Congress' spending draws fire

[deadparrot]

A series of actions by the Republican-controlled Congress threatens to send the federal deficit soaring, reversing a downward trend caused by new tax revenues from a rebounding economy.

Legislation passed by Congress this year will add $35 billion to next year's budget deficit and $115 billion through 2010, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan watchdog group.

Fueling the spending is the war in Iraq and emergency aid for victims of last December's tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Last week, lawmakers added billions more in energy, highway and veterans health care funding.

The threats to the deficit will escalate in the fall, when Congress traditionally faces political pressure to cut taxes more and federal benefits less than promised. Congress approved a budget earlier this year with about $106 billion in tax cuts and $35 billion in benefit reductions, but the actual cuts must be made this fall.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/congressspendingdrawsfire

[Tux]

1. Well

Most people won't care as long as they get tax cuts. Use FairTax and solve that problem. COngress does need to cut back on spending. A budget only works when used.

[finecraft]

2. "Tax revenues from a rebounding economy"

I really have to question how much is from a "rebounding economy", and how much is from the one-time tax break given to large corporations to bring some of their profits that they have been keeping offshore back here. Somehow I think next year's revenues will sink like a rock unless they come up with some new scam.

[MisterP]

10. why, it's easy: in '04 you borrow from '06, in '05 you borrow

from '03, in '06 you borrow from '04...

[Zorra]

3. Republican: Drunken, busted gamblers maxing out credit cards in a

casino and continuing to gamble until they max out all their cards and are financially ruined beyond all hope. The only real difference between the republicans and a drunken gambler is that the gambler actually has a slim chance of getting some money back, and the republicans don't.

Fiscally conservative they are not.

Republicans are the borrow and spend party of corruption.

Don't count on EVER seeing your Social Security. REPUBLICANS ARE ALREADY SPENDING YOUR RETIREMENT SECURITY ACCOUNT.

[54anickel]

4. Well, there was that 50 billion in bribes to win the CAFTA vote...

http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2005/tst080105.htm

snip>
Rest assured that you will pay dearly for these bribes used to buy votes. Every favor granted and every pet project funded comes on top of the pork-laden appropriations bills already passed in the House this year. These new goodies will be added to the final House-Senate versions passed later this year. One of my colleagues estimated that the price tag for buying the CAFTA vote will be at least $50 billion. That’s right, $50 billion to win a vote. Is this what you want from your representatives in office?

[Daphne08]

6. $50 billion and the Americans get the shaft on CAFTA!

Nice. :sarcasm:



What's that old saying?

"Throw the bums out!"

Yeah, that's it, and I'll bet many of those traitors will be thrown out of Congress! (I just hope our good ones don't get caught up in the angry vote that's sure to come.)

[mbperrin]

5. Yep, it's rebounding....

or not.....

[Tempest]

7. GOP wants Repugs to tout spending bills

The GOP party sent the Repugs home with 52 pages of talking points.

Some of those talking points are to talk up the massive spending bills they just passed.

I bet it goes over like a lead balloon when the costs are added up.

Another self-inflicted wound.

[MetaTrope]

8. Federal Pie Floweth Over

The hot air in Washington cooled off a bit in August as Congress went on vacation. But House GOP members can't seem to take quiet time. They're hitting their home districts to tout the ruling party's excessive spending on pork-barrel projects.

Budget caps have been busted in Congress this year by nearly $300 billion, and for some reason, Republican leaders are proud of it. They want each GOP congressman to take credit for every new local highway, bridge, or deer-avoidance system.

Perhaps savvy voters might notice the party's continued retreat from economic conservatism.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0805/p08s01-comv.html

[Iowa]

9. This is their plan...

Loot the treasury, run up the debt to breathtaking levels, and ultimately create a crisis of the type that will have the populace screaming for budget cuts. It will ultimately result in the complete obliteration of all of the excellent programs that flowed from the New Deal. It's a back-door, underhanded, sleazy way to accomplish what they couldn't achieve politically. And why would they do this? To further enrich the ruling class and create a desperate populace who will gladly work for a pittance. It's all planned down to the finest detail.