Does GOP have the right idea when it comes to budget?
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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It’s so far, so good for House Republicans when it comes to how to cut the deficits and balance our budget.
According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, Americans believe the Republican Party is the party better able to handle the budget problems facing this country and to fix the economy. Apparently that six-month-long game of chicken they played with the 2011 budget really paid off for them. At least for now. However, a much bigger battle over the budget and spending awaits. When Congress returns from its two-week spring break and raising the debt ceiling is front and center, we'll see if popular opinion changes.
It might. According to that same USA Today/Gallup poll, Americans are split on whether the deficit plan drafted by Republican House Budget Chair Paul Ryan or the one proposed by President Barack Obama is the right path for the country. Two-thirds of Americans are concerned the GOP plan for reducing the deficit would cut too deeply into Medicare and Social Security. Everyone wants the deficit cut, but no one wants to cut entitlements.
But it's a topic that's not going away. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview with Politico on Monday that there might not be a deal on raising the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to rein in discretionary spending and reform Medicaid and Medicare. Things could get very ugly very quickly when Congress reconvenes.
Here’s my question to you: Do the Republicans have the right idea when it comes to the budget?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Chris in Hillsborough, New Jersey:
Well, yes and no. I applaud their initiative. They realize that we are in a hole and that we need an answer otherwise we’re going to have significant problems. However, I disagree with what they’re seeking to cut. With that being said, the Democrats are taking no initiative to dig us out of this hole. With the GOP plan we’ll make progress. The question is though, what progress will it be?
Sylvia in San Diego:
Yes. Absolutely. Rep. Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" is a start in the right direction.
Paul:
Jack, not even close. The GOP (greedy old parasites) have been the tools of corporate Wall Street since the Grant Administration. The first thing to do is elect Democrats to the majority in both houses. Second, get out of the Afghanistan/Pakistan and Iraq wars. Third, tax the richest 3% of Americans at Eisenhower era levels and close the corporate loopholes. Fourth, open Medicare as a choice for all U.S. citizens. Fifth, bring back the draft with no deferments to reduce unemployment to manageable levels.
Gary in Missouri:
There are no right or wrong answers, only the need to survive. And if the government keeps spending more than it takes in, the U.S.A. will not survive.
Thomas:
At least the GOP has the political courage to address previously 'sacred cows,' Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Obama and the Democrats are still kicking the can down the road. All they like to do is demonize. No real leadership or thought.
Bob in Ontario:
Jack I am writing from Kaladar, Ontario. In answer to your question, it doesn't matter where you are. Conservatives are never right because the little guy is never on their radar. You need to get a Canadian on your show some time to explain how a little bit of socialism can improve a country.
Bryan in Colorado:
No, they want to keep cutting taxes. And the Democrats keep going along with it. We need jobs in America to solve our budget problems. Without private sector jobs, nothing else can be paid for. We are currently living in the actual proof of this.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
What GOP? That amalgam of ignorance, bigotry and hypocrisy? They are clueless.
The Republicans and the Democrats have no idea about the budget: 10 year plans? 20 year plans? Get real...
Ron Paul in 2012 sounds like the correct answer to me.
Absolutely not, Jack. Everyone is going to have to make sacrifices to balance the books, and that must include rich people, corporations and the military-industrial complex. The Republicans' contempt for the middle class will be their undoing.
I believe with all of my heart that the GOP does have the right idea when it comes to the budget because this is the first step in getting the United States back to the way that George Washington and the others that fought in the American Revolutionary War would want it.
Absolutely, but I'm a trust-fund baby.
Ed
Texas
I don't think so, the very first thing that they head for is Social Security,Disability, Unemployment Comp., and the school system. I have an idea, why don't they cut their pay by 2/3's. That would show that they care about the economy, instead of sitting up there taking from the poor.
You bet, Jack. That is, if you think it's a good idea to start planning a budget by making sure that you have less money coming in. Our deficit will never be handled unless we start collecting taxes fairly and stop handing out subsidies and tax breaks to those who don't need them.
Well Jack, they are SO WRONG when it comes to the budget, but I hope they do not read this because I want them too keep pushing it until the backlash from the people of this country smacks them back to a position of sanity.
The bottom line is TAXES.
They are poison. The left wing "Corporate and Wealth Haters" have Zero understanding of how taxes destroy our economy.
They will gasp "Tax the Rich" with their last breath while our once great country is disintegrating before their eyes.
They'd rather be "right" than survive.
It just doesn't get any more pathetic than that.
Has the trickle-down theory ever worked? The definition of insanity is, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The definition of mean-spirited is, doing the same thing over and over and pretending the results are going to be good for middle-class and poor people.
Jack,
Yes, the right Idea is less spending. The democrats think by ignoring the budget and kicking the budget can down the road will work as it has in the past. I can only hope the American people make real changes when they vote in 2012.
Jack: The Republicans believe by cutting the remaining months in 2011, and cutting the 2012 budget it will magically reduce the deficit. They are cutting programs that will help young people receive an education, and older Americans to receive retraining. The Republicans will not touch Social Security, Medicare, Mediaid, and they will not reform the tax code, becuse it might cause some of their base heartburn. Reforming the tax code on large businesses might stop large profits for BP of America, Halliburton, and Transamerica. No Way!! Republicans are not going to hurt their baase.
Absolutely not! The GOP does not understand how the middle class or poor lives. They are way above how we live and how much we need our Medicare, the New Insurance that Pres Obama passed, and the cost of living. We uses to live pay check to pay check every week. Now we are living on less of a pay check which means pitting food, medicine, bills and paying for insurance against each other. It's so difficult to find what we need to pay for first and the stress that is killing us. NO GOP does not have any ideas when it comes to budget for our country. None!
Since many of the sitting GOP were instrumental in running up the debt under George W Bush, almost doubling it, I can't imagine giving them the another bite at the apple. The world is not at war, we don't need military spending like a drunken sailor and education needs to benefit from military cuts. There's no reason for children to be neglected for guns, missiles, jets and bombs.
Well, perhaps yes- more so than the left idea.
Ralph, Corpus Christi, Texas
What's the alternative to the Republicans on the budget? The Democrats with their spend, spend, spend, tax, tax, tax mentality? Unfortunately, even the Republicans aren't immune to that political disease, but they're a better bet than the Democrats. Let's just hope that the Tea Party can keep up the pressure and maybe, just maybe, we'll get some Washington fiscal reform.
No. Nobody in the federal government has a clue. Hire some used to be middle class homemakers, these gals know how to balance a budget and save money, too.
No, They want to keep cutting taxes. And the Dems keep going along with it. We need jobs in America to solve our budget problems. As Americans we want a jobs bill that doesn't include union and Goverment job hand outs. Without private sector jobs nothing else can be paid for. We are currently living in the actual proof of this.
No, not when they want to protect the wealthy and big business from having to pay their fair share in taxes. That is my biggest sticking point with the republican party. When it comes to balancing the budget they will not take away the Bush tax cuts for the highest 2% income. I do not mind paying my fair share in taxes. But I feel like a fool when the highest 2% walks away from paying their fair share.
When the GOP talks about tightening belts to balance the federal budget, it’s never their own belts they’re talking about. They’d much rather put the squeeze on people who are desperate, demoralized, broke, retired or out of work with few options.
The Ryan/GOP budget proposal had lots of potential but, unfortunately, when it got to the part about making the Bush tax cuts permanent (including the wealthy) and proposing more tax cuts for businesses, the same weary rhetoric resurfaces where both sides harp on the problem, assign blame and delay any and all action until AFTER the next election.
DuBOIS, PA
Good grief, NO! They have no idea what to do. As far as that goes, The dems don't either. I'm concerned that there is no one in either party that knows what to do with the budget. God help us all.
yes and include term limits
The problem with any GOP and Democratic budget proposals are they are too ideologically entrenched and they cannot see beyond their own scope of vision. While the GOP plan is bold, it comes at the expense of those whole can least afford it and deprives them of opportunity. The bi-partisan deficit committee will likely be the only well-balanced approach available, but will anyone be courageous enough to champion it?
Let's see Jack, probably not. Cut taxes for the top of the income spectrum first. Cut spending on programs that at least keep us on the bottom of the income spectrum going. Cut spending in targeted areas like NASA, while keeping things like entertainment expense as a write-off for corporations. Keep on spending like drunken sailors in areas that benefit members of the Republican party. Spending cuts should have been addressed first, and before the election, so everybody could ascertain just where the ponderous pachyderm was going dump on us. No pain, except at the bottom, no gain for the Republicans in 2012. Austerity needs to start with the top and then slowly be shared by the masses. I don't see Congressmen and Senators volunteering to take less pay and benefits, i.e. share the pain, do you?
Not without taking away the capital gains taxbreaks from the shareholder welfare..if ihave to pay 28%, those not workingbut skimming offthe workers should pay at least 28-35 % in capital gains...And we need to raise the port rates throughout u.s. we are closing libraries early, so the property taxes can be used to pay the offshore infrastructure (i.e. ports)bond payments to the banks shaking us down at 6 % interest, while 3rd world industrialist get subsidized by locals. In addition, why does obama want to gurantee the shareholders who have nothingto do with medicare and medicaid and pharmacuetical pills, other than parasitically buying into the capital gains tax braked costs, that the non working shareholder inflates? his politricks are certainly hippocritical..
I'm afraid they're right on the necessity of budget cuts.
First, let,s cut the three wars and pull out of them.
Put the entitlements up for cuts, but also put the military up for cuts. The debt is just that serious.
No. The only solution is shared sacrifice - not "let's lower taxes on the rich and oh wait now the defecit's worse - let's slash medicare!"
Get serious or get the hell out of the way.
The GOP is not cutting enough but at least they agree we have a budget problem The dems don't have a clue and just keep whining about cutting anything. Obama and the dems have become the party of no cuts, more corporate welfare, more tax cuts for the rich, more defense spending, and more wars. A 1% tax on the 700 trillion dollar derivatives gambling market would cut the14 trillion dollar federal debt in half in one year, but that would be too simple. The GOP budget plan would take 40 years to reduce the federal debt. The do nothing obama plan is DOA because congress will not vote for any tax increases on the rich.
When it comes to reducing spending, yes. When it comes to specifics.......not necessarily.
The attack on seniors, is not any more acceptable than the attack on teachers. Seniors are not really the problem.
Medicaid is the problem.......not Medicare. Too many young people, kids, and others taking what amounts to welfare, rather than working.
No. But neither do the Democrats. The biggest problem is that they've convinced their knee jerk supporters that they are Smarter Than A Fifth Grader who would know that cutting 2000 billions wouldn't balance the budget.
No,No, No! The GOP refuses to look at the reality that we need more Income not Just Cuts in Domestic programs.Any thing the GOP can come up with to lead to more income in Addition to Cuts would be helpful.
Sure they do Jack. Cut more taxes for the rich to trickle down to the rest of us slaves and give Exxon and others more loopholes so their profits will be $50 Billion a quarter instead of a meger $10B. Cut education so more kids will not know how to spell or read. Sounds like a good solid plan for two societies and a third world country.
Even The Economist, hardly a bastion of liberal economic policy, has called the Congressional Progressive Budget Caucas "the only serious proposal on the table". It balances the budget by 2021, reduces the military to reasonable levels while still being the best military on the planet, changes tax rates so that there's a disticntion between different categoryies of wealthy, and raises taxes on the wealthy to no more than 49% for Billionaires.
It's the only seroius proposal out that and it is the only one that gets no attention. Why? Because our rich overlords will actually have to do something for the country instead of their personal fiefdoms. We should be protesting in the streets over it.
As long as the Republicans keep their Super Lobbyists to keep there pockets padded and keep them elected along with their low premium health care then I guess my answer is Yes they are right on with the budget.
The GOP has the right ideas when it comes to the budget if you happen to be in that 1 % of the population that is considered wealthy or if you are a member of the ruling corporate America dynasty. I suspect the GOP is operating on the same principles as the Obama administration ,in that they hired the same folks that caused the Wall Street debacle to help fix the U. S. . Now the GOP that could have cared less about budgets and deficits during the Bush administration want to offer help in fixing the budget crisis that they significantly contributed to.
There are no right or wrong answers only the need to survive and if the government keeps spending more then it takes in the U.S.A. will not survive.
Gary, MO
You have to be kidding! They want to give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations who can afford to pay more. They continue to allow corporations to have "headquarters" in another country to avoid paying taxes. They increase defense funding when in reality military bases around the world should be closed (no country occupies ours) and agrees with spending trillions to continues unwinnable endless wars PLUS agrees with starting another war with Libya. They want to disenfrachise the elderly and disabled with vouchers for health care–any insurance company would deem them to have a preexisting condition and thus uninsurable. They are in the back pocket of lobbyists and special interests and could care less about the welfare of our country or her citizens.
