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As the Congressional Budget Office made clear in comparing the deficit reduction proposals offered by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, their plans differ in one important way: Reid’s plan would impose a fixed ceiling on funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and for what CBO calls “similar activities (sometimes referred to as overseas contingency operations or OCO)”, including U.S. military operations in Yemen and Somalia.
Reid’s proposed overseas contingency cap is $127 billion for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1 and $450 billion over the 2013-2021.
Boehner’s plan exempts overseas contingency operations from a cap, even though it caps other discretionary spending.
The Reid proposal could reduce Afghanistan/Iraq/OCO outlays by $1 trillion, when measured against the most recent Congressional Budget Office baseline estimate.
(The CBO baseline assumes that discretionary spending grows each year in step with inflation from the amounts provided for the most recent year.)
So what would that $1 trillion amount to? About a 13 percent reduction in the 10-year total of defense spending.
Bigger money and far faster spending growth lies outside Defense Department – in spending on Medicare, Medicare and Social Security – but neither the Reid nor the Boehner plan supplies specifics on how or where that entitlement spending might be curbed or cut.
CBO has forecast that over the next ten years the defense spending – other than military retirement benefits– will grow at an average rate of 2.3 percent a year, while Medicare will grow by nearly 7 percent a year, Medicaid by 9 percent a year and Social Security by nearly 6 percent a year. These growth rates would far outpace what CBO sees as the likely annual growth rate of the economy.
Both Boehner and Reid plans would establish a new congressional committee on deficit reduction.
Reid’s task for that committee: find a way to reduce the budget deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product (instead of the 9 percent of GDP it was last year.) Boehner’s task for the committee: come up with another $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction by end of November.
That almost certainly some curbs on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security growth.
But CBO did not attempt to estimate the size of cuts in entitlement spending that the new committee would be able to come up with. No one can predict at this point what proposals that committee might develop, or what Congress might pass.
Hence the bond ratings agencies would have a difficult time assessing how credible any entitlement spending curbs would be.
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1. Prosecute White Collar Crimes. I don't see any or especially the worst of the crooked hedge fund mgrs. going to jail. The buying and selling of debt, or as called, derivatives, is a perverse operation that made people millionaires on wall st.
2. Prosecute corporate pollution, i.e., BP for wrecking an entire ecosystem and failing to clean up the ocean floor or coastline satisfactorily. The US has not sued BP for damages, which is enjoying record profits while the US is in default.
3. Do not cut social programs. They are there so that people can get and keep jobs and not suckle on welfare. Those that commit theft under 1000 dollars, with no drug convictions should be educated and retrained to hold a skill for a job, instead of being tossed into jail indefinitely where taxpayers pay for their living needs. Jailers make good money and so do sheriffs that only deliver summons court appearances.
4. Cut the law enforcement budgets across the country. Police spend way too much time policing petty criminals than the feds do policing corporate crimes. Its unjust unfair and alot of money is stolen at the top of companies. In my city there are way way too many police canvassing poor neighborhoods. They arent catching anyone, just harassing motorists on a Friday night. That means a whole fleet of vehicles to maintain and gasoline to burn. Cops burn gas because it is essentially their very own company car.
5. Get rid of homeland security. This cabinet level position is a ridiculous overlap of the FBI and the CIA. They are supposed to fill in the gaps but there are already agents that are paid to do this. State level bureau of investigations do this. Border patrol does this. TSA and ATF also. The FBI can do their job fine. DHS is just more cops making higher salaries than the men in blue.
Everyone knows the govt. is too big. We have too much law enforcement on our hands which costs alot. No one ever says we need a new prison or we need another police department.
And alot of revenue escapes our hands because of lack of regulations on corporations. That money goes oversesas. That is really the heart of it. Rich people spend money or invest money overseas. Poor people spend money here in our economy.
Why does Harry Reid support Terror??? These demoRats go out of their way to hurt our troops! He should be tried for treason!
Are you going to pay for the wars? No, you can't afford to. So stop being so damned generous with my tax dollars. I don't support multiple wars that are un-needed. We shouldn't have ever gone into Iraq, Afghanistan is over and Libya is not even authorized by the war powers act.
It's amazing you think that Rick as Dems and Liberals spent years trying to get them out of harms way in an unjust war the right lied their way into.
Its way past time to end the wars we don't need. We don't need to support this country's defense contractors any longer. How about we support those that actually pay taxes rather than those that don't.
As for the Tea Baggers, it's time they stop being obstructionists and start being participants in the process IF they know how to do so. I suspect they don't. They have always been anti-everything American.
yes, personal responsibility and fiscal responsibility is so anti -everything American. Afterall, this country was made the most powerful because of entitlements, right?
