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The Senate approved a three-month suspension of the debt limit on Thursday, sending it to the White House for President Barack Obama’s likely signature.
The upper chamber voted 64 to 34 to add its approval to a plan conceived by House Republicans, which would push the deadline at which the government runs out of authority to borrow money to finance its obligations until May 18. The government would have otherwise run out of money within a matter of weeks.
In exchange for the extension of borrowing authority, both the House and Senate must now draft and approve separate budget resolutions by mid-April. The legislation approved Thursday by the Senate and last week by the House would place lawmakers’ pay into escrow if they were to fail to pass a budget.
The Obama administration has indicated that while the president would have preferred a longer-term extension of the debt ceiling, it did not oppose the short-term extension. Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law.
Attention will now turn to the normal budgeting process that typically dominates the first few months of the calendar year in Congress. Republicans’ gambit in offering this proposal was to highlight how Senate Democrats had failed to pass a formal budget resolution in the last four years. (Democrats argue they were working off of a de-facto budget stipulated by various spending cut agreements passed by Congress.)
Leaders of both chambers have suggested they’ll push ahead with ambitious, and markedly different, budgets.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, will lead the GOP’s efforts; he’s vowed to produce a budget that would balance the budget in the next 10 years without raising any new taxes.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have said they plan to seek additional revenues from taxes in the budget they will produce. Washington Sen. Patty Murray, D, the chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, will lead that effort.
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Have to pay for all Bush phuck ups ... BTW, where is that genocidal war criminal hiding these days ?
Bush and Cheney can't leave the country, because they have both been indicted by the World Court for war crimes.
I still can't understand how they go to sleep at night .... No conscience, I guess...
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, will lead the GOP’s efforts; he’s vowed to produce a budget that would balance the budget in the next 10 years without raising any new taxes.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have said they plan to seek additional revenues from taxes in the budget they will produce. Washington Sen. Patty Murray, D, the chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, will lead that effort.
So, one group wants to cut spending... and the other wants to raise taxes... weird. If we did things middle of the road as most compromises should work, wouldn't we have a mixture of both without as much shenannigans? By their powers combined Congress is Captain Oblivious!
Did you know that in 1950 - corporations contributed approximately 30% to the federal revenue? Today it is more like 7%. Most corporations pay less tax than middle America. I know we need to balance the budget - but that is a 23% difference in taxes just from Corporations. When Social Security was first implemented there were 49 workers per recipient. Today it is 3.3 workers per recipient. It seems to me the answer would be get the jobs back - get America working. That alone would solve so many issues. Right now, we are trying to squeeze water from a stone. What do we cut?
LeftisSoRight - Now how are you going to Starve the Beast if everyone is back to work and paying their taxes. What kind of left wing wacko are you?
Bankruptcy is coming!! Can you barrow youself out of debt? Harkin is retiring and i hope this catches on!!!!!
What do you want to see cut? How would you balance the budget? Everyone bitches and moans and screams "Stop Spending" so what exactly do you want to stop spending?
Its difficult to balance the budget in a recession. Any cuts in spending will slow down the economy. I think we will have to wait til the economy is back on its feet before we can start slashing and burning the budget. I would start with the military though.
There is waste. I think Medicare gets overcharged for some items like diabetic shoes and wheelchairs and such is one example. I am not sure if companies purposefully charge a higher amount to the government and if so why that is not put an end to. I do not want to see programs that help people cut - that includes the VA. I think the staff at the VA is over tasked at this time - creating large headaches for our Vets. The government should work efficiently - if that means hiring more people so that they can do their jobs PROPERLY - I am all for it. If they are running on a skeleton staff and cannot do their jobs and therefore hurt the people they are supposed to be helping - that is wasteful. So what do you think is wasteful spending?
And I think that the military already stated that they did not need an increase in their budget. And you are right, at this time, cutting spending would probably do more harm than good. When you look at what you want to cut, you have to look at the big picture. Sometimes those cuts, actually costs us more in the long run.
There are plenty of things that can be done, but there is no political incentive to do them.
Our economy's problem is twofold, too many people out of work or underemployed, which then results in a double hit of both lower taxes collected and more money spent on entitlements. Also, there is a lot of entitlement fraud; people getting help that really dont need it, which is another waste. Add on top of the fact that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme that needs to be changed, since there aren't enough workers to pay for the retirees.
