Obama will start the new year with a focus on the federal budget and deficit

Obama will start the new year with a focus on the federal budget and deficit
By Michael O'Brien
December 23, 2010

The president stressed his ability to work with the GOP in his Wednesday press conference, where he was touting several legislative victories in the lame-duck session.

"I think it's safe to say this has been the most productive post-election period we have had in decades," he said. "We are not doomed to endless gridlock."

Obama has expressed interest in pursuing tax reform, a cornerstone of his fiscal commission's recommendations, with Congress next year, an idea in which leaders of both parties have expressed some interest.

The new GOP-controlled House will be hungry to make cuts, too, especially leading up to a debate in early March about government funding and whether to raise the debt ceiling. The continuing resolution to fund the government expires March 4.

As with the tax debate, the budget battle could provide Obama an opportunity to partner with Republicans in Congress and declare a bipartisan victory. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested Thursday morning that the relatively cooperative lame-duck Congress laid the groundwork for more bipartisanship early next year.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/134957-obamas-state-of-the-union-will-have-budget-and-deficit-focus

Great news!

Now nobody's going to be surprised!

which translates to "for the good of the top 1% and to the detriment of the other 99%."

IOW, business as usual.

Notice, the priority is NOT jobs?

...or at least the attempt will be made.

As with the Reagan years, a divide and conquer dynamic among the have-somes will depict us homeowners in high-cost areas as "rich" and we will shoulder the burden, if it can be made to stick.

Much as this affects us personally, I'd forego it if there was any shared sacrifice from above, but there will be none.

With so many Congresspeople having two houses, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but the fix seems to be in, much as people keep claiming that it'd never work...

and also the year before

so I guess we can count on "more of the same"

..... a month after passing the continuation of the Bush tax cuts?

Are they that tone deaf in DC?

About their dishonesty, their hypocrisy or any of that - those are just necessary requirements for the job.

you don't have to listen to anyone else
When your pockets are full of money

Just sigh.

fiscal commission's recommendations..."

The Senate rejected the proposal to create the fiscal commission so Obama pulled a Dubya and created it by executive order. The commission's recommendations failed to get the 14 votes needed to send it to Congress but unfortunately Obama is so dead-set on ramming their agenda through one way or another that you can bet any upcoming legislation will include every damn one of their recommendations. Reagan would be so proud.

The fix is in. We are truly fucked.

The commission never did make an official recommendation. What we're looking at is an unofficial Simpson-Bowles proposal (mostly Simpson IMO) being endorsed by the White House as well as the "very serious people" in Washington media and bureaucratic circles.

Jan Schakowski, another member of the commission, made an alternate debt reduction design that is progressive in nature. Her plan calls for actual "shared sacrifice" which will not result in another avalanche of wealth maldistribution. That proposal has exactly as much legitimacy as Simpson-Bowles. Needless to say the Congresswoman's idea is being totally ignored by the "very serious people" I mentioned earlier. :(

The recommendation was never official as it was voted down but the recommendations will be used as a guideline nonetheless.

And you're correct that Schakowsky's recommendations took a much more reasoned approach to limiting the deficit. Here's a quote regarding SS:

With respect to Social Security, Schakowsky said today it made no sense to scale back the program.

"Addressing the Social Security issue as part of the deficit question is like attacking Iraq to retaliate for the 9/11 attacks," she said. "There is simply no relationship between the two and attempting to conflate them does a grave disservice to America's seniors."

She's 100% right in that SS and the deficit aren't related so of course her proposal could never be allowed to see the light of day because that would defeat the whole purpose of the "deficit commission." They needed to tie SS to the deficit as a prerequisite to unraveling SS. When their recommendation didn't get the needed votes, Obama took it upon himself to get the job done. How very noble of him.

be addressed: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x64072

Or will we be sheep or will we be Greeks?

Did we consent to this? The people need to make their voices heard, literally...keep posting BBI...:fistbump:

It's led by Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.)


To review:

1. Social Security is a separate, dedicated fund, not part of the federal budget, and is paid into with our payroll taxes.

2. Social Security, therefore, is self-sustaining, and does not contribute to the budget deficit.

3. The president's own Simpson/Bowles deficit commission, tasked to study the deficit, and headed by these Obama appointees who are avowed enemies of Social Security, went outside of this mandate and drew a bull's eye on Social Security.

4. The purpose of Obama's Simpson/Bowles deficit commission was to conflate, in the minds of the public, Social Security independent funding with the budget deficit, as a cause of said deficit. That is a calculated and unforgivable lie aimed at the American people.

5. This now-defunct deficit commission now gives rise to the next group that will continue the assault on the viability of Social Security. This new group is a group of Senators, headed up by Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.). All 18 members of this group have praised the work of the deficit commission.

6. The now-defunct Simpson/Bowles deficit commission was successful in laying the groundwork for the next assault on Social Security.




Obama will start the new year with a focus on the federal budget and deficit, December 23, 2010


The State of the Union Address will be the preamble.



Meanwhile, they distract us with a few morsels thrown our way, especially timed to coincide with periods of the most egregious, closed-door deals favoring the obscenely wealthy.



We are being royally swindled.


And we aren't fooled.

just what St. Reagan always wanted to do