The $1 trillion was in the Ryan Plan, incase no one mentioned that.
Yes. By throwing most of us at the feet of corporate interest. And the only interest corporations have is larger profits.
Time to vote the Boehner Plan in so we can take this subject off the table and then we should immediately move to major tax reform. I doubt if we can get any more real cuts from the Democrats until the election is over and they are gone, so why waste time with the back and forth BS. Let the people decide in 2012. What Congress should focus on now is reforming the tax code as a separate action that will remove a majority of the tax exemption while lower the equiavalent mariginal rates for everyone. That would be a goal well worth focusing on now! Heck, it may just get this economy moving again and brnig in more revenue with an expanded atx base where everyone not just about 49 percent of the people and corporations. We should nto be legistating policy wiht tax exemptions!!!!
This is all so retarded. Deficit reduction? WTF? How about deficit elimination followed by debt reduction leading to debt elimination? Why are we trying to reduce the amount we borrow every year when we have no plan on EVER paying it back? STOP BORROWING! Cut spending and raise taxes on EVERYONE until we get this paid off. Everyone should pay taxes, I don't care if you are rich or poor, you have been enjoying the fruits of the tax base, you should contribute to it. Reform the entire tax system to something simple like a flat or consumption tax. Retire the IRS, get rid of the "reduce your tax debt lawyers", etc.
At this point I hope our credit rating goes to crap so people will stop lending us money. If I only have $100 to live on for a week, I make it happen. Ramen noodles suck, but it's better than nothing.
Bill Clinton did a great job rebuilding the economy during the 1990's.
But, two things he did wrong were to continue the base closings that were started under Bush 41, and reducing the size of our military.
I would hate to see us caught short if there were, god forbid, another large scale attack within our borders.
I think it is time to end these wars and save a lot more money and lives than the Dems plan proposes. Just like Vietnam, we are never going to "win" anything there. They were horrible Republican blunders to begin with. Where were the WMD in Iraq. There weren't any. We were lied to by Mr. Bush and the Republicans. According to so estimates, national defence (State Dept, Homeland Security, and the DOD) take about 60% of the budget. We have troops and bases all over the world and give money to countries right and left. What we spend in foreign countries may create jobs there (or make corrupt politicans richer) but it creates few jobs in the US where we need them most. These wars have or will add $3-4 trillion to the debt. I think even greater defense and foreign aid cuts are needed and don't take most of the cuts from domestic spending. I'm not against the military. I spent 28 years in the Army as an officer, including the Vietnam and Iraq periods. These invasions and occupations were not necessary and you simply cannot win wars of this type, so why waste the money and lives.
Mr Obama expanded our presence in Afghanistan/Pakistan and has now got US involved in three more wars, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Last time I looked Mr. Obama was not a Republican. Mr Obama is also sending billions of dollars to Pakistan and getting little to nothing in return. If you are going to be critical of our defense spending, which all of us should be, at least do so in an even handed manner. Part of the reason we are in such a mess is because the voters refuse to be critical of those they vote for, even when those they vote for do the same or worse than what the opposing politician did. We don't need to defend them (politicians) any longer, we need to defend ourselves.
Do they have editors at MSNBC? Did the people writing these articles graduate from high school? It sure would be nice if they could construct a complete sentence. Hey Tom, do you even bother to read what you write? The articles must take a whole 15 minutes to compose. Do you think you could take another 5 to make sure they are intelligible?
If the war activities are such a drain on our financial system, why did Mr. Obama expand our war efforts in Afghanistan/Pakistan and get US into three more wars in Libya, Yemen and Somalia without Congressional approval? And why is he wasting large amounts of our tax dollars monitoring the activities of Iran's nuclear weapons program, when he has no intention of stopping Iran from making nuclear weapons? And how much money has been wasted by sending SOS Clinton on numerous diplomatic efforts( read wild goose chases) to negotiate with Iran when Iran has no intention of ever giving up its nuclear weapons program?
Watching TV. See Boehner play politics. See Reid play politics. See obama play politics. Really getting sick of all of them. This trillion dollars needs to go away. It is way past time to get our people out of those hellholes over there. There are only lose/lose scenarios there. Do they have no common sense to recognize that. Lets close at least half of the unnecessary bases over there. If needed, keep them, if not, close em. It's not brain surgery folks. Start comprehensive investigation of ALL people drawing welfare, disability, etc. etc. etc. Do it RIGHT this time. Also investigate ALL waste in spending in washington. I don't pay $300.00 for a clawhammer and neither should they. It's just common sense. Seal up the borders best we can. It is in the interest of national security. If mexicans can walk across. ANYBODY can. Again, not brain surgery. This country can't really support what we have here now. Common sense tells you to get rid of the ones that aren't American citizens. On, and on, and on. ITS NOT BRAIN SURGERY.