If Obama was a real leader, he would focus on these facts, then concentrate his efforts to correct them, not put a Band-Aid on it by continuing to feed the entitlement system without trying to fix the underlying causes of the spending. Repubs see these problems, but cant get changes done in Congress to bring spending in line with taxes collected because the Dems are married to the entitlement system and the people who support them that are on it. There is no political pressure or incentives for the Dems to change their support for the present entitlement system, since most of their constituents like the system the way it is. THAT is the battle between Repubs and Dems and why the Repubs dont like the overspending while the Dems blame the Repubs for opposing entitlements. The REAL obstruction in DC are the liberals who refuse to attack the cause of the entitement problems and prefer instead to go on spending.
Most Repubs want the govt to focus its efforts to do positive things that will help influence more jobs and capital expenditures, which would help shrink the deficit problem. Tax reform and rules designed to encourage hiring and penalize cash hoarding would be a start. But we have no leadership who understand these types of fixes and so, nothing like this is being done to get our economy moving again.
15% real cuts across the board. Hell, if they simply freezed spending for two years we'd be in good shape. And by spending freeze, I mean not a freeze in the increase in spending, but a real freeze. Obama has really put this country in a pickle. Simply a failed leader.
Great.....Ryan Budget part deux....ducky. I wonder what low income programs he wants to cut now....maybe feeding children in schools....or Mental Health fed funds....maybe funds sent to firefighters and police.....wheeehaw.
Yes - most budget cuts end up hurting people. Would it be so awful to put more cops on the street and maybe help rid of us all this violence? Would it be so awful to offer programs to those children that would not get a breakfast if they were not in school?
My....When you need a fireman or a cop I hope YOU get the old decrepit guy making minimum wage....:(
Unfortunately, not all parents will be good parents. Some people will never get it and kids don't need to suffer because they have crappy parents. By the way - about 1 in 4 children in this country do not get enough to eat - so before you go spewing your crap - talk to their parents!
Cuz we want to punish them little bastards huh?
How Christian of you.
I do not know or really care how people spend their money generally.
Wait, I take that back....I would REALLY like to know how Haliburton spent our tax dollars from the years 2001 to 2010.
I don't blame the tax payers for those parents that don't take care of their children. I blame the parents. HOWEVER, all the children are the future of this country and ALL of them are important. Giving them something to eat, is not going to kill me.
Nice My,
When one is out of ideas and facts, insult.
Sign of a weak mind.
I believe I said what was the harm of giving kids a meal in school. Do you even read the comments or are you just mean and nasty most of the time?
No left, my does not read and comprehend well....he keeps insisting I wrote that welfare recipients aren't spending the money on their children....which I patently did not anywhere in this post write.
Stupid is as stupid does....and you can't fix stupid.
Yup we are in such fine shape, my dollar is worth less and less everyday that goes by. Obama is doing such a fine job. Reid is my hero and Nancy ..what can I say....Unemployment GROWS the economy...my God what a bunch of morons people are becoming.
Still waiting for that 'trickle down' voodoo economics to make it rain......
Yeah....go back to Reagan era tax rates on the wealthiest....,50%
Maybe back to Ike era rates...75%
Or maybe the Depression era rates....85%
That would be a start.
Corporations used to contribute 32% to the tax base...now they only contribute 7%...fix that one too.
Oh my friend, that would only be the start.
Go to the top of the welfare pile ( corporate welfare ) and begin cutting there FIRST.
Then remove all those awesome loopholes that allow billionaires to pay less percentage of tax than their secretaries.
Then the Defense Budget.
That is a plan stan.
Omega, our country already has the highest corporate tax rate amoung developed countries. If you knew anything about economics, you'd realize that increasing taxes on businesses takes money from them used for expanding and hiring. Or don't you agree we need more jobs?
Also, if you taxed the wealthy at 100%, it wouldn't be a drop in the annual budget deficit's bucket. More taxes is like putting a Band-Aid on someone who just lost their leg. Why dont you and your Lib friends learn some economics and understand the only way to fix our deficit is to fix the INFRASTRUCTURAL problems our country has, instead of only dealing with the symptoms. Our entitlements are out of control and our unemployment is too high. Deal with those issues and the deficits begin to shrink without raising taxes. Doing nothing about it, which is what has been happening in DC, is the true definition of insanity by expecting different results but doing everything the same over and over again.
Where were all the 'Economic Experts' just before black friday in '29 or just before the more recent implosion of 2008.
I could throw chicken guts and do a better job of prognasticating economic trends.
Monkeys throwing feces at a wall could probably outdo the best economic minds.
BTW - Austerity has been shown to be extremely detrimental to those economies that have embraced the theory.
Factually dubious statements will not change reality.
You mean your still waiting by your mailbox for your monthley check
What a great start for the re-elected Barack Obama
Economy - down and shrinking
Unemployment - rising
Taxes - up
Gas Prices - up heading back to $4 mark
Food Prices - starting to reflect the Obama - inflation going up
What's up - should be down
What's down - should be up
The US under an incompetent Barack Obama - Year 5
Obamadoneit Part II
Sad and Pathetic
Dow hovering at all time highs ( retirements are back )
GM alive and kickin azz and OBL dead.
Universal Health Care.
Unemployment still below 8%
New home sales at five year highs.
OH THE HORROR!
And in 2012 - our little mutual fund grew! Joy!
AMAZING all of this goodness while the economy actually SHRUNK!!!!You people are CLUELESS
Some obviously think it's still campaign season
Second embassy - Turkey - attacked this morning - a new trend?
LeftisSoRight
"What do you want to see cut? How would you balance the budget? Everyone bitches and moans and screams "Stop Spending" so what exactly do you want to stop spending?"
You must be kidding? This cannot be a serious question. Post orrifice to start waste of money. Money to countries that hate us. Border crossing criminals. Planned parenthoods. I could list hundreds of programs that waste our money. Answer me this..Name ONE only One thing the Government has ever made a profit on....tick, tick tick. Good Luck!!!!!!
Well - first, I don't think the government is supposed to make a profit. I think they are supposed to break even - which it has not done in a very long time. The post office is losing money because most of us use the internet to pay bills, and for correspondence. They have suffered and had to make budget cuts. But we still need the post office and where are the postal workers going to go? On unemployment? That saves tax dollars. I don't understand why our relationship suffers with our neighbors on our south border? Do we have such issues with our northern border neighbor? If you are talking about foreign aid (not military foreign aid) - that is about 1% of the budget. And as long as we are dependent on certain countries for oil and such - well then, I guess we will do what we have to do. I am not a foreign policy expert - are you?
All of the crooks (right and left politicians) are holding the country and our economy hostage. The longer they put off this without actually attacking the problem, the longer it will take the economy to fully recover. It's like fixing a leak with scotch tape.
Corporations are running the show. Politicians are just their puppets. We the people don't matter.
I wonder if the New and Improved Ryan budget will be deemed 'immoral' by the Catholic Church.....AGAIN....lol.
What a relief now we can give 1.55 Billion in foreign aid to Egypt. Spend, Spend Spend until their is no more borrowed money to waste.
Dick Cheney: "Deficits don't matter."
Dick Cheney may be many many things, but I doubt he is an idiot.
DionysusOmega is excited she probably is filing for tax refund tomorrow even though she didnt pay any taxes, no I know why such a love fest for the gret one
Never mind the debt no jobs no economic growth failing schools lets just be thankful our military is getting cut and now we pretend girls can carry combat gear to a battlefield. This is great liberals have freed us from nasty mean old reality. That is until we have to pay back this comedy act of corruption.
I got a laugh also....yeah, the conservatives have the market on reality.....how is that Mittens landslide working out for ya....LOL.
You can lead the Liberal horse to water, but you can't make him drink the reality Kool-Aid...
The biggest problems Liberals have is; 1) knowing the principles of human behavior and economics, 2) having any real business leadership experience, and 3) understanding the difference between nice sounding theories and practical answers to real problems. Most Libs I know are deficient in at least one or all of these points. That's why none of their beliefs really work well in the real world.
biz,
Lots of opinion, not a single fact.
That is the problem with your typical conservative, can't see the forest for the trees.
Dionysis, I'll give you plenty of facts because I'm both an economist and CPA with 35 years of REAL WORLD business experience.
The main issue is, until you Libs understand the only way to fix our economic problems is to fix the CAUSES, we're going to continue to go down the chute. Things won't get better because there is no fundamental CHANGE.
The fact is there is no political pressure or incentives for the Dems to change their support for the present entitlement system, since most of their constituents like the system the way it is. Repubs want change that affects spending, while Dems want to leave things as is. THAT is the battle between Repubs and Dems. Repubs dont like the overspending & waste while the Dems blame the Repubs for opposing entitlements. The REAL obstruction in DC are the liberals who refuse to attack the cause of the entitement problems and prefer instead to go on spending.
Most Repubs want the govt to focus its efforts to do positive things that will help influence more jobs and capital expenditures, which would help shrink the deficit problem. Tax reform and rules designed to encourage hiring and penalize cash hoarding would be a start. I can list a bunch of them, but you probably wouldnt understand them. But we have no Dem leadership who understand these types of fixes and so, nothing like this is being done to get our economy moving again.
Biz,
And the great 'Do Nothing' Congress had absolutely nothing to do with any of that right?
You're right about one thing, Congress (many Repubs and most Dems) like things the way they are and have no courage to do what is difficult and unpopular, but would fix some of the problems. Like I said in my previous post, the Dems like things the way they are. Both parties however, need to move forward with both tax and entitlement reform to get the deficit to shrink. You cant leave the entitements the way they are, there arent enough taxes to pay for them all, even with full employment. And raising taxes doesnt work, it sucks money out of the economy and reduces consumer and business spending. The biggest deficit producer is Social Security and Medicare and its only going to get worse since it is a Ponzi scheme. Not enough workers to support the retirees.
Who has the guts to attack these problems in DC? NO ONE! Especially the Dems, who's battle cry is 'Dont mess with the entitlements'. That is foolish and unrealistic. If you Dems really were the party of the people, you'd work on solving the entitlement and unemployment mess instead of enslaving the poor on entitlements. I would switch parties in a NY second if I saw the Dems do that, but I know they never will because they like having a large segment of the population dependent on them and the Govt. THAT is dishonest and disingenuous.
Idiots like Omega think Congress can vote jobs into existence.
Mittens: Government does not create jobs.
Mittens: If elected I will create 20 million jobs.
There is a fungus among us.....
If you mean "entitlements" such as SS and Medicare - please lay some blame with the 9 million jobs lost to overseas since 2001. These corporations no longer need to pay these "entitlement" taxes if they are not employing the people of the U.S. Blame the corporations for paying less taxes than the average middle American. The corporations that are willing to spend more on their lobbyist fighting taxes! The lobbyist who are retired politicians. The tax lawyers they hire that formerly worked for the treasury department, the IRS and wrote the tax laws while in office. The same corporations whose greedy CEO's enjoy these entitlements when they retire, possibly enjoy the public schools, the law enforcers, and all the other programs the government provides via the tax payers. and THAT is just GREED.
these moronic self serving so called congress, need to know we need them to cut spending on things like welfare,foreign aid,farm aid, their self serving selfish life time salaries??? this in itself shows how selfish and self serving they are and how much they care about the country>>>> all they want to do is see how much is in it for me??????
I really am stunned hot dilusional the left is ! WTF! Heres the current stradejy that works for the masses of zombies! George Bush did it, we are doing great, Fox news is bad, while the left wing media actually edits the news to custom fit their agenda and serve it up as news and the zombies eat it up! WOW! This country is screwed at every level and the zombies passionaly support it ??????, Economy=disaster, Debt = disaster, Civil Rights & constitution = Trambled and disregarded, foreign affairs = disaster. At every level this administration has FAILED and the zozmbies cheer him on! I feel like im in a bad phu#ing movie!!
You can't Be serious,
You can't Be serious, and you can't spell and are probably drunk, so quit posting.
Idiot.
Under George W. Bush - "These tax cuts will create job growth." Under George W. Bush - the lowest job growth since the GREAT DEPRESSION - I wanted to point out that it was the Depression and not the recession. What did those tax cuts do? Nothing at all. They possibly made the wealthy wealthier and the middle class poorer.
The Republican'ts claim to have such economic accumen........
.....huh....have they been reminded lately about that whole economic collapse thingy in 2008.
To the dismay of many liberal/progressive economists, Obama has signed into law legislation that makes the Bush tax cuts permanent for 99.3% of taxpayers, something Democrats had been fighting to prevent for 12 years. Even billionaires got a tax cut and will pay less in taxes than they would have under the Clinton tax rates. This new tax package just about puts the final nail in the coffin of "Big Government", as it adds another $4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. The only way to fund big government programs is with higher taxes on everyone, including the middle class, as there are not enough higher income folks to fund it – that is now off the table. It is now just a matter of time before we see the spending cuts that will be forced upon a Congress and federal government not used to having to prioritize what will be funded and what will not. It is about time.
Peter,
Clue up.
There is nothing that is permanent in the tax code. Any President, with the help of Congress can change anything done before. Even Faux News knows that.
Checkered - Good job pointing out a distinction without a difference and trying to use tortured logic to tie it to Fox News. "Permanent" is the term used for provisions in the code that do not sunset. A grocery store bag boy wouldn't know of such things.
good point NBC is clearly a news source you can trust. They edit the news specifically for YOU checkered!
Checkered - you need to check out our Constitution. NO President has any power to legislate changes to the tax code, not even Obama. As it turns out the Constitutional also mandates that ALL "revenue bills" MUST originate in the House of Representatives. The Senate cannot initiate a revenue bill. Boehner alone can prevent a tax bill from even coming to a vote.
Prior to Obama signing the fiscal cliff deal into law, all the Bush tax cuts were "temporary" and had an expiration date - NO MORE! Unless changed by legislation they will stay where they are. It also turns out that the CBO is now redoing all their budget forecasts. Because they use "current law" to base all those forecasts, their projections had assumed the expiration of all those tax cuts on December 31st. Now they have to redo those projections to show about $4 trillion of lower government revenue over the next 10 years. I saw on the CBO website that they plan on having that done by the end of next week. Then Obama and the Congress can do their budgets based on the new CBO baselines.
Heres one thing that may help the budget. LETS STOP GIVING HUGE TAX RETURNS TO THE PEOPLE THAT DIDNT EVEN PAY TAXES!!!!!!
You Can't Be Serious,
Go to Bed and wake up with a clue and some facts tomorrow, as you obviously don't have them tonight.
Oh, and turn off FOX and grow a brain stem. Your Sheeple Masters won't like it, but you need to get rational, and quit listening to the VOICES that control your opinion.
@You. If your income is the median wage in the USA, have a spouse and two dependent children, and no other deductions, the result of the federal tax return is about $1,700 free back due to earned income credit and child credit.
I feel there should be an incentive (consequence) to get a job or not get a job.
Why don't you offer to trade places with someone that lives on welfare? There life is so wonderful right? Walk in someone elses shoes - if they even have shoes. :)
And you know this how????
People talk about Deficits and Debt, but I never hear anyone talk about what the unfunded obligations of this country are. If you own a business (liberals can just imagine here), the financial statements on your company include a balance sheet that shows all the money you have borrowed, unpaid expenses you have incurred, and all the other obligations (financial promises) you have incurred. Washington simply ignores that last part.
When you take a look at the obligations for all the liberal social welfare programs, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare (which the OMB now estimates will cost us 3 x more than the Liar-in-Chief said) and you discount that into today's dollars, and then reduce it by our anticipated tax collections over that same period of time, we have an unfunded liability in excess of $100 Trillion. The entire net worth of this country is only $50 Trillion. Think about that. They can take every penny from everyone, only one time because then it will be gone, and they will only about half of what they need to fulfill the promises they have made.
The way out of this is through hyper-inflation, and they can't print money fast enough. The Machiavellian thing about that is inflation hurts low income earners and people on fixed income. The liberal demoract voter. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
Cost of a MRI in Japan: $128.00
Cost of same MRI in U.S.: $4,000.00 to $5,000.00
THIS is one of the main reasons for the rise in the debt.
Let me pose a question for you.....if Universal Health Care is financially impossible, why is it that we are the ONLY industrialized country that does not have it?
