By Tina Grazier
President Obama submitted his 2012 budget proposal today. The grand total comes to $3.73 Trillion. Although the President said that government had to “sacrifice” and “live within its means” his budget does little to reflect those warnings. His proposal includes greater spending for education, (green) infrastructure and (green) energy and places tax burdens on small business and corporations. The budget increases the budget for the EPA by 30%, the Department of Education by 22%, and the Department of Energy by 22%. He smacks down oil and gas agains by raising fees and royalty rates. His budget completely ignores entitlement spending, the most important budget issue. He also ignored the recommendations made by the bipartisan deficit reduction commission he formed.
The president did play a political hand in constructing this budget with generous favors handed out to prominent leftist lobbies and special interest groups. Meanwhile, he left it to Republicans to do whatever heavy lifting that will be necessary to actually address the countries fiscal problems. Obama knows that Republicans will take the hit if cuts are not well received by the American people and if they are he will be first in line to take the credit.
I can’t grade this effort; our leader has failed to lead. Instead I suggest an incomplete…for a self serving, gutless effort.
“Instead I suggest an incomplete…for a self serving, gutless effort.”
I’ll second that. Can we call for a vote? Is it 2012 yet?
I’m not crazy about cutting stuff either – but I’m a housewife, that’s my job. I have to say “NO” all the time. Or I have to dream up ways to afford stuff. Mostly I say, “Okay, but if you want that thing, the other thing is going to have to go.” We been selling stuff on Craigs list. They need to do same in Washington, Sacramento, and Downtown Chico.
Jerry Brown thinks he will impress us by confiscating cell phones. I will be impressed when he takes the scissors to the salaries and gets rid of the benies all together.
Hey Jack I can button my pants again, AND sit down! Thanks for the support, I think that’s what people really need to do healthy things that aren’t that fun. Hope all is well with you!
Congrats Juanita, thats great to hear! My diet continues but its not moving fast enough for me, I’ve only lost about 5-6 pounds, so now I am working on revving up more exercise. Leg muscles are the key. They burn more fat than any other part of the bod…so moving on to either walking more or moving up to jogging.
How can anyone not say Obama is engaging in hypocrisy? This budget is unacceptable and violates everything Obama has been preaching. How can we keep running up this debt?
This is a train wreck in the making – the only reason we’re barely getting by at the moment is because interest rates remain incredibly low, but what happens when they go up to normal levels? Do the math…the debts soars beyond all current predictions and we implode. The dollars falls, we hit hyper-inflation, we return to a floundering economy and the USA won’t recover from it for decades. We just have to do something about this budget and Obama isn’t the answer to anything. I can’t trust him.
I just finished listening to Obama’s press conference and one of the reporters called him out on his math. He said and I am paraphrasing, Mr. President how can you say we’re holding the line on spending and reducing the deficit when you’re adding over 7 trillion to it?
Obama never answered the question. Instead he went on to explain about how there is the debt and then there is interest on the debt, and how much of the debt has been accumulated over the past decade, and how we need to work together to make the hard choices that must be made. And by working together we can make those hard choices and we will reduce the debt, while protecting necessary investments in our future, in our economy and protecting those things we must protect like social security, however it won’t be easy. Next question.
Mr. President how about answering the first question? Let me restate it, you’re going to add trillions to the national debt, explain how is that reducing the nation debt? How is adding to subtracting from? A straight answer please!
For more on this subject I suggest you read:
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/obama-releases-2012-budget-proposal
Every time our president speaks I hope he will be the leader he was elected to be. Sadly I was again disappointed. Paul Ryan has him pegged for punting with his budget instead of taking a leadership position and presenting the budget this nation needs to recover. Doing a lateral pass to the republicans to make the necessary recommendations, so he doesnt take the political heat, is equal to Aaron Rodgers taking the ball and running to the opponents end zone. The Gipper he is not!
He has taken great pleasure in pointing out he won and the republican lost, but expects them to take the leadership roll he refuses to do. From what I hear, it looks like they will take the lead and make a counter-budget proposal.
He side-stepped the budget last year forcing us to constantly deal with raising our debt limit and now is once again forcing us to do his job, since he wont.
2012 can not come soon enough so people will have all of this fresh in their minds. Our job will be to remind them.
Excellent comments Peggy…couldn’t agree more! (Jack)
Anyone else notice Q hasn’t jumped in with his negative jabs? Could it be he agrees and just like Obama he doesn’t want to put it in writing?