I will say this simply: It is in considering the Ryan budget plan that we progressives should remind the Conservatives that we also have guns, and are willing to go for "Second Ammendment Remedies" if push comes to shove. If you think I am going to let my mom have her social security and Medicade taken from her so some guy who shipped 10,000's of jobs over seas last decade can get richer while you applaud his stance archaic social issues you've got another thing coming.
It's reaching the tipping point you folks need to understand you might talk the talk, but we're ready to walk the walk just as much as you are. Bring it.
NO!! These are the people who conflate Social Security with Medicare and Medicaid. They can't seem to tell the difference between surplus and deficit. And they still insist that lowering taxes will increase revenues, after 30 years of evidence to the contrary. Ryan's budget increases the deficit. Doing absolutely the wrong thing in the worst way possible is a good definition of the Republican "budget".
It depends.
Is their plan to tank the economy, give even more tax cuts to millionaires, increase pollution, expand subsidies to oil companies, give Wall Street a free hand to fleece Main Street, and give seniors a discount coupon for medical care instead of actual medical care?
If so, their budget plan is right on track.
The Republicans couldn't be more out of touch.Slashing benefits for the elderly and disabled while continuing their policy of corporate welfare will be their demise. Good riddance.
The Republicans are the bait and switch party. When running for office, they promise to save Medicare and create jobs. Once elected they vote to dismantle Medicare and continue to claim that tax cuts for the wealthy will create jobs . . . even though it hasn't worked in decades. There must be a special place in hell for politicians who take from the disabled, poor and elderly to give to the rich.
For everyday working stiffs like me no but if you are in the mega rich clan then yes. You will see your taxes slashed to near nil and watch the poor stiffs like us work like dogs to get your empire back to where you were like King Midas.
Jack; not even close. The GOP (greedy old parasites) have been the tools of corporate Wall Street since the Grant Administration. The first thing to do is elect Democrats to the majority in both houses. Second get out of the Afghanistan/Pakistan and Iraq wars. Third, tax the richest 3% of Americans at Eisenhower era levels and close the corporate loopholes. Fourth, open Medicare as a choice for all US citizens. Fifth, bring back the draft with no deferments to reduce unemployment to manageable levels..
Yes.... Absolutely. Rep. Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" is a start in the right direction.
No all the Republicans seem to do is instill fear in the hearts of the voters. Yet talk of help to the small business owner when it is not unclear they care only for big business and the true rich.
No, they think that the answer is just to cut from the programs they don't or have never liked. They do not want to make programs they like face the same cuts and don't want to make the big companies or wealthy pay their fair share. In times like these everyone needs to share in the pain = wether it be the wealthy, the poor, the middle class, the companies, unions, soc. security, medicare/nedicade or defense. The GOP has its on sacred cows and will not do anything to make them share in the pain. Most say they are Chritians but they don't act like it when they are aking some of the cuts. They act more like the money changers in the temple.
Jack, every sane person in this country knows that spending cannot continue at the present levels but most people also know that additional revenue is needed to erase this huge deficit. The Ryan budget proposal ignores this need and instead provides further breaks for the wealthy while placing the burden of bearing cuts to the middle class and the poor as Republicans generally do. Theis is neither fair nor humane, and depends almost entirely on cuts rather than effective changes to many programs. It's not a realistic approach to reducing the deficit. It's time to cut the bloated military budget, subsidies to the large oil companies, levy tax penalties on those corporations that take their jobs overseas, and tax the rich.
Rep. Ryan's budget plan is a failure. This country can't survive with only the rich and then the rest of us. The Ryan plan is going to financially ruin many seniors and others who will be priced out of the health care coverage market. If you're not employed in the industries the GOP favors, ie- big banks, big oil, big insurance, or other big corporations, you will be up the creek without a paddle, if the Ryan budget proposal passes, in any form.
Jack I don't think either party has a clue on what to do about the budget. Both parties are terrible custodians of our money and both parties spend like we have an endless supply of it. I am of the opinion that without fiscal restraint by both parties we are in for more of the same. Our politicians need to learn how to live within our means and not just beyond them. Until then there is no hope for a balanced budget or a reduction in our deficit.
No, they have been trying to "Starve the Beast" since Saint Ronnie was president. It took the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression to create the crisis they needed to screw the poor and middle class. They ran on jobs to get elected and haven't done a thing to help the economy so President Obama won't be re-elected. Why do they hate the American people?
At least the GOP has the political courage to address previously 'sacred cows' - Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Obama and the Dems are still kicking the can down the road. All they like to do is demonize. No real leadership or thought.
The GOP's ideas are better than the Dem's, but both parties are so worried about being re-elected that they are afraid to do what really needs to be done. I don't know about you Jack but I personally hate paying interest. It is like buying a dead horse.
Some of their ideas make sense....but given the size of the problem to think that we can come closer to ridding ourselves of the deficit without a tax increase isn't feasible unless the federal govt. is reduced to half its present size & scope....resulting in more unemployment and smaller tax receipts.
No they don't. Cutting programs that help poor and older adults on the backs of tax breaks for the rich is not the Christian way. And I use that reference because so many of these Republicans are right-wing Christians except when it affects their pockets. Jesus said to give til it hurts and take care of the poor. And it is easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle than a rich man. Love your neighbor as yourself means just that!
No. If you want to know what to cut in the budget just shut grovernment down for 3 months and see what part of grovernment could survive and than cut that department. You will find the waste then.
Yep, Jack! They do. And the American people DESERVE what they get from the Republicans because we voted them into office. They want to cut and privatize Medicare....sounds good to me. I hope the "baby boomer" generation is appreciative of what the Republicans want to give them because they DESERVE every bit of it.
For the record, the President and the Democrats are morons for trying to fight against what the American people voted for themselves.
Sure, Jack, they have the ultra far right ideas. Their preaching about deficits is a mere smokescreen, since their budget doesn't actually cut the deficit. Their vision is that of a shining city on a hill, all right - a city populated with the one percent of the country who stole enough money to send their children to private schools, to hire the finest private doctors, and of course don't have to work at a paying job. The other 99 percent of us can just go away and die. All I can say is the Republicans better build a darned high wall around that city.
I would say no. the GOP wants to make the rich richer and the middle class poorer. there is a balance way to cure our national debt but they want the middle class to pay for it. we have saved the banks,wall st and extended the tax breaks but were are the jobs? some one needs to answer that question. tax breaks for the rich were to create growth but as long as they have been around only the rich have benefited. answer the question why?
If you mean taking a slash and burn approach to all programs that benifit the working class and giving huge tax breaks to the rich then yeah, after all it's worked so well over the past decade. I cant think of anything I'd rather do than pay off the massive debt we incured because of their irresponibility and greed. When will we learn?
Almost! This country has to get the spending under control. We can not borrow more to pay interest on loans that were taken out to pay interest on loans. Spending has to be cut that will free up money to pay interest on loans and on the principal. Already, just the interest due is equal to the entire annual budget of the Department of Defense.
But we should not throw people under the bus to save money. Medicare, medicade and Social Security should not be cut. Assistance to elderly for the poor and for education should be saved.
Remembering we are talking about the GOP, the questions almost needs to be parsed to read, "Does someone in the GOP understand what America's is demanding concerning reducing our National budgetary deficit?" From that point, the answer is yes all GOP Senators are at publically supporting a new Balanced Budget Amendment. As for the GOP in the House, if the "WAKE CALL" at home restores some Common Sense, that answer could become yes also. But I'm guessing you are looking for America's answer do GOP members realize Voters aren't ready for House version of upcomng budgets, I'll be in minority again stating yes. For all the Head lines relating to House Freshmen, nothing says "You Are Wrong" more effectively than being Shouted Down by your own supporters at Town Hall meeting during 2 week recess.
It will take all sides to come up with an agreed to economic policy. Jack Kennedy gave a commencement speech at Yale in 1962 that everybody should listen to. He was addressing the economic problems during his first term. In it he says that the old cliches, political rhetoric and hakneyed phases used to garner support is rediculous and simply does not fix anything. It's uncanny how that speech rings true in todays times. We can all learn a LOT by listning to him. I think it's per-haps his best speech along with the American U. speech of 1963 of course
Generally, yes, Jack. In essense, they say we need to get control of our spending and our waste before we even think about raising taxes. They dare to consider an alternate approach to the monolythic and unaffordable Medicare and Medicade. And they want to set spending expectations on other entitlements to what we can afford - not just what we petulently want. They can always raise the apyouts later if things improve. Sound like - what - shared sacrifice and responsible leadership. 633 days and counting!!
As for next Questions bigger issue War or Oil prices, they are two sides to same issue, America's Complete Failure to Enact an Effective Sustainable Energy Indpendence Policy. Ron Bengston at American Energy Independence has been waging this War attempting Educate Public for over a decade. Doesn't matter if you listen to T. Pickens or any other Adult in conversation, America could have saved Trillions over past decade between military costs and trade deficit by investing in American Energy Independence from oil shale in Rockies, to tar sands, to well Jack you are old enough to know what we should have been doing. Peace out.
Do the Republicans have the right idea?
You mean they have an IDEA?
That would be news!
The problem isn't that American citizens are under-taxed, it is that our government spends far too much money. Paul Ryan's plan is a great first step in reducing the federal deficit as well as stimulating economic growth.
-Simon Bowler
Madison, WI
If destroying Medicare, taking away benefits to the poor, gutting the middle class and giving more and more tax breaks to the rich and to big corporations is your definition of 'right', then it probably is.
Are you kidding? They will not cut defense or foreign aid, but watch out Granny! Instead of going after the health care companies and the drug manufacturers and their billion dollar profits to reduce their profits and pay their income taxes, our senior citizens will lose their health care and prescription drug coverage. When this happens and our citizens on Medicaid lose their coverage, what happens? Where do these people go for help, the emergency room and we pay anyway. I realize that these programs need to be adjusted, but the Republicans are doing it all on the backs of the middle and lower classes.
Well, yes and no. I applaud their initiative. They realize that we are in a hole and that we need an answer otherwise we’re going to have significant problems. However, I disagree with what they’re seeking to cut (especially the EPA’s funding for the 2011 year). They’re cutting the important stuff which a government should be funding. With that being said, the democrats are taking no initiative to dig us out of this hole. With the GOP plan we’ll make progress…the question is though, what progress will it be?
The political landscape is so politically and ideologically entrenched right now, no plan from either side is capable of containing a well balanced, pragmatic approach. The Ryan plan doesn't propose a balanced budget until 2037 which seems unbelievable to me, puts the burden on lower incomes and doesn't seriously address tax reform. The Simpson-Bowles plan is likely the only one capable of getting through but nobody seems to be championing it right now. The biggest problem with the economy is the political gridlock.
NO Jack.
stealing seniors Medicare, which they paid into their whole working lives, to give even MORE tax breaks to millionaires is NO way to "balance the budget" and it will NOT even WORK because the spending "savings" are offset by even LOWER govenment revenue.
so called "trickle down" has NEVER worked going back to the days of Ronald Reagan. it's NO guarantee that the wealthy will use that money to start or expand businesses that produce jobs for the average American worker. it's more likely they will just squirrel that extra money in their investment accounts.
Jack, if trickle Down theory was going to work, it would have worked when Regan was in office and transferring Middle-class wealth to the rich. It would have worked when Bush transferred Middle-class wealth to the rich with his tax cuts. It works for the super rich, not for America.
"The Census Bureau reports that the median household income in the United States fell 3.6% in 2008 – the biggest drop since the government started keeping records" (Virginia L. Downie, Just Thought You Should Know)
They have some of the right ideas, but they pay too much attention to the Tea Party's mania for cutting simply for the sake of cutting. As usual, both sides have some legitimate points and ideas. But also as usual, neither side is willing to separate their legitimate ideas from their fringe goals that look good to the base but aren't so good for the country.
If anyone has a party perference next to their name they lack any clues regarding the budget. What we really need are independent thinkers, economists and business leaders to step in and "balance a budget"
Do you think Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, et al have the knowledge or ability to steer this country ? For that matter do you think our current president can do it either?
I don't know if it's all good, but the path they want to take is the right path, and if the Dem and Rep can find even ground to go forward with balancing the budget and curbing wasteful spending. we would all win.
Budget? They don't know what that means! They spend our tax dollars on their basic needs and ours while the rich get richer.
Only for those in that top 5% or so income bracket, leaving out 95% of us. The GOP doesn't even try to pretend anymore.