J Merle Stanley #35-How much military and how many bases are enough? What are you willing to give up so we can build up or maintain what you think is enough? The military did not and cannot protect us from a terrorist attack.
We should begin by bringing ALL our troops home--- the ones in Korea, Germany, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. etc. etc. let's stop the war machine for a few years and let countries deal with their own problems. That would save a few trillion, right?
The DOD is really the DOW. WE FUND WAR-NOT DEFENSE
We are now a global waring nation. War is highly profitable to the top 1%er's. I would ask you to Follow the blood money, dear sheeple, but you are certainly ordered by Rush & clan not to ever do your own research. Your masters love war. They lie to get into it. They stay as long as they can. They have never met a war they did not love........oooops ....until a few months ago. And Lybia is not a war, kids.
They let our men & women die and get maimed. They do not protect them when they return home[this is particularly stated for our Viet Nam Vets who were vilified on their return. A shameless truth, I am so sorry guys, gals and all your families.]
END THE WAR MACHINE!!!!! OR AT LEAST AUDIT THE THING AND EXPOSE IT'S FRAUD AND ABUSE.
Not particularly. I am for a strong military, but we should not be the worlds policeman. For example why after 65+ years after WW2 are we still stationing 65k troops in Europe ?
Hmmmmm Let's see....
What companies build the facilities?
What companies maintain the facilities?
What companies supply the facilities when they are built?
That might get you started as to why we are still in Europe.
Picture Steve Martin in 'The Jerk'.....'.ahhhhhhh...It's a profit thing.'
oh you poor, miserable slobs can't let those evil corporations take more of the money YOU DON'T HAVE!!!! ENVY IS A TERRIBLE THING.
The GOLDEN GOOSE (US) is tired , the GOLDEN GOOSE needs a VACATION (no more spending)
Republicans will spend us into debt on their wars and then blame single mothers' food stamps.
What does it profit us trying to save the world, when the home front disintegrates? ps; Martin...don't leave out your boy, Obama. He's gotten us into another mess without even consulting Congress. We are paying almost 70% of the NATO tab for this "meddling" in Libya almost a million bucks per missile.
Be an equal-opportunity finger-pointer.
The drivers of this deficit are the two tax cuts Bush put on the credit card and the two wars he put on the credit card. Remember -- in 2001 Bush and his Republican congress inherited the largest surplus of all times and, (Bush justified his tax cuts by saying "We have surpluses as far as the eye can see) in less than 3 years, managed to create the largest deficit of all times.
What has Obama done to make him worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize? Bombing a third Middle East nation without provocation while continuing the Bush wars for three more years.THREE MORE YEARS at $100 billion a year.
The main problem is that
the U.S. has a pig elite
of millionaires and billionaires, like
Donald Trump,
that, under no circumstances, is willing
to pay a little more for the good of the
country.
Somebody brought up a good point. I never posted the break down of revenue. So here it is from 3 different sources except the one the matters the most which is the federal government. Haven't found that yet.
Income tax is 1.09 trillion
Social security is 864.8 billion
Ad-valorem tax (no idea what this is) 132.1 billion
Business and other revenues 75.8 billion
Total revenue is 2.162 trillion for 2010 and on the same
website it says that revenue for 2011 is 2.172 trillion.
Source http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/yearrev2010_0.html
Individual 898.5 billion
Payroll taxes 864.8 billion
Corporate (surprised me) 191.4 billion
Customs Duties, misc 121.2 billion
Excise 66.9 billion
Estate and gift tax 18.9 billion
Total for 2010 is 2.161 trillion
Source http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/federal-revenue-sources
The above website seems to advocate lowering coporate tax rates because we have the highest in the world next to Japan. Oddly enough they are making an argument that American corporations can't compete with the rest of the world because of the 191 billion in taxes they are paying right now.
$1.21 trillion - Individual income tax
$949.4 billion -Social Security and other payroll taxes
$339.2 billion -Corporate income tax
$68.9 billion -Excise taxes
$29.1 billion -Customs duties
$26.3 billion -Estate and gift taxes
$47.9 billion – Other
Total for 2009 is 2.7 trillion with a budget of 3.1 trillion. This was Bush's plan however so in 2010 2011 Obama made the budget bigger by about700 billion.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget