that?
The department of energy? Ever since the department of energy was formed the cost of energy has gone up! More waste of skin.
The National Endowment of the Arts.
Ethanol subsidies.
Farm subsidies
Lots of RINOs. Lots of RINOs.
Permalink Reply by Zbigniew Mazurak on Here's my proposed list of agencies and programs that should be reduced or abolished altogether:
http://zbigniewmazurak.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/the-blueprint-for-a...
Permalink Reply by Philip Berg on 
Permalink Reply by Lawrence Brown on Permalink Reply by George on Obama's fatal weakness is that he is not even eligible to be "President," has at least 16 fraudulent Social Security numbers, including 042-68-4425, has what is probably a phony draft card, may have fraudulently applied for scholarships or had his education funded by Saudis, illegally campaigned for Rail Odinga, a violent Kenyan Communist, while "serving" as a US Senator and much, much more.
If Obama was removed for ineligibility, the election results would be NULLIFIED and possibly every action he has made since 1/20/09. This would be much better than impeachment and far, far better than letting the clock run out, while incalculable damage to our replublic is inflicted until 1/20/13.
If the Republican House doesn't perform, it may actually see Obama re-elected.
Our weak, traitorous "leaders" including Pelosi, Reid, Boehner, McConnell, Issa, etc. won't lift a finger over this. The new "Conservative" House of Reps that people are gushing over has yet to prove itself.
Permalink Reply by William M. Lasko on Hudson - you're so right!
A trillion dollars is 999 Billion plus one billion. A billion is 999 million plus one million. A million is 999 thous and plus one thousand. I guessed a figure of 200,000,000 working Americans in the US out of 304,000,000 population. If I divide 200,000,000 into one Trillion dollars - it comes to $5000.00. Pelosi and Obama have spent 6 times that in just two years, totalling approximately $30,000.00 of spending and debt for every working American. $30,000.00 and they are demanding more credit, fighting for not extending the Bush Tax Cuts, do not have a budget set yet and we can discover after-the-fact that Obama says we'll pay for phones too?
The federal government grabbed a lot of land just before Clinton left office. Our taxes pay for a lot of assets and wages to police these millions and millions of acreas. I can think of a lot of ways to cut the budget and debt in half, and I'm no economist either. I say no more spending and that they find a way to balance the budget while telling Europe to go piss up a rope. They need to cut spending and stop eyeing American tax dollars as a way to avoid admitting Socialism doesn't work!
Permalink Reply by MaryJo Morse on What about the BLM supposedly they are protecting the land designated to house our Mustang population. You can see what that sorry organization has done with rounding up our wild equine population utilizing helicopters causing animals who flee from freight do just that when the roar of rotating blades whir over their heads.....While corralling these animals they have made plans with other countries to utilize their slaughter houses to sell our domestic wildlife meat to the likes of Canada and France. Americans have never in the history of this Country ever raised horses for meat......This is an outrage! ! ! ! ! There has always been a fight for land to allow cattle to graze however, this land was designated just for the Mustangs.....Lately the BLM has allowed the cattlemen drive their cattle onto the same land our Mustangs roam. These wild horses are part of our American Heritage.
There is so much to fix, I'm sure it's not easy but it has to be done and that's what matters. We have to stop giving so much to those that hate us as well. Why do we give so much of our economy to the Saudis when we don't need them? Because our government won't let us supply our own and soon we are going to be in a mess when they shut us off from the oil and we don't have our own supply that we are sitting on. The liberal socialist commies have choked us long enough and we have to keep fighting back. How do you stop buying foreign goods when that's all that is on the shelf? You start complaining to the managers and leaving it on the shelf unless you need it, most of the time we just want it and really don't need it. I am trying to walk the walk and not just talk the talk and like you I'm finding it hard but I will keep complaining and quit buying what I don't need to have. We have a long road home but Judson you are right, it should be very easy to cut such a minute amount of what they are spending, Hogs gone wild and I appologize to the Hogs. This is common sense, A user Nation cannot exist, they have to produce something besides war to maintain the existence of it's poulation. We have just about given away all that we once produced and we have to start demanding we get it back.
© 2013 Created by Judson Phillips.