I'm reeling with laughter. These are the same clowns and crooks that brought us to the brink of extinction just three short years ago. I seriously doubt that they have improved their knowlege of economics in that time. Buyer beware, that's my motto.
yes we all should have learned by now that democrats have no idea how to use or even what math is they should stay with talking please if you are a dem stay away from math and reading your record is just not good
Jack,
No. The Ryan Plan doesn't generate enough revenue and the Simpson-Bowles plan contains too much spending. I propose this solution – use the tax reforms from the Simpson-Bowles Plan to generate higher revenues and the expenditure reforms contained in the Ryan Plan to generate lower outlays. I've done the math using data from each group's published reports and guess what? The deficits are eliminated by 2017 and we begin generating surpluses that would enable America to finally start reducing its debt.
Jack,
The right idea lies somewhere between what Democrats want and what Republicans want. It's too bad neither party wants to compromise. As for Medicare and Social Security, if I've paid into it, then why is it an entitlement? That's MY money THAT I earned. Government needs to stop raiding the funds, and they need to stop giving out the money to people who haven't contributed. Government also needs to find better ways to stop the fraud that takes place.
Absolutely NOT!! The Republicans want to ruin the economy so that they can gain politcally and break the unions. They want 95% of us to make sacrifices and pay taxes for programs we can't benefit from so that the rich don't have to pay taxes and huge corporations can continue to loot the USA and invest in China. Cy – Arlington, VA
An obese person can loose weight by simply not eating. Of course, after a while it won't matter since they'll die of starvation since they won't have any nutritional intake. That's kind of how the GOP budget "plan" will affect the country without increasing revenue (aka, taxes).
Absolutely not. All they are thinking of is how to best help their rich buddies. They don't give a darn about the poor, elderly or working class folks in this country. For the past two years the only word they knew and still know is "NO". The sooner we the people of this country wake up and see what the Republicans are doing to ruin the United States all because of their hatred for the incumbent President the better off we will be. I have never seen such dirty rotten politics as that which is going on now. It is disgusting.
No. Cut wasteful spending? Not in my district. Cut entitlements? Don't touch my Medicare. Cut defense spending, stop invading other countries? Never. So, yeah. NO
Carol Mass.
Jack, the Republicans are trying to do the same thing they have been trying to do since the beginning of the 20th century, do away with anything progressive. They fought the income tax; the New Deal initiatives; the Civil Rights initiatives, and now that we have a debt crisis, one very much of their own doing, they see the chance to finally undo all of them.
yes they had 8 years of it..........................and what was it.
The GOP's idea to protect the rich and attack Social Security & Medicare (that they always wanted to Kill). This is not close to the right idea. They know they can.e get most of their proposals thru and are playing to the far right without any real responsibility..
Yes. The last 30 years of wealth distribution to the top has worked out sooo well for us hasn't it? Do you think that if we made those mere billionaires into TRILLIONAIRES we could totally wipe out america?
They do indeed Jack. Down deep, most Americans recognize that Republicans, by and large, run companies, manage money and hire people better than Democrats. With the country in a complete melt-down financially, even liberal Democrats are beginning to look to the GOP for some kind of salvation. If Republicans can field a candidate in 2012 with at least the intelligence of a trained ape, that person should beat Obama in a landslide.
Gary in Scottsdale, Arizona
If you want to live in a country where its great to be a billionaire but really, really desperate and depressing to be anyone else then the GOP are on the right track. Let the old, the poor, the children, the taxpayers, consumers and employees eat goverment cheese. If you're Donald Trump or the Koch brothers, then I guess this place is beginning to shape up. Cy – Arlington, VA
I'd rather fight the Second American Civil War than accept the Republican budget plan. If they want to destroy America so they can protect their Corporate masters I want them and their corporate masters going down with us. These people have no idea what kind fire they are playing with. none.
Not at all. They are still doing the Newt Gingrich screw the poor and middle class and give everything to their contributors, the rich.
You can't get an idea about the budget by a Party that was part of the spending for decades. Conservative is an oxymoron here.
We don't need to cut anything. Stop perpetuating Jack. There is a reason we have a debt ceiling, and if it is raised... Catastrophe. We don't need 10 year budget plans that won't even work. We need emergency revenue now. Time for everyone to suck it up and pony up the dough. I'm a middle class American who can't afford the finer things and I'm willing to pay more to save our nation. Why aren't people who can easily afford it also willing?
No! None of these people are educated in Economics. They do not understand that a drastic cut in government spending well "deflate" the American economy and lead to recession. Once the recession is induced by them income tax revenues well decline making the budget deficit worse and the recession worse. They are ignorant (lack an understanding of Economics). Raising taxes on the rich, freezing government spending, ending the wars, investing in alternative energy to reduce the nation's operating costs, and cutting unnecessary spending is the way to go. That and getting big business to invest the trillions their holding in this country (not China). Biggest problem: No leadership-president (Kennedy, Clinton, FDR, TR). We need a great president to lead us, and vote out the GOP.
If I sat down and tried to design a plan worse than the Ryan plan, I would have a hard time doing it. It 'deals' with the long term debt by privatizing medicare. Private health insurance is more expensive and does a worse job of controlling the cost of health care than government programs do. The plan puts the entire debt plus more onto the backs of those under 55, and specifically on the future middle and lower income people. They won't have to pay more in taxes, but they will have to pay more in health care costs than if you simply made them pay the whole debt in taxes.
Gov't should run a balanced budget. NO GAMES. If they want to spend more then they will have to raise taxes to cover the spending. That eliminates the need for term limits. If they are constantly raising taxes they won't get re-elected.
Simplify the tax code and only spend what they can afford. No more politico spending binges to get elected.
Not at all. This is yet another attempt to convince us that our leaders actually have some kind of comprehension about what they should do to maintain a healthy economy and good relationships with other nations. The source of our economic troubles is a fraudulent monetary system. The reason people don't like us is because we bomb and occupy them. As long as both parties do not address these issues no budget will be a solution to our economic issues.
Jack, Honestly? I think that the vast majority in both houses are well-heeled, well-versed lawyers who are going to do EXACTLY as they're told by their "handlers"(lobbyists, not constituents). How about a few less of these fighter jets, tanks and other armaments our services don't want or need? How about these lawmakers dropping THEIR insurance and pensions? If the "bottom-feeders" are the only ones feeling the pain here, then we'd better start archiving news footage from the seventies of Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Newark, ect., ect., then multiply that by one hundred. Better yet, just keep staring at the images of the middle-East, and central Africa. Hungry, destitute people make bad roommates. Layne A. Antioch, Il.
There are no jobs for the unemployed. There are many under employed. The idea of trickle down economics has not worked. The Republican budget is more of the same. Cutting Medicare and giving more to the rich will not create a single job. " It's the economy, stupid'
The only right ideas these people have ever had are wrong ideas. I hope they nominate the Donald. I have so many thoughts about him you're bound to like one of them.
_Some_ Republicans have the right idea, but, sadly, many others do not. We need a budget that significantly reduces the annual deficit and the national debt. Anything else is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
I dont know Jack , but the question you posed gives me an idea. I feel like I am entitled to take tomorrow off from work, or maby even longer if it suits me. When the bills come in at the end of the month, I shall ask the credit card company to raise my "debt celing" so that I could charge all my bills, and continue my new found life of ease. I can continue to "kick the can" far down the peverbial road, practicing many of the monitary "tricks" shown to me by our Government for months, or maby even years, untill I suppose the whole "house of cards" comes crashing down.......but dont worry, bank ruptsy will allow me to wipe my bebt clean away, and start all over again!
Seriously Jack....when are we going to realise that we as a country, or as individuals cannot spend more than we make?
I believe the GOP budget proposal is about the only thing they have correct. It is drastic and it is going to hurt. The cuts must be deep and wide if we even have a chance of reducing the deficit.
Let me get this straight, they cut taxes for the richest in the US, move corporate taxes from 2/3 of revenue to 6% and we have a spending problem? REALLY? For those who failed math, and that's the GOP base, corporate taxes as a percentage of the Federal revenue went from 66% to 6%. And 66% of corporations pay no taxes, that's GE, Exxon and BP who is fighting its tax bill.
WE HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM. And its all due to the GOP. Who lie. All the time. They're stupid too. Read Ryan's plan? He's clueless.
The Republicans have the right idea only if you are wealthy. For the rest of us mere mortals – not so much.
Jack If The Republicans Had The Right They Would Have Been Came Up With A Plan Back When President George W. Bush Was In Office You Remember That Guy Don't You Jack? He's The President That Turned Our Surplus Into A Deficit In A Matter Of Only A Couple Of Years! We Didn't Have To Cut Entitlement Programs When Bill Clinton Balanced The Budget In The 90's So Why Can't Washington Including President Obama Go Back To The Clinton Ways Of Balancing The Budget? I Just Don't Get All This Circus Stuff Going On In Washington!
Scott Stodden (Freeport,Illinois)
No one has the right idea of the budget Jack. We spend $700 billion dollars on our military, $600 billion more than China and the are in second place. Why not cut that to $250 billion?
The real issue is that NO ONE is talking about reducing the debt. Both parties are only suggesting ways to slow the growth of our national debt. The rest of the world understands the difference between reducing the deficit and reducing the debt even if US voters do not, which is why the dollar is getting weaker versus EVERY currency in the world, even third world currencies. Sooner or later, and probably sooner, no one is going to buy our debt which will cause a crisis far greater than we have ever seen before. The good news you will be able to blame both parties so we will no longer be a country divided, just broke.
Simply put – NO Republicans don't have the right idea. I don't trust them. Period. The two Republicans that put us into this mess are Ronald Reagan and GW Bush. Bill Clinton bailed out Reagan and now it will take a Democratic President and Congress to get us out of the Bush-era mess. Republicans know what to say to get elected but once in office it's all about spending to benefit the business world. They don't really care about the rest of us. If the Democrats can find the right mix of spending cuts and tax increases that are reasonable we might be okay in 20 years. But we need to start NOW.
unless the first proposal on their list is all American forces out of Iraq and afganistan tomorow no.
No I don't think so. I think it is sad when we have the choice of cutting the debt and cutting benefits. I think the Republicans will cut too much into entitlements and it will affect a lot of people who can not stand to be affected anymore. It will affect the poorest of the people, our senior cizitens, disabled people and others on welfare. I'm not saying Obama's idea is much better but at least it doesn't cut too much into entitlement benefits.
I think so. To cut the budget to safe levels is going to hurt on all levels. I think telling Congress that their pay will be cut may galvanize them into action. Maybe then our ELECTED leaders would think about whether or not they want to be unemployed.
absolutely they do! the question is whether or not they mean it and will act on it responsibly. they are members of congress afterall...
– kate
washington, dc
did you mean the ideas that created the deficit in the first place? it's really maddening how quickly people forget all the mess GOP created and how hard they make it to fix it
The Republicans have never had a good idea on the economy. It has always been about the haves vs. the have not's and, there strategy is to get some of the have not's to believe that they have.
OK, When Clinton was President, did we or did we not have a budget surplus?
And, during the Bush years, did we or did we not go from a budget surplus to a HUMONGOUS deficit?
So, in response to YOUR question, did the REPUBLICANS or did they not put us into this horrendous economic situation? Why would ANYONE think those same Republicans have the right idea to get us out of the perilous financial situation?
How can gutting Medicare and giving even more tax breaks to the wealthiest be considered sound fiscal policy? I'm tired of what trickles down on me when the Republicans run the show.
No, why not eliminate the loopholes for Big Oil. Tax the rich as the Clinton rate. Cut military armaments by 10%. Then get serious about the rest of the budget.
To me Taxes are a way the Government can steal my money, poor people don"t pay taxes they have no money. God help those that help them selfs , we are all in a big circle picking each other pockets the point is to stay in that circle.
Our current budget crisis is a crisis of Capitalism and nobody should doubt that the current budget battle isn't an affirmation of that. When you have corporate elites and the Investment Class refusing to pay for their share of keeping the US strong you should be questioning whether or not we should even consider this economic form anymore.
Capitalism and Democracy are NOT the same thing and they don't exist in tandem. You CAN have one without the other and it's pretty damn clear to everyone that modern 21st Century Capitalism has rendered American Democracy completely meaningless.
That's what you should be considering in this budget battle. Not how much more to tax the rich or what to cut out of the budget but why we allow corporate interests to usurp our nations. The answer, is Capitalism and its Trickle Down cousin.
Jack, I respect my Republican friends but not at all. They want to cut education, clean energy, and other programs vital to the U.S. economy and safety. There's always talking about fiscal discipline but will vow to never cut not a single penny from Defense spending. I smell hypocrisy.
I don't understand why the focus isn't on cutting military spending and getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan to see how much that saves us before we start taking chunks out of entitlements first. Keep military spending in check, cut back a little on a number of things along with seeing where there is waste, and return to the Clinton era tax rates and we can get things going in the right direction. Republican "voodoo" economics are not the answer. They have been the problem for the last 30 years.