Onefungi can spew, but has no links to verifiable facts to back up the claims made.
Typical GOP poster.
Fungi? Got Facts???
Lack of market forces Einstein. Insurance companies use MEDICARE as a baseline for reimbursement - and you want MORE government! The government FIXES the prices. Health Care is the most heavily regulated industry in the country and prices are out of control? Interesting? Look at where health care costs are dropping and procedures are becoming more innovative - private pay procedures - too many to name. The US is the standard bearer for technological advancement including healthcare and the world benefits. It's OK to stop that just so you can get yours. I have never heard of anyone going to Japan for medical care.
www. lewrockwell.com/walker/walker34.html
www .johntreed.com/nationaldebt.html
$100+ Trillion. The information is out there, and the first one is from 4 years ago. You just have to pull your head out of the sand (or at least look away from the state run media and use your brain).
Checkered - try google or bing. The current unfunded mandates of the federal government do exceed $60 billion. There are varying estimates above that number. It could well be $100 trillion.
Hahahahahahahaha
Hahahahahahahahahah
Too funny......we have the MOST expensive health care by far in the world per person.
We are about 20'th plus on the list of countries as far as medical outcomes......try again.
I tell you what - imagine that yours small business employs as many people as the population of the U.S. and see how you can balance your budget and keep everyone happy. And throw in all the bribes and bigotry and special interest and agendas in there to make it fun..... I know that you are not a liberal, who as you stated, can only imagine, so this might be difficult for you to do.
Omega - Government sets the price and you want MORE government. That could only make sense to street sweeper.
Lefty - "Imagine that your business employs as many people as the population of the U.S." Only a clueless liberal would start an argument with that statement.
You can't imagine can you? Boy that sucks.
Obama spent $1.9 million for international ant research.
I say let the ants fend for themselves.
The only thing I could find was under an extremely conservative site. But on that not - GW increased the debt by 104% - and as a little kid he blew up frogs!
Child Protective Services needs to step in and take those kids out of those dysfunctional homes and find families that can feed them.
Cockroach,
You have a link to Obama's Ant Research??
What?? You Don't???
Typical GOP Clueless Factless Fox-Watching Loser.
So you found nothing when you Googled it?
Child Protective services is a government entity - meaning those awful tax dollars.
Hey Checkered,
At least i know I'm being screwed , your too stupid to see that you are too, i may have jumped to the conclusion you work and pay taxes, you obviously do not. I may be stupid , a red neck, an extremist, a red state(even though I live in blue state), im called all of those names because why? I pay $2000 A MONTH income tax, I beleive in the constituion, and I think the government is absolutely mismanaging every aspect of the country.
DionysusOmega
Cuz we want to punish them little bastards huh?
How Christian of you.
++++++++++++
There must be a way of preventing deadbeats from breeding like rats.
We have some methods.....birth control and abortion.
The US tax code rewards families for having more children. I would stop after only two dependant children credits. Does not mean you cannot have more children, just cannot deduct more than two. Just a little incentive (consequence). Just a little common sense.
If anyone knows how to raise a child on one thousand dollars a year - please let me know.
@Left, I do. Don't breed them if you cannot feed/raise them. If this is against you beliefs, ok, but do not expect others to feed them and be responsible.
Get a job Checkered you bum!! Quit blaming Bush (even though he sucked) for the reason you dont work!
Excellent post.
Anyone who disagrees with you, is either an idiot or a parasite.
We also should not be giving tax money ( Subsidies ) and huge tax breaks to corporations that profit BILLIONS of dollars.
Ccokroach, doesnt it feel like a never ending bad dream?? WTF these people are like a catipillars chomping away the leaves of a tree(USA) and there is nothing to stop the parsite
You cant be serious!,
Yep. I'm still waiting for someone to disagree with your post, above. I've talked to conservatives and liberals who think it's crazy. Of course, I was talking to tax payers. I'm sure the parasites think it's a great idea.
Should the IRS have given GE Corporation a 3.2 billion dollar tax credit in 2010? What's even sadder is that of their 14.2 billion profit that year, only 5.1 came from their U.S. operations. Go figure - where are those jobs to get the American people working, and off unemployment, food stamps, etc. And yet you continue to blame the poor for our problems.