Absolutely not! If the GOP was asking for equal sacrifice from all, they would have more ground to stand on. But, because they seem to favor the wealthy, I think it's becoming more obvious that they are not in touch with the middle class.
hey jack ,nobody but ron paul and denis kucinch know how to do it THE ANSWER IS .We need to pull out of all thESE WAR S
Yes, it's a start but it doesn't go far enough.
Jack: You're kidding, aren't you? And could you explain THEIR (the House and Senate) benefit/pension package to the American people? When they cut theirs, they can cut everyone else!!
They may not have the complete solution but it is better than the Democrats, who only want to increase social programs. We can no longer afford to help all the people all the time. We have to make some hard choices and it seems that the Republicans are on the way to making those tough decisions.
Brenda
Oregon
I wake up every day, go to work, do my job well, go home. Repeat. When I get my paycheck the taxes are taken out. When I file my return I get a standard deduction. I don't have a tax shelter. Nope. I do all my work right here in America. Sorry I the little guy think YOU big corp. should be paying YOUR fair share! Maybe when that happens we won't need to be having a "budget talk."
No, No and hell no. they don't know how to handle a hog pen filled with poop. Never ever trust a republican with your money they will only take it and give it to the rich. they are like drug dealers flipping your money to get more money for their pockets and call it campaign contributions.
Jack, the solution is so simple, I don't know why anyone from either side of leadership has suggested it.
Simply cut all government programs across-the-board by 10% this year and another 10% in all of the following years until our National Debt is zero.
Absolutely not! The Republicans aren't the party of fiscal conservancy, in fact the last GOP president to balance a budget was Eisenhower. Cheney repeated that a debt wasn't a bad thing; I guess that's until your political adversaries are in power. Eliminate the Bush tax cuts and cut military spending and we'll get things back in order. Then, eliminate all corporate entanglements in government – businessmen got us into this mess, they'll never get us out.
Sure, Jack, the Republicans have the right idea if we want an American unfit for human habitation!
No, the GOP doesn't have the right idea. Let the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy expire and that will take care of a huge portion of the deficit. End tax breaks for oil companies, and they will take care of most of the rest. Leave Medicare and Medicaid alone, they are necessary for the most vulnerable of us–the old, the sick, and the poor.
No they don't. Neither party does. The right answers lie with both parties. Reform social security by increasing the eligibility age. Decrease the deficit by cutting military budget by 10% and bringing our troops home. Increase federal income taxes by 1% on individuals making over 75k and families over 150k per years, cut world wide welfare to foreign countries. Do these things and a right start will be made. Increasing revenues and cutting spending is the solution. One sided myopic viewpoints only looking at one side of the ledger are stupid.
Jack,
The ONLY way to deal with the deficit is to deal with the lack of income. We all have gotten second jobs to make ends meet as we have had no pay raises. 100% of the pay raises in the past 10 years have gone to the top 2% of earners but they have had their income tax bill cut – BIG time.
Time to raise taxes on those who earn more than a quarter million dollars per year earned and unearned combined.
Republicans will have trouble with this truth.
How can the Republican plan work, when for each dollar cut from spending a dollar is cut from taxes? Let's return to the Clinton years of pre-cut taxes and prosperity. Trickle-down didn't work for Reagan and it didn't work for Bush the Younger.
The Republicans are wrong on so many issues, I don't trust them to fix anything. But then I don't trust most of the Democrats either.
richard myers
Denver, Colorado
NO! Jack the Republicans do not have the right plan. They only talk about cutting human services. We need to cut the war machine most of which we do not and never will use.Also how about cutting the salerys of Representatives andSenators.
Absolutely not! They had 8 years in which to prove that point to me and to American citizens. They chose to protect corporations over the middle class. They caused this situation and now you think we can believe a word they say about fixing it? Social Security has a surplus and had a bigger surplus until Congress began to ROB from it. There is ONE thing they can do that would make me believe they care about us, they could make it illegal for Congress to ever rob from our Social Security accounts again to fund ANYTHING else.
No, GOP plans cuts into the wrong programs. We need to reduce the defense spending, bring our troops home, stop all foreign aid, stop medical benefits for Illegals, stop all subsidies to oil industry, go back to Clinton era tax structure (low unemployment with higher taxes). If this does not balance the budget, implement a VAT on goods from Communist China.
Why should we believe they have the right idea now after eight years of bull the president was saddled with in there eyes it will only work for the rich while putting all the weight of the debt on the poor and middle class.
When are congress and their rich oil buddies going to start sharing in our sacrifice. I live in New Jersey where our republican governor is always talking about that. I am quite sure he is not paying a penny for his health insurance. We all know that our elected officials get their health benefits for life. They can afford to pay for them. Average Americans cannot. Vote them out ASAP before the middle class is completely gone.
yhey are hwlping the wealthy,no the average former middle-class.Weneed a tax structure like Ike had.
And do you think a Republican could handle anything related to economics other than claiming "tax cuts" to the rich creates jobs. Oxymorons ALL.
No, Jack, they do not. The Republicans become obstructionists every time they have to deal with a president who is not from their party. Rather than do anything constructive, they search for more and more ways to make it impossible for a Democrat to succeed at anything. They have proven, again and again, that they do not care about most of their constituents, but disproportionately care for the big businesses that buy their offices. I often wonder how many great things Clinton could have accomplished had the Republican assault, which was unrelenting and knew no limits to its pettiness, had not happened. I hope that the rest of the country sees them for the obstructionists they truly are. We voted for Obama and all he stood for and they have done everything in their power to prevent Obama from accomplishing a thing despite heroic efforts on Obama's part for bipartisan solutions.
No. As long as I can remember this has been the same fight with the same words. "Our children will pay for it." None of them Republicans nor Democrates has the answer if they did we would not be in this mess.
Yes, it's a start but it doesn't go far enough. WE HAVE GOT TO STOP SPENDING. Whatever their plan is, the Dems with defeat it. They can only hold on to power with giveaway programs and buzz words like "tax cuts for the rich" and the newest "shared sacrifice". Apparently, the unions in Wisc. didn't want to share or sacrifice.
The Republicans are intent on using the budget crisis to advance their long held agenda to enrich the wealthy. It's working.
Jack, you are kidding, right? The party that made paupers of all Americans except the uber-wealthy; the party that ruined the US and World economies (and that's only for starters of how Republicans ruined the US)? Under any circumstances whatsoever, who in their right mind would give those who caused absolute chaos, the Republicans/Tea Partiers, any say whatsoever in anything to do with finances. They are robbers. Lock 'em up!
No. The goverment spending needs to be cut but where the spending is being cut shows a lack of foresight. The country is only as strong as its weakest link and the cuts are affecting the poor and the young the hardest.
That's the problem... the "Right" idea instead of the best idea. We need to get away from "right" and "left" ideas, and focus on the many ways we can reduce this deficit, including raising taxes, closing loopholes, dropping all the subsities to businesses and corporation who take their business away from the US. Let's do a "whole" idea for all Americans, forget the RIGHT IDEA...we've had enough wrong right ideas. Let's get some really good ones.
Thanks, Jack. You're great.
With the Republican plan we will need death pannels to eliminate the elderly poor and middle class.
If you are making millions of dollars a year or are stupid enough to believe that a few hundred thousand dollars to a select few billionaires will translate into jobs for everyone, of course the Republicans have the right idea about the deficit. However, if you got fired by that millionaire so that he could keep his 7-figure bonus, or old, or a child, or have family members that are mentally handicapped, or are a small business owner trying to build your company through future technologies, or otherwise smart enough to realize that companies making billions in profits aren't going to go on a hiring spree with just a couple hundred thousand more dollars, the republican budget might not be your cup of tea.
No Way! They need to explain why they gave people earning more than $250,000 get and extra tax break.
No they absolutely do not. We should NOT reduce taxes any more for the extreme wealthy.They want to reduce taxes more for the wealthy and as a result of that lost revenue, reduce social Security and Medicare. We should raise taxes till we get out of trouble.
NO, We should eliminate the Bush tax cuts,We should make corporations pay their taxes and we should eliminate the corportate tax subsidies.
The Republicans have had eight years to get an idea while Bush and Cheney were in office. Instead, they brought the economy to ruin in 2008 (LONG BEFORE Obama's Presidency). And now they want to do the same thing they did from 2001 to 2008 AGAIN??? America truly has a short memory!
Perhaps someone can explain why ( 1) after 8 years of Bush era deficit spending, the Republican Party is so urgently interested and engaged in balancing the budget?; ( 2 ) why budget deficits call to be balanced on the backs of the poor and the middle class?; and ( 3 ) why the defense part of the budget goes virtually untouched? We are bankrupting ourselves taking on the role of world police.
Deborah Eisberg
Boquete, Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama
Spending billions of dollars in war in Afghanistan, and there is still a corrupted government down there, with terrorist having safe heavens in Pakistan. Does it seem a right idea for the budget for both Democrats and Republicans?
Mustu
Afghanistan
In a word NO. All the Republicans have is a plan for the rich to get richer, and the middle class and the poor be damned.
That the Republicans are in the employ of big corporations and the Rich
grows more and more obvious. The Bush tax cuts given to those making over $250,000/year resulted in a massive loss of revenue for our government, creating a massive deficit. The lack of the Bush administration's regulatory oversight helped bring on a deep recession and our having to bail out the banks and further boost our failing economy. Many are out of work, many have lost their homes. And, now, the Republicans want to cut Medicare, a program that helps the elderly maintain their health, while NOT raising the taxes of those who can well afford a tax increase. NO WAY.
Right idea, yes. Right way of getting it done, no. Cut military spending, close any overseas bases that are not currently crucial (Rammestein, Keflavik, etc.). Listen to the people that put them in office and TAX THE WEALTHY! We can't tax them overmuch, as wealth is part of the American Dream, but if the middle class pays 10% of their income to taxes, the wealthy should pay 12.5%, and stop the BS line that the wealthy create jobs, and the trickle down effect line, we don't believe that anymore, as it has yet to show up. Also tax the corporations. 50 years ago, corporations paid nearly half of the tax income, today, they don't even pay half a percent. This will all help, but it won't be enough to fix it, just enough to get the ball rolling. Also, if a budget isn't passed on time, Congress should not be paid for next year, and that money should be used to repay the debt.
Jack,
The Generators Of Propaganda (GOP) have always been better at selling nonsense to the naive wing of the American electorate. To get a less biased read on how well Republicans do with spending, just sit back and remember the 8 years of the Bush Administration, that fun bunch that gave us all of these problems after inheriting a budget surplus from Bill Clinton. Or, you could go back to the Reagan years and recall how Republicans spent more during those eight years than in all previous administrations combined. Do Republicans have the right idea when it comes to the budget? Do conservatives hug trees?
Jim
Reno, Nevada
Absolutely not! They are just using the budget/deficit/debt crisis as a red herring to do what the always do; raise taxes (in every and any form possible) on the middle class so they can give the money to the wealthy, their friends in business, oil companies and GE. They care nothing about the budget or the deficit, they only what to bring down spending so there is more money for rebates to business. God help us if they get their way. But it’s a Hobson’s choice – God help us if the Democrats get their way too.
PS The only reason Social Security is in trouble is because the bank where all the accounts are kept was robbed.
Has anyone thought ahead to what happens when there is no food stamps, medicaide, head start, WIC? How many homeless people will there be after? How many robberies, car jackings? Tax those that can afford it, Close the loop holes for big business. Take the "entitlements" away from Industry, not the poor!!!
Jack, no the GOP doesn't have it right. Besides decimating a pretty successful program by most accounts, Ryan doesn't mention that he will need to continually raise the debt ceiling to accomodate the tax breaks. Bottom line, I think the bipartisan debt commission put together a pretty decent report that Democrats and Republicans need to truly look. I also think that they should look at some legislation that doesn't allow a member of Congress to vote on bills or be members of Congressional boards that affect industries they received campaign donations from.
I would like to see any party separate the "entitlements" which were mandatory deductions from my payroll separated from "give-away programs". If I paid for it ,,,,, leave it alone, I am entitled to it.
Seems to me that the Republicans got Obama to bail out the banks, the Republicans got Obama to bailout the car manufacturers, and to hold on to the wealty tax loop holes, I'm starting to think Obama is Republican or has no back bone . . .yes I know it isn't Obama making (forcing)all of the decisions.
The Republicans caused the budget deficit. Without the Bush tax cuts the budget deficit would have been manageable.. Do we trust the party that actually caused the deficit?
The deficit reduction plan should involve repealing the Bush tax cuts for ALL and some plan to control the entitlement program costs and a reduction in defense spending proposed by Mr. Gates.
My answer is no absolutely not. The Republicans care only for the rich, the Big Corporations, and Wall Street. If they have their way – we will have more tax cuts for the Rich, and no Medicare or Social Security, no Labor Unions for that matter. Also, imagine cutting the pensions of our heroes – fire firefighters, policemen, medical and government workers. It's just disgusting.
I am so distressed at what is happening in this country.
No, I don't see how cutting entitlement programs just to give bigger tax breaks to the rich balances the budget. I strongly oppose the Ryan plan. Lawrence O'Donnell hit the nail in the head when he countered what Rush Limbaugh said. Since these Republicans love to bring up what would Jesus take? Everything. It's true, look it up in the bible. I don't believe in redistributing wealth though. I just think everyone should pay their fair share of taxes.
No I remember the last time we had a manageable debt was because President Clinton. I'm tired of hearing republicans say that they are fiscally responsible, when they are the ones who let George W. Bush get the U.S. into a very expensive war without paying for it. What do you think that Halliburton's services are cheap?
The Republicans do not have the right idea when it comes to the budget in my opinion because two ideological wrongs do not equal one right. While I think that Democrats definitely need to cut spending, I also think that Republicans are not helping the budget negotiation process when they want to eliminate Medicare for people under 55 for Paul Ryan's voucher plan and when they may hold the country's debt ceiling and credit hostage to the specific cuts that the tea party wants. The right plan is for both sides to seriously negotiate the budget in my opinion starts when everything is on the table and where everyone is at the table talking in good faith and with open minds.
The Republicans have NO idea Jack, that's the problem.
The Democrats, have less.
Let's cut their pay in half; make them work longer hours; with half the benefits; and strip them of their pensions and insurance. Since they support the corporations who've cut pensions, and cut pay, and outsourced; it shouldn't be a problem!
Do Americans have amnesia? The Republicans have destroyed our economy and now they are going to fix it? BS! Americans are kicking themselves in the butt right now for voting in the tea party nuts.
Always remember this, every great recession or depressions or stock market collapse was caused by Republican ideology. Giving to the rich and thinking it will trickle down to you is nuts. Now they think they can fix our problems by giving more to the rich and taking from seniors. You should be ashamed of yourselfs (CNN) for not telling the truth to the American people.
Yes, the Republicans have, in general, a better plan to help the fiscal mess which the US finds itself. Adding debt is not in the long term an acceptable solution. All we do is kick the problem further down the road. I suspect most Americans have no idea that there even is a problem. Yo get everyone's attention let's start the belt tightening now. Keep in mind >40% of Americans don't even pay taxes. Why should these folk care at all about the central government accumulating more debt?? They have no involvement save on their needs for support from thos of us who do pay taxes.
No more debt. Cease spending wiselay across all budget areas. Nothing is "off the table," my retirements benefits included.
So far, both sides are all hat and no cattle. Until they reign in costs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, they really have not started to deal with the problem.
Congress needs a pay cut and as much as the Republican members try to hide from the truth a tax increase is on its way... Back to the Clinton era tax level.....
Hi Jack, I think the republicans and Obama both have it wrong. Our politicians are so use to doing it the wrong way they have lost their way and can't seem to merge something that really works. You cannot kill people with a budget, (medicare&medicaid) Lets face it, not only our govt needs overhauled our full medical system needs some help too. Too much time is being wasted by both and the progress of the times are not keeping up with either. Maybe taxing those political contribution would be a good thing, seems like income to me. Our corporations need regulations and they really need to participate by paying a little in taxes. I am one that can't understand how a billionaire that lives in this country wouldn't want a stronger country for all who live here by paying a little in taxes.
The Republicans have no clue when it comes to economic policy. The party of no takes from the poor to give to the rich. They are pawns for the rich and will do anything to destroy the Democratic party. This is what motivates their policies, not the economy.
steve
jackson, TN
No when were Republicans ever right about anything?
No, they do not. Until they come to terms with the fact that we cannot afford to fund our military presence in over 130 countries, and give "assistance" to countries like Pakistan, aka bribes– they might as well forget about trying. Congressman Ron Paul, however, is the exception... the man who has been telling us this since the last election. The one we should have listened to when during the debates he warned about the impending financial crisis. The one we should have voted for.
Unfortuntely the American people will fear REAL change right up until the point they have no other choice.
No! How about not sending money to other countries and supporting a war that will never accomplish anything. Ot maybe they should look at the entitlements they get. They can serve a four year term and get a retirement for the rest of their life with health care included. What other type of job can you get these types of benefits and how much is this costing the American taxpayers.
NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO! If seniors' Medicare is cut, they will
either die because they can't afford their medical care, or they
will die homeless, or senior suicide will increase several-fold.
Shame on the Republicans! We need to cut the budget but not
at the expense of our seniors' lives, unless these Republicans
feel old people aren't necessary anymore.
Joan
NO! A resounding NO! The Republicans are the ones in bed with OIL and have been since Ronnie. Tell Congress to take alot less in salary. Tell them to give up their medical benefits!! Tell them to pay for all their travel out of pocket! We are mad and we are not going to take it any longer! The elections will be very important. The same country who voted the town idiot in twice must take action and try to give this president more time to fix the problems that he inherited.
Unfortunately the Republicans only know one thing relative to the budget- cut taxes for the wealthy and increase the defense budget! They have no idea about how to prioritize spending so that we do not throw the baby out with the bath water. We need to both cut spending and raise taxes on the wealthiest among us. At one time our country charged a marginal rate of 90% for the wealthy but now they don't even want o pay the 35 or 38% . Maybe we should just cut the rate to zero for all the fat cats so that they could then hire all the unemployed- ya think???
Are you kidding me? Where were the Republican ideals when President George Bush used the credit card for 2 wars and Medicare part D while giving tax breaks to the richest Americans. Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements. I'm 52 years old and have been paying for them since I started sweeping the floors at the local drugstore when I was 14 years old. The Republicans won't be happy until they get it all!
The Republicans created the economic woes we are suffering. George Bush and the Republican led congress gave us two unfunded wars, unfunded tax cuts, unfunded prescription drug plan for seniors and a false economy based on reverse red lining mortgages and a false dramatic increase in real estate values. No the Republicans cannot be trusted to lead us out of an economic crisis. Their greed knows no bounds and they will not stop until they acheive a two class society by destroying the middle class.
It could be the perfect plan but by the time the liberal media & the scorched earth philosophy democrats get done with it, it'll be DOA. The spin has already started with medicare doom & gloom & welfare cuts for all our moochers. A billion dollar re-election war chest & most of the media's pandering to Obama tells me it'll never get a fair shake.
You're joking, right? Every Republican budget plan since St. Ronnie has had it's basis in that biggest of all Republican myths; cutting taxes increases revenue. Anyone who passed sixth grade math, has a minimal understanding of economics and a speck of common sense knows that simply isn't true. Any budget plan that claims to reduce the deficit but does not include tax INCREASES is snake oil. Which is exactly why Paul Ryan's plan is nothing more than a sick joke on the next generation. Anyone who relies on Republicans to fix our deficit problems deserves the outcome.
Yes, the GOP has the right idea, that is to take away life as we know it.
their idea of taking away from the poor and give to the rich is what we were founded on, remember the slave era? when social security and medicare is taken away I guess I will have to try and find someone rich to take us in and maybe use the barter system to pay them back, I am too old to be a gigalio.....
The bottom line is that entitlements need to be reformed in order to maintain a balanced budget in the long-term. It's unavoidable. Obviously the democrats aren't willing to do this, so the GOP is the best party to address it.
What a joke they are, They forget Social Security and nedicare was designed for the working person to live with dignity in their retirement years. The right wing ding bat's need to put thier head on right. Pick on the rich that made their millions off working person, then exported those jobs to China for cheep labor. that should be treason.
Paul Ryan does not have the educational background or experience to draft the budget for the US. What happened to intelligence in the GOP that they would endorse this flawed plan full of errors and questionable assumptions.
It is amazing to me that the Republicans can ignore the plight of the poor and give tax breaks to their wealthy friends. If I recall correctly, the economy runs on the idea that the population will buy lots of "stuff." If you make them poor enough, then who's going to keep the engine going?
Absolutely not. They want to place all the sacrifice on those who can least afford it while protecting the richest Americans. Tax breaks for the rich will not create jobs. It didn't work during the Reagan or Bush administrations, and it won't work now. The rich have gotten richer over the past decade. So where are all the jobs?
dave from michigan. jack calling social sucirity an entidalment is just using the name republicans gave to it years ago trying to make it sound like a give away. the fact is its the only goverment program that has always operated in the black. in fact it has been funded heavily by the baby boomers to creat a surplus in the account for our retirement. the supluses have all been borrowed by congress to off set deficit spending. the I.O.U.s left in the account to show how much has been borrowed are at $2.5 trillion now. my retirement was given by the republicans to the top 1% in tax breaks. saying that it should be on the table during our budget fights is CODE for the congress has no plans of paying back what they have robbed from social sucerity!
The Republicans and Democrats are both still tap dancing around the problem. We need a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. The wealthy can afford the largest taxes but we all need to pay more. We need to raise the retirement age. We need to get rid of all unnecessary spending. And we need to get used to this idea.
With each passing month, it seems to be clear that only one party seems intent on seriously attempting to turn the national economy away from an economic meltdown and it is not the Democrats. I still remember an interview with a Democratic Congressperson back in February 2010. The stimulus bill was under consideration at the time. The reporter asked her about any concerns she had regarding the nation's ability to assume so much added debt when some economists warned it would have dire downstream consequences. Her reply then proved prophetic as to how Democrats intended to govern – she said at the time "The people need this help now – we can worry about paying for it at some later time. That later time is now
Absolutely not.
They have an extreme ideology of Milton Friedman. They want an end to the commons and their agenda is to privatize all aspects of American life. That will become far more expensive than paying taxes.
They are such free market fundamentalists that the basics of raising taxes that even Reagan did 11 times is off limits.
The American people are experiencing the highest Healthcare costs in the world with huge waste and without wage and price control one can only imagine how this will balloon in the future.
They are going after the innocent to pay for the guilty. Talking about moral hazard!!
You must be kidding. The Republicans don't have any idea about anything. Gutting women's rights, education, encouraging religious fanatacism, two unfiunded wars at the cost of over two trillion and ovder 5,000 dead Americans.... for what? They are all too busy figuring out how to get more money for their corporate sponsors so they get their kickbacks, so they can give them more money and get more kickbacks.
At least the GOP understandS the basic concept of a budget. i.e. MONEY IN has to be greater than or equal to MONEY OUT!
The Dems concept of a budget is that if MONEY OUT is greater than MONEY IN, we will PRINT MORE!
Paul Ryan is telling it like it is, even if the American people don't want to hear it. His candor is refreshing and I'd love to see him run for President.
Obama, on the other hand, continues to tell the people what they want to hear, and pushes this incredibly crushing debt under the rug. All the while spreading that charisma that sent "chills" up the legs of so many media pundits.
I hope both parties get their act together and come up with something that will save our country from financial collapse.
This administration is long on talk and short on substance. I wonder how those Wall Street CEO's feel about the candidate they backed? Of cou
Something has to be done with medicare and medicade....we have 'entitled' ourselves into this situation and the longer we ignore the problem the ditch we are digging for ourself keeps getting deeper...time to quit digging
When have the Republicans ever cared about the budget debt? Just look at the country's debt under the last three (R) Presidents. Most people are somewhere between the far left and the far right. It's time to compromise, but that would be bad for both party's politics.
No Jack the GOP doesn't have the right idea about the budget. The last time our national deficit was this high in comparison to the GDP was right after WWII. Today the problem is the same. We cannot afford both guns and butter, and it is time to cut the guns and give the American people some butter. The only thing the Republicans want to do is keep on rewarding the greedy people who want to bring this country down.
If we put people back to work and quit being the worlds police force we will be able to address the deficit.
The Republicans are wrong. To only cut social programs WITHOUT considering increasing taxes, especially on the wealthy, is never going to balance the budget. If tax credits worked, than this country should have been booming under George W Bush's presidency, instead, our deficit grew dramatically. Tax cuts to the wealthy certainly didn't work for those eight years! Under Clinton, the tax rate was higher and there were budget surpluses. Our economy was in a freefall when Obama took office. In a household budget, you can only cut so many expenses; how much better it is to increase your income in addition to being frugal. If we are only going to look at one side of the issue, it will never be solved. The Republican's plan now is to act like bullys..."you do want I want or else!" Ryan's budget calls for the debt ceiling to be raised, I believe 6 times. So, it will be OK to raise the debt ceiling then (remember during Bush's presidency how deficits didn't matter!), but we certainly can't raise it for a Democratic president!
Of course they do...unfortunately. The Senate just needs to appropriate a backbone. Do the simple, for some, math.
why are the GOP always after the lowest income people to foot the bill.
Unless I missed it.I haven't heard a word about cutting oil and gas subsities. Or any cuts to the great agricultural rip offs by corporate farms.
No Jack,
This time the GOP is going for the bones that are left from their past policies and if we allow it at the cost of our sick or elderly. We are no better than the third world nations we fight against.
I have always said. The GOP is pro life until birth.Then its look out for yourself . We care not about you.
We do need to control the spending, but not by cutting programs such as Medicare and SS. The republican budget is not even serious enough to discuss, cut Medicare? Get real!
Obama's budget is only a little better, what should be pushed is the People's Budget, by the Progressives, which is the only budget iv'e seen that addresses the problem in a mature way. Primarily by cutting the bloated military budget and taxing the rich, who have mostly gained their wealth on the backs of the workers.
The Republican budget ideas will seal the deal for the United States to become a plutocracy –rule by the wealthy.
One person, one vote, and country where those with gumption will succeed will be completely morph into government for the success of corporations and billionaires. The former great middle class will become the 97% of the population on whom the corporations and billionaires feed.
Patricia Roberts
New Hampshire
Has everyone forgotten so easily which party caused the mess we are in? Yoo-Hoo, y'all: the Republicans made this mess and refuse to compromise on anything. They are like spoiled children–if you don't play the game their way and by their rules, they will kick sand in your face, break all your toys, and slander your mother. We need to reinstate the Clinton tax structure. It was the Bush tax cuts that led to the rich investing in bigger and bigger houses, leading to the current mortgage crisis. The Republicans have learned nothing from their mistakes.
The next generation should determine the budget components that they
can pay for and stop attacking the current seniors. who are old and with
retirement funds with no interest to help fund their retirement which now
has seen become a group of beggars with many being taxed again on
their social security.
Yes.Proposing actions rather than using the near-disaster we face as
part of a re-election campaign is putting the good of the country above politics,something the president is incapable of doing.I voted for him
last time but will not this time.Rather than meet in the arena of issues
and their possible solutions,he has chosen to fall back on tired class warfare rhetoric.Very disappointng.
No way,, they have lost touch with the principles...The last Balanced Budget was created during the Clinton era, A Balanced Budget requires adjustment of Revenues and Expenses. Only the Democrats seem to understand this. The Republicans are so attached to preserving tax advantages for the wealthy they can never create a Balanced Budget.
The Republicans friends of the rich, and enemies of the rest of us. Neither party has been responsible regarding the budget. "Entitlements" is a loaded word made to sound like it's all about something for nothing. In most cases, entitlements are promises that may soon become empty promises. The big elephant in the room is war fighting, a huge waste of money, energy, and most of all, human lives.
The Republicans do not have the right idea because the United States needs cash. We need an influx of capital from within. We have it at our fingertips but the conservative mainstream media is convincing Americans that to support our country is a communist or socialist move.
Yes if you want to just cut and balance ....but it will be at the unemployed , low and middle class and the elderly's expense . NO if want to rebuild our country's roads, bridges and dams and to create new jobs doing it....They don't last forever .... No if want this country to ween off of it's dependance on oil. It's beyond me how they don't see the urgency for these issues. They are a selfish lot of people who are power hungry and greedy. They clearly don't represent the needs of this country.
The only idea in politics is to get elected. The budget is only a tool to get elected whether it's right or wrong.
how quick people have forgotten that it was the republicans...they are the ones that lead us to this problem....to begin with.....under pres. Reagan...Bush sr. and Bush jr......there policy and wars...and tax cut for corp. america and the rich.....yes we need to cut spending....let start with cuttng aid off to the rest of the world.
Absolutely not.
As free market fundamentalists the basics of raising taxes that even Reagan did 11 times is off limits. As this is off the table it seems the only way to balance the budget is on the back of the middle class.
The American people are experiencing the highest Healthcare costs in the world with huge waste and without wage and price control one can only imagine how this will balloon in the future and thanks to globalism are not working an adding taxes into the system as they should. Without employment what are people to do?
They bailed out the speculators with tax-payer money. Talking about moral hazard!!
No, everybody knows that each party is jostling to position itself for the next election..whatever the next election may be. Nobody seriously thinks that we can cut ourselves out of the deficit hole this country has been dug into over the years by Democrats and Republicans on the so-called 'discretionary' spending alone. And that without serious cuts in Pentagon spending, and some infusion of revenue . Contrary to what anybody wants us to think, Washington has both both spending and revenue problem–which btw, are the two sides that make up a budget.
No. It's the WARS, stupid. End them and stop pouring money down a black hole. Tax the heck out of the filthy rich and the corporations they own. And while you're at it, stop referring to the Social Security and Medicare i've been paying into since I was old enough to hold a job as "an entitlement". If Social Security is defunct, then send me my money in a big, fat lump sum with interest. Since I'm almost 65, that should come to a nice chunk of money.
Jack,
The Congressional Republicans should be given credit for taking the lead in addressing the deficit problem. The Democrats (including the President) have been afraid to propose any changes to the entitlement programs of Medicare and Medicaid because of their liberal base(i.e., getting re-elected). The Republicans have figured out that the MAJORITY of Americans want real improvements to the budget deficit –and even though they will complain, the majority of Americans realize we cannot continue to spend more than we take in in revenues (taxes in Washington-speak).
Well, let's see how they feel about removing farm subsidies, tax credits and subsidies for the oil companies, and about large corporations paying their fair share of taxes. If they are only interested in balancing the budget via the sacrifices of poor students and other disadvantaged segments of the population, then they won't make very good headway on the budget either. They only want to cut spending that does not affect the rich and powerful. And that they say will result in job creation. If you believe that, you are mis-guided. What it will do is make the rich richer.
No they do not. We are in this because of them. The Dems have a better idea.
Bringing awareness and concerns are needed but their ideas go way too far toward big business. Not sure which is worse- Big Government or Big Business. One is incompetent with the American people and the other rips off the American people. Not happy with either party and think there needs to be middle ground. I would rather fix incompetence that try to take to court and beat the crooks. Look how well that turned out in Florida with our new Governor
Republicans are doing it again. First they spend us into this deficit -practically bankrupting the Nation and its States. Then they spend an entire Congressional session sitting on their hands and not trying to bail our national financial system out. Now, at last they are heard from. They say: Where is it written "power to the people". They can do for themselves. They say:
Let's take care of the wealthy Corporations who pay no taxes, reward only their executives with mountainous bonuses.Now are trying to make sure no worker has a representative in the workplace. After all, a worker in fear, a worker with the boss's foot on his (or her) neck, a worker in fear of job loss and with no representation would clearly please the Republicans and their supporters. Too bad they have forgotten that this nation is a democracy. "We the people" are not inconsequential either now or in the future of this nation
Well, I really hate to give credit to a particular party so let's just say that Ryan has a better plan. Also, eliminate the earnings limit on Social Security. Eliminate the IRS completely and just have a flat rate for every earner. And yes, every single person in the USA needs to tighten their belts and expect a cut, including Social Security, Medcare, Medcaid, Dept. of Defense, Homeland Security, Social Services, Schools, the Handicapped and Disabled. America is in crisis. Cut back, reduce spending, put a cap on everything, get out of the wars, the strifes. Nothing pretty when we are about to become the second "best" economy in the world. If we keep it up we'll someday be outside the top ten economies of the world.
President Obama could balance the budget in 15 minutes! All he has to do is tell both houses of Congress that if they come up with a surplus they can split it among all members!
The budget would be balanced, and all the clowns could take another vacation for two weeks! It would be good for them, and good for us since they would be out of the picture.
Jim
Colorado Springs
The GOP is mistaken thinking that Americans believe draconian cuts and so-called reorganization of American institutions like Medicare and Social Security will please us. 70million are receiving assistance [confusing the term on the media as "entitlements", where so little is given to those 70million] as financial burden to the national budget crisis. The crisis arises from outside those social service institutions. Roughly 230million workers pay into those institutions, this doesn't include illegally employed with real Social Security Numbers who will never collect any benefits. The reorganization is a ruse to take taxes collected for these instructions and use them to cover their tax cuts to the over $2million income bracket. Historically those with substantial incomes know how to hire professional tax [dodger] preparers who work to get refunds for the wealthy. Nearly 300million people cannot afford such help. Likewise, smart wealthy companies have used these options to reap grossly huge tax refunds after ludicrously gigantic profits. Greed reigns supreme and the TeaRepublicans are just helping this systemic corruption.
The House Repulicans are only hurting the people that depend on s.s.@ medicare for a little money to live on @to have some health ins.. think back, the Rep. were in power 8 years before the last 2 years.I do believe the rep. got us into this mess.
We'll et's see jack, We all know soething has to be done. But american seem to always forget what got us in this miss. There is no easy way out, Fix medicare by going after the abusers of the system. This really pertains to the physicians that once they know you have it it becomes a free for all. And SS? Why do we give it to foreigners i,e Cubans ect. Wars foriegn aid to countries in the Billiions!!! It's time to take care of home jack Our politicians don't know what it fells like to be hungry. They should!!!
If the Republicans want to destroy Medicare and Social Security then I want a refund. As people obsessed with being "fair and balanced" I don't why they shouldn't oblidge.
>Not by a long shot. Neither is president Obama plan. First the Republicans claim lower taxes = growth, but how low do taxes have to go before they just raise the dept. If everyone paid a $100.00 in taxes according to republicans the economy would be great. Obviously thats not true so where is the correlation and if its not known how can we recklessly reduce taxes if we gone to far?
> The presidents plan nor republican plan cuts enough.
Massive cuts to defense and subsidies to oil, farming and the rest of industry on the dole ,along with tax reform for business and individuals are needed.
"Does GOP have the right idea when it comes to budget?" NO!
They are only interested in this and make noise when Democrats are in power. When they are in power they spend money like no tomorrow. After all, they are the ones that said deficits don't matter ( when they are the ones running it up ). They were also handed a budget surplus at the beginning of Bush's first term and blew it within months. They have proven time after time to be collectively irresponsible.
No they do not, and the republicans are always talking about their chilfren beening left in debt, I thought everybody is suppose to work for a living, pay their taxes like we did; you have to put something in to get something out. But all I hear is that debts on the backs of our children. I taught my children to work. After all for many years we worked for nothing, never got paid, but by God we survived.
Jack look at what happened last November, all those Republicans won their races and look at the mess they are causing. RECALLS...
absolutely no, the republicans don't have the right idea for the budget , reason being is that they are sacrificing seniors and the disabled in order to achieve their goal. people liike them need to think about the poor people barely making it on disability and the only heath care they have like me is medicare and medicaid , if thats taken away , how will people like the seniors and me live ? ,
THe question should be asked .when it comes to the budget in Washington , Why is it always the big 3 , medicare , medicaid, and Social Security . Why are they always on the chopping block as a way out for balancing the budget?
Hell no! We don't have a spending problem. Thanks to thirty years of Republican tax cuts for the wealthy and big business we have a revenue problem. Obama's closer to the truth. We need to squeeze as much efficiency as we can from medicare, medicaid and defense. Then let's remove the income cap on social security, create an alternative minimum tax for big business and charge a $1 per thousand excise tax on all security transactions. There's also a cure for runaway medicare expenses. It's called single payer
I wonder if it were a Republican President, Republican Congress and Republican Senate if there would even be a discussion about the debt.
Remember it was V.P. Cheney that said Reagan proved the Deficits do not matter
Wow seems like we are in a deep pickle. wasn't it the GOP that got us in this mess. There are so many things that can be cut, but the GOP continuse to want to thow grand Ma nd grand Pa under the bus. Why to we give out so uch foriegn aid and Give SS to foriegners that coe here from other countries. War and foriegn aid. seems like it time to take care of home. Let our polititians know how it feel to be hungry.
Mike
I was hoping the GOP would work to stop careless spending. I am disappointed because they are out to destroy Social Security and Medicare. WE the people have been paying into these programs for years and years.Anyone who is out to destroy Social Security and Medicare will lose millions of votes. There are more middle class and poor who are depending on the retirement they paid into all their lives. There are so many other earmarks that can be cut. Cut some of the billions that is given to countries outside the U.S..The problem with Social Security is the money that was there for Seniors has been taken and now they can't give back what is ours. I will campaign against anyone who threatens our Social Security and Medicare. I am sick of the threats.
Are you kidding? The Republicans' idea of a budget is cut taxes for the rich, sock it to the poor and increase defense spending for yet more wars we can't afford. Eliminating Medicare ala Ryan would not lower the deficit one iota while throwing old people to the mercy of insurance companies, whose concern for the aged can be measured in microgiveashits. The only thing that amazes me is how many ignorant voters don't recognize the fact that Republican lawmakers are totally in thrall to their corporate sponsors without regard to the ordinary people they're supposed to serve.
If you look at the last few decades, Republican administrations created deficits while Democratic administrations left surpluses. Ryan's plan is a joke and anyone who takes Trump seriously is a nitwit.
The Republicans have had EIGHT YEARS to get an idea while Bush and Cheney were in office. Instead, they left our economy in shambles in 2008, with a major real estate lending meltdown and two ridiculous and costly oil-wars, BEFORE Obama even set foot in the Oval Office. Now they want to do the same thing they did from 2001 to 2008 YET AGAIN??? America truly has a SHORT memory.
I don't think regular Americans have any idea how to solve the problems we have, so it's probably not worth soliciting their opinions. But no, Republicans do not have the right idea.
Absolutely not.
The US Middle class is getting attacked from all sides. We bailed out the national and international banks, we have lost employment, thanks to globalism and the Rebulicans as free market fundamentalists, will not raise taxes on the wealthy. The agenda is to privatize the commons.
The republican budget adds to the debt over the next ten years and any long term gains are based solely on wishful thinking (3.5% unemployment rate??) It seems to me that the Repub budget will do nothing but increase corporate profits and have them move their headquarters to asia once they fully take all of the wealth from the middle class.
Paul Ryan has the ONLY idea that has been put forth so far. Obama's "plan" is nothing but old Democrat ideas that have been recycled and spit out in a different manner, but it boils down to: raise taxes (you really think that the tax hike will stop at the 250k level when it takes more than that to hold on to their cherished entitlements? When you start taxing wealthy people and corporations, they will stop investing in business and put their money in gold, etc. Then Obama will have to raise taxes to keep his dependents happy. Ryan's plan leaves Social Security alone, and puts Medicare – after ten years – on a basis that will allow people to have coverage in their old age. Suck it up, people. You can't have everything in life. We all must pick what is most important and make the best of the rest.
Neither the GOP or the Dem's have any idea how to establish a budget, they should be asking the heads of households how to make a budget and how to stick to it.
Susan
Crosby, North Dakota
The GOP has the right idea for their party, their supporters, and most importantly benefactors, but not the right idea for middle America.
The GOP have it absolutely right as there is not enough money to continue handing out money like candy to buy votes, give back to supporters, and borrow us into a third world nation. I am SO tired of Dems trying to scare the elderly (you should be ashamed of yourselves) as no one over the age of 55 will be affected by the cuts at all. If they make us wait a year or two to be eligible for Social Security and it is still there for us, then I would like that better than 100% of nothing. Scare tactics, class warfare, claims of racism, etc. which are the usual Democratic political bag of tricks might not work this time as the election just might be about out of control spending and the deficit.
We're asking the wrong question. In order to determine the best way to balance the budget, we should be asking, "What is the best investment strategy for the United States?"
The goal is longevity while attempting to earn the best rate of return. I think this inherently changes the nature of the question. It becomes less about immediate bills and more about smart decision making.
Education should be a priority because an educated American work force paramount in a wealthy, successful future. Military investments are less important.
Neither the Democratic nor the Republican plans are perfect and it's really tragic we have to discuss budgets along these terms. However, the Democratic plan offers a better investment.
It's interesting how the GOP consistently makes the argument that tax cuts for the wealthy cuts lose capital and creates jobs, but seems to ignore that tax cuts for the middle class cuts lose consumerism and, thus, also creates jobs.
The Democrats are masterful in their ability to use our OWN money to buy our votes. The entitlement programs are essentially vote-buying schemes that the Dems have cashed in on since the 40's. It seems they too know how to use a good calamity to take advantage. WAKE UP AMERICA! The free ride is over. We are going broke. BTW, The comments are almost exclusively on a pro-Demo vein. Is this group-think?
How quickly we forget. It was the Bush administration that spent all our money and got us involved in two wars. Republicans have done everything they can to derail the Obama presidency. They care more about getting into power than the American people. I'm not buying it, Jack.
Ken Scott either has no memory, is a die in the wool liberal, or knows nothing about the last four years when the Dems were in control of the money!
The GOP is trying to solve the budget issues by eliminating the middle class. At the rate they are going we will all starve with no homes and no health coverage. Talk about a lack of FREEDOM. I wouldn't vote for a republican if they were my only option. I would rather rise up, march and rebel.
NEITHER party has THE right idea. Both parties have good ideas. If they would put aside their childishness and remember how their parents taught them to compromise and work together, the best bits from both sides could be drafted together into a plan that benefits the most number of people while impacting the least number. Nobody would get everything they want, but everyone would get some of what they want. It doesn't have to be 50/50, but both sides do have good ideas. And they need to be brought together, because giving either side the whole solution will fail. Miserably.
Since when have Repugnants be right about anything? Steal from the poor, give to the rich, it has been working very well for them. Not that the Demorats have been much better
Has it ever occurred to anyone that one way to cut the deficit would be to cut politicians pay (those who are retired and still collecting should be included) by 20%. Congressmen, Senators even the president in my opinion are way over paid. Politicians have their own elaborate welfare system, living off the American people whom are being slowly choked to death by taxes. It is a slow and cruel death that is occurring in America. This country was founded by our forefathers escaping from being taxed to death by leaving England and coming here. We are back to square one now. Being tax to death to the government. The Tea Party needs to be harder on our government.
Not really Jack. Revenue increases need to be addressed as well as cuts and I don't see that in the GOP proposal. Sure its going to be painful, but the time to pay the piper is here. Waiting will just make things worse. I don't support any of the plans that have been put forward. I'm sick of the blame game. That is not helpful. Our reps from all parties need to get to work and figure out how to get out of this mess.
I don't know if the Republicans have it right on the budget, but at least they are trying to do something. The Democrats don't have a clue, they just keep on spending like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
NO! How can we so easily forget that it is the Republicans that have created our current mess? Now, they want to lecture us on fiscal rectitude. Republicans are like the preacher that is righteous on Sunday and a whore monger on Saturday night. Which is their real personality?
Hello from Washington, DC.
So to pay for Bush's trillion dollar tax cut where 75% of it went to the top 3% of the wealthiest Americans, the republicans are now saying, rather than raise taxes on those who got the most credits, that we need to reduce medicare, medicaid, and Social Security. So the wealthiest 2% will get a little wealthier on the backs of the poorest 50%.
I'm a lot closer to the wealthiest 2% than I am to the poorest 50%, and I still think something is messed up about this.
The one thing you can't blame the democrats for is Reaganomics or trickle down theory, that now debunked theory that says lowering taxes especially for the rich will grow the economy and create jobs. That folly and two pre-emptive wars has done more to make us so unprepared for the mess that followed. And now Ryan wants to double down on lowering taxes again for the wealthy! But has the "courage" for tough love for the old and the poor. How do they get away this! The answer to your question is no!
Jack,
NO! Neither do Democrats.
End ALL tax grants, subsidies, breaks, set asides that profitable businesses get.
Close tax loopholes and lower the rate for everyone making over $1,000,000.00. Return the top rate to pre Bush rates.
Add a surcharge for businesses who ship jobs overseas then import their products.
If the country gets the idea that treating America and Americans with consideration and respect, maybe it will begin to feel natural, then maybe it will become a habit.
As a person that has worked for 47 years and paid heavily into social security, all I can say is that they better not attack or cut back on our benefits. Let me tell you, unless you have worked for this long (I've actually had 2 jobs for 30 years) you can't realize how tired you get. Tired physically and tired of "taking it" for all this time. We need our benefits – all of them. Cut welfare, not social security or medicare. There is a huge difference between welfare bums and people that have worked all their lives. Whichever party cuts benefits in these categories will pay a heavy price politically.
Republicans? Democrats? I didn't realize there's much of a difference anymore Jack.
Tim
Oceanside, CA
Jack,
The party is over. It is time for this country to start treating its finances like the most responsible families do in tough times. Cut spending and start raising taxes for everybody. You can tax the rich 100% percent and it will amount to an extra gallon of water going over Niagara Falls. Over 40% of the population pay no icome taxes. You can't tell me that government can't cut 5% of its budget. There is no doubt more than than that wasted due to ineptitude. Last one out turn off the lights.
the republicans have a habit of throwing out the baby with the bath water. common sense always seems to be in short supply for both parties. the bottom line is, the budget cannot be fixed by taxing the rich, it is jiust a small element of the fix. tax loop holes for corporations and the wealthy is on the menu, start. cutting wastefull defense & other government spending is on the menu. eliminating money being given to banks and stock firms to big to fail is on the menu. giving money to oil companies is on the menu. a couple of weeks ago, we heard about the feds handing out money to wealthy bankers and their wives, the tip of the iceberg. screwing the poor and the middle class, NOT ON THE MENU.
The only program that really reduces the deficit is put forth by the House Progressive Caucus...It calls for a single-payer health-care system, freezes (not cuts) in defense spending, and Medicare and Social Security reform accompanied by fair revenue increases on the population....
The budget will never be balanced unless you raise taxes on the top 2% and probably on the top 10%.
No, neither party has it right. The Dems want to cut the military back to an impotent non-entity without the technology, equipment and manpower to properly do their job and the Republicans want to cut "entitlements". Two facts may illustrate their twisted thinking (1) The US Navy has more Admirals than ships (348 to 278). (2) Americans like me who have paid the maximum SS witholding over their working years don't feel entitled to anything, except our own money. I don't want anything of yours or anyone elses, just what I paid for for over 50 years. We've gladly paid our dues, help defend our country, started businesses and employed people who also paid into the system. So don't mess around with our Social Security checks, Veterans Benefits, or Medicare!!
First off, it's not a republican thing, it's a common sense thing. If you spend more than you have you go BROKE, and by the way the goverment already takes plenty from the people that earn their money, what congress needs to do( mostly democrates) is quit spending and wasting my hard EARNED dollars.
Absolutely not. How about quitting all the unwinable wars, Iraq, Afganistan, War on Drugs. Close all the military bases around the world and stop being the world cop. Control the flood of cheap labor that has been rushing across the border for the last 40 years. And as bad as I hate to say it, take a few lessons from Canada.
Jack,
Not even close. Revenue has to be raised. Even Reagan knew that. Also there have to be NO sacred cows. If things need to be cut, then ALL things need to be cut, not just things they dislike.
The budget must be cut, this nation is rushing toward disaster. Is the Republican plan the best? No but everyone in the US has to recognize the fact the US cannot survive on the present course. What to do when you are running out of money? Tighten the belt and the purse strings. It will hurt but there is no other way to get out of the deficit mess.
Jack,
No, the GOP does not have the ideas, the track record, or the brains to balance the budget. Your CNN polls must be incredibly inaccurate, because nobody trusts them to balance anything out here.
No Jack because GOP = Greed Over People
As long as the republican mantra is tax cuts for the wealthy and zero tax for big businesses that make many billions a year while getting billion in corporate welfare, they will never "have it right".
Why should the American consumer be the only entity treated as a punching bag by every other entity in the economy? If republicans want my vote, they will drop the social engineering idiocy and Obama bashing, and focus on incentives for companies that bring back good paying jobs with benefits, and penalties for those that do the opposite.
Jack:
The answer to your question is in our own economic history. If you can show me ONE Republican president or administration since WWII that has pulled us out of debt, or reduce our deficit – without greatly impacting our GDP growth, I will switch my party and vote for Republicans going forward.
Every single economic policy that the party has proposed are miserable failures. Note that GOP economic policy and conservative economic policy are not the same.
No, not even close. Their only concern is gaining power and paying off their donors. Their policies will work for that but nothing else.
Jack, I don't trust the Republicans because they don't seem to care about the poor, the elderly and the disenfranchised of our country, but they are unwilling to cut tax cuts for the super rich. They seem to prefer to take away any help for the poor, the elderly and the disenfranchised. They seem to prefer to pay for weapons that kill people then medicine that help people. The Republican's are no better than self righteous pompous fools.
Wake up people! 60% of our budget (and growing) is not going into entitlement programs! supporting people who contribute NOTHING to our society.
I'm only 25... at the rate things are going there will be no social security for myself or my children (I have 1 and another on the way)... I'm not going to keep working my fingers to the bone just to support these entitlements.
Rhetorical question right? No – they're plan does nothing substantive to actually address the deficit, just is a means to accomplish a whole slew of ideological things they've been trying to do for decades, but never had the the support of the voters. Now they're pretending to address the deficit... pretty freakin' pathetic.
If they were in any way serious about deficit reduction, they'd have acknowledged what everyone knows – spending cuts alone (on a small portion of the budget) will not address the problem. Tax increases will have to occur as well – not more tax cuts for those who don't need it.
And seriously... history (recent) completely disproves the whole notion that reducing taxes will incentivize business and industry to create jobs? Ummmm did that occur after the Bush tax cuts? Hell no... but they keep trying to push that tripe, and too many uninformed people are buying it (again).
No the Republican's don't have it right unless you are rich!! If you are one of their rich contributor's then you probably think the Republican's can do no wrong. I am just an average wage earner so no the Republican's got us into this mess during the last decade with 2 wars and now they just want to keep us going in the same direction, by keeping us in 2 wars and letting the rich pay for nothing and letting progress fall on the average worker's wages.
Do the Republicans have the right ideas on the budget?
Only those who were in a coma for the first half of the 00's or who partake rather freely with amnesiac drugs could answer that one in the affirmative.
They are at least dealing with the problem which is more than the Democrats are doing. Obama's plan is vague everywhere there are supposed cuts and detailed everywhere there are new spending or taxing proposals. That has to change before both parties can reach a middle ground.
Republicans were here just less than 3yrs ago.why didn't they put these ideas then? As matter of fact they made things worst. Im not saying what ryan proposing now wont do but it also comes at critical time for our economy mostly when poor and grandma or pa really in need of money.I SUGGEST WHAT EVER BOTH PARTIES DO, MAKE SURE IT'S BABY STEP!!!
No, the GOP acts as if they are working for the people of this country, but who are the ones benefiting from all of their cuts. With the benefits that our Congress recieves they will never feel the pinch, so of course cut away. The everyday American trying to keep their home in tack will be the one that will suffer from these cuts in the end. There is such as thing as social responsibility and fiscal balance. Unfortunately we will never see that; Congress cannot get past their own agendas.
Of coure they don't have it write, it won't balance the budget until 2024 and will cost 6 trillion upfront. Sounds like someone is stealing now to pay for the future. Weren't they the party in office when the economy fell to pieces?
Americans have been "giving" this country for a long time, now it is time that the government gives them something back! Let the government do one of the following: Start drilling in Alaska, use its oil reserves, and subsidize the oil prices by slashing taxes. Isn't that fair?
Now that America is running a deficit under a Democratic President, of course the Republicans want to rein in spending. But if they want to give tax cuts to the rich during tough economic times, that’s perfectly fine. That leaves cuts for the programs that help the poor to pay for welfare for the wealthy. Where is the GOP’s humanity? The outlandish greed that began with Reaganomics needs to end. It hasn’t worked then and won’t work now. George Bush, Sr. was right, it’s voodoo economics.
I am so sick of all these lib/dems saying cutting the budget is going to hurt the elderly and children. Tax the rich they can afford it. Who are these people to tell others what do? These losers in Washington are exempt from everything. Where do these companies come from? Where does investment come from? People lving paycheck to paycheck. NO!!! Nobody promised anyone, or anything but the pursuit of happiness. Everyone should carry their own load and quit waiting for handouts. Everything across the board needs to get cut by everybody. Quit worrying about the mule going blind and load the wagon.
Jack,
I'm reminded of the guy at the Tea Party gathering that held a sign saying, "KEEP GOVERNMENT HANDS OFF MY MEDICARE."
If you ask an idiot, "do the Republicans have the right idea," they'll say yes. If you ask an intellectual, they'll say no.
What ever happened to the concept of setting a budget, reviewing the actual expenses against that budget, and then identifying the variances with corrective actions to develop the next year budget? Has anyone in Washington ever had an accounting course?
No, there needs to be an overhaul of the tax code for individuals and corporations plus deeper cuts in defense spending which will force our military to be more efficient. Adjustments in medicare and medicaid are difficult but essential. Increasing the age for medicare eligibility to 67 would go a long way toward cutting the deficit. Getting rid of all deductions and setting a flat tax for those earning more that $75,000 would go a long way to balancing the budget. It is time the congress stopped playing partisan games and got focused as working as a group to help the country.
The GOP may not have it perfect,but they have the better ideas. Also, from what I can see, at least they are not afraid to tackle important issues. King Obama and the Dems simply think that their way is best no matter what the majority may think. And their way is to kick the can down the road. It may cost them politically, but the GOP is doing the right thing when it comes to the budget and reckless spending!!
The better question is has the Republicans ever had the right idea on the budge in the last 30 years? No. Just follow our countries debt spikes and the follow the cuts to education, social services and etc. In the last 30 years Republicans have lead the way in all those areas.
They have not shown an aptitude for sensible budgeting in our recent history, why should we expect any different now???? Has any other group been so consistently WRONG and yet still have a major voice and following? It's not logical at all.....
No, Jack, Republicans don't have the right idea. Before we start talking about 'preserving' Medicare - their plan is more like embalming it - we need to take a look at the wealth inequities that have developed in the US over the last 30 years.
Then we need to correct them with a more progressive income tax, at least like the Clinton tax rates which brought about economic growth, or the pre- Reagan era taxes. Reagan, you know, introduced the concept of 'trickle-down', or 'voodoo economics', or, as George H. W. Bush quite aptly named it.
You're old enough to know the answer to this question. Reagan tried it and it failed miserably. Cutting taxes for the rich does not provide jobs for the poor. And it certainly doesn't raise overall tax revenue. Bush Sr. had it right when he called it voodoo economics. We need to eliminate the tax breaks on the rich, get rid of loopholes and charge corporations their fair share. We all like and need the services our government provides. We need to be grown ups now and pay for them.
Two words for ya....Flat Tax. No tax breaks to the rich. Tax everyone the same whether they make $1000/yr or 10 million/yr. Be fiscally responsible and we can turn this corner. Republicans and Democrat's all stand on the same fence but some look right and some look left but ultimately the problem is the fence.
I'm just saying.......
If you don't do away with the Bush Tax Cut's, you will never balance the budget. Republicans are protecting their big big money donors!
@Julie Garfield – me, too. Distressed at what's going on in our country, that is.
Since the GOP won the house all I hear is the budget. All I see is an attack on the middle class. Ryan budget plan is another attack on the poor. No GOP wants higher taxes for the rich. If loving the GOP is right then everything else is wrong. Where is th JOBS????
Like pretty much everything in Congress the Republicans have some of it right and some of it wrong. Same goes for the Democrats and their plan. The big problem? They can't agree to the other side's right points and admit their own wrong parts. Hence we get deadlock and stupidity continues to reign on the Beltway.
Mr. Cafferty, your suggestion that gasoline prices are high because of the Fed and because the dollar is losing it's value is not only untrue, it's asinine. If this were the case, then Natural Gas would not be hovering just over $4.00 per million BTUs. The spread between oil and natural gas in $/btu has never been so alarmingly decoupled. Obviously, you are not a financial type because you know nothing about energy markets. Of course speculators are playing with oil futures. I wouldn't do so for the same reason I wouldn't want to be long in silver: I don't want to lose money. As soon as the momentum swings, a lot of smart people who are shorting oil will make a lot of money by squeezing the longs. If crude prices are high and there's zero spare-capacity, then worry. This isn't the case today. Saudi Arabia has plenty and they've always accounted for the majority of the World's spare-capacity.
They have it exactly right... right for the mega corporations.. .right for the top 2%....just a disaster for the rest of us!
It is sickening to see what America has become since F.D.R. moved us openly into socialism. The current republican proposals are a paltry start, but don't go nearly far enough in ridding this once great nation of the entitlement culture that is destroying us. It appears that we are destined to repeat the mistakes of the Europeans, even though it is obvious that their socialist society has failed. The Marxist chickens have come home to roost across the globe, and they are pooping on our heads while we look the other way. Insane.
No, because they seem hell bent against compromise. Everybody will have to put a little something in the kitty. Bleeding the middle class in order to save the American aristocracy will be a loosing strategy.
Yes they have the right idea. Pres Obama is doing nothing more than getting us all to point the finger at the rich. He is creating a class war not solving our problems. Notice he didn't mention the impact on the middle class when the Bush era tax cuts expire. It won't come cheap to the middle class it never has. We have too many entitlement programs, and the American people feel they deserve them. To carry out the Liberal plan it will take more taxes then ever. Cut the spending...cut the spending even Obama promised that in his campaign but that was the last we heard of that. I don't care which party does the work, but just do the work we hired them to do on our behalf.
GOP do not go far enough. Think about the duplicity between our government agencies each worker with their guanranteed pensions, I do not see anyone addressing that and it should be an easyone.. Obama re election is a sure thing with every Union and government worker and welfare receipient in his back pocket.
Oh, hell no! I don't trust on GOP because they have history of the economy problems. Democrats have my vote. I hope Democrats will take house and congress control. If they do, the health-care law will be protected.
OBAMA 2012!!
Just think about it folks, with all the people out of work, they do not pay federal taxes on a normal salary, so tax revenue is down a lot. With all the deductions available, people do not pay any where the tax they did 20 years ago .Add billions of dollars of fraud, waste and duplication in our government programs, there goes more of our money out the window..Remember, over 45% of the people today do not pay any federal tax at all.
First fix the corporate tax loopholes, cut waste, fraud and duplication and then create some jobs and we will all be fine...then go after cuts that affect people...and do it over 5 years or so.
No. The bipartisan deficit reduction commission has the right idea, cutting spending AND raising taxes. Cutting spending and cutting taxes is deficit neutral, and trickle down economics has never worked.
Neither party has a clue, as long as American people vote for parties instead of people, the bus will continue to pick up speed on the way to the cliff.
NO! The GOP cannot even do arithmetic much less handle an economy. I don't think Ryan even paused in his hypocritical stupidity to add up the effects of cutting up the economy to what it was in 1890 before Teddy Roosevelt busted up the trusts. They have gone stupid since they got fat with all those big business dollars. I think they will learn that (Hopefully) this is still a democracy and the American People are smarter than Republican leadership.
The Republicans are right that excessive spending must stop. However, they wish to do it by removing the funding for some social programs which benefit the middle class and other. The wealthier Americans will not see any changes in fact they would see a deduction.
Before I am accused of belonging to any political group, I am stating that I am a members of that wealthier class and I do not need any more tax breaks. Most of us would not be upset if our taxes were raised a bit.
Leave it to the GOP to stick it to the people who can least afford any changes in health care costs, their tax base, their medicare entitlements, social security, etc.
Can they spell compromise?
At least the GOP is going to take a serious look at the problem and make an attempt at a fix. But the President is not interested in cutting the deficit or spending so it will not go far.
Aren't they basically the same issue? As long as we have a presence in the Middle East, gas prices will continue to get higher.
With respect I disagree. Ryan's budget was done by Lobbyist for the interest of Corporations not the American people. You had a serious medical problem and have insurance/medicaid to help. Millions of taxpayers don't have that put pay into the government for those services. Ryan and Obama benefited as children from Federal Programs, now Ryan wants to end them and Obama wants to help future generations. You might want to look outside and see the rest of Americans who help pay your salary and pay for the health insurance to Law Makers.
Jack,
What happened to the 70 trillion dollars that was borrowed from the ss fund over the last four decades. They were suppose to pay it back, now they want to reduce benifits and damage the already shrinking middle class. The poor can't pay and the rich won't, that leaves us the middle class. If they continue with their stupidty, they will create a class war. We may be shrinking but keep lowering the standard of living for the middle class and the country may have a completely different problem on it's hands. Most of the middle class are the majority of the vets and when the time comes that they are not able to feed, house and care for their families we will see who wants to be in charge then.
The answer is very simple NO they do not have it right. Every time President Obama wants to compromise they say no. There has to be compromise not just the GOP getting what they want.
The GOP budget is dead wrong. Trade Medicare for a bunch of coupons? Is this how we treat our elderly?
If crapping in the sandbox and pointing a finger at the other guy is the right thing to do, then yes. However, most of us haven't forgotten who's policy dug this hole. NO, the GOP created the majority of this mess, yet their plan is no different than the one they had that led us here in the first place. Tax breaks for the weatlhiest.....Hell no!
Why would anyone believe they have the right idea on the budget? They are cutting chump change from the budget. It's like plugging a leaking dike with your finger and hoping it prevents a flood. Until they cut larger pieces of the pie and meet the cuts half-way with ways to increase revenues, their budget solutions will prove only to be a pipe-dream.
Nor even close. They want the U.S. poor to beg in the streets, the rich to have everything, the kids to skip school and start work at 10, and the old to die. Sounds like South America in the 1950's, when we thought they were so corrupt.
Which Republicans, Jack? They are all over the map on that one, from the serious conservative Republicans to the extremist silly circus members such as ex beauty queens, witches and real estate tycoons with bad toupees. All of them spouting opinions with only a few of them making any sense. If you can define the question better, I could give a better answer.