Breaking: Obama to Seek 3-Year Freeze on Part of Budget

[flpoljunkie]

AP sources: Obama to seek freeze on part of budget
By BEN FELLER and ANDREW TAYLOR
The Associated Press
Monday, January 25, 2010; 7:57 PM

WASHINGTON -- Facing voter anger over mounting budget deficits, President Barack Obama will ask Congress to freeze spending for some domestic programs for three years beginning in 2011, administration officials said Monday. Separately, Obama unveiled plans to help a middle class "under assault" pay its bills, save for retirement and care for kids and aging parents.

The spending freeze would apply to a relatively small portion of the federal budget, affecting a $477 billion pot of money available for domestic agencies whose budgets are approved by Congress each year. Some of those agencies could get increases, others would have to face cuts; such programs got an almost 10 percent increase this year. The federal budget total was $3.5 trillion.

The three-year plan will be part of the budget Obama will submit Feb. 1, senior administration officials said, commenting on condition of anonymity to reveal private details.

The Pentagon, veterans programs, foreign aid and the Homeland Security Department would be exempt from the freeze.

The savings would be small at first, perhaps $10 billion to $15 billion, one official said. But over the coming decade, savings would add up to $250 billion.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012501737.html

[DJ13]

1. The most significant issues that slowed or reversed New Deal economic progress

during FDR's Presidency can be divided into the following three groups (emphasis mine, throughout this post).

1. Sharp Cuts in Government Spending

In his TNR piece, Brinkley pointed out that:

One of the first acts Congress passed for Roosevelt in 1933 was the Economy Act, which slashed government spending in ways that reduced economic activity. It cut the salaries (and, in some cases, the jobs) of government employees and dramatically reduced payments to World War I veterans, taking $500 million from the economy in a single stroke.

In his book, "FDR", Jean Edward Smith pointed out that the Economy Act was FDR's second measure after the Banking Act, mainly because Roosevelt, at the time, was a strong believer in reducing budget deficits. FDR evidently believed then that budget deficits were partly the cause of the economic stagnation and the banking collapse that led to the Depression. Although he publicly acknowledged in early 1933 that the Economy Act would not help get the country out of depression, he failed to realize that the massive budget cuts in the Economy Act significantly ran counter to the needs of economic expansion. Thankfully, this deflationary act was countered by Roosevelt through inflationary spending and relief measures in the same year.

Yet, FDR would repeat this mistake yet again in 1937 to costly effect.

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/013728.php



Obama is listening to the wrong people.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

4. That's the first thing that I thought of too.

[truedelphi]

12. You and I may call the people Obama listens to the wrong people, but for

Him and Rahm and his other major appointees, they're definitely the right people.

This is the largest transfer of wealth from Main Street up to the Upper One Percent. And the amounts that are flying upward will make Bush's 700 Billion Dollar Bailout look puny in comparison.

[uponit7771]

2. "administration officials said Monday", = I'll wait till Obama says it.

[high density]

3. There go the tax and spend Democrats again

Glad they aren't touching defense spending. Can't possibly cut any of that.

[Hawkeye-X]

5. I will accept a $1B budget for DoD

Figure out how to get the hell out of Afghanistan and Iraq REALLY quick.

Distribute remaining cuts from DoD to health care, job developments, economy, infrastructure and education.

[Ian David]

6. I suggest we put the AE35 unit back in place, and wait for it to fail. n/t

[noamnety]

7. Freeze/cut domestic programs to fund more war abroad.

anyone shocked?

[chimpymustgo]

8. What an ass. Is he TRYING to completely run this country into the ground?

[DJ13]

9. You didnt get the memo?

Yes of course he is.

[Carolina]

14. My loathing is reaching Bushian proportions

I can no longer stand to him talk. Yesterday he was spouting populist rhetoric about how he will fight for us. Sounded good during the campaign, now it's just poltical posturing bullshit.

[Ian David]

10. See also: The Republican Great Depression

The Republican Great Depression
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJze-idIf8I

War Spending Hurts The Economy Part 1 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdwyWQ13GRI

Did Goldman Sachs caused both the 1929 and 2008 depressions?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLwmzJVT1Yc

[704wipes]

11. Thought I'd never hear the word DOMESTIC again

Funny it pops up now, lets see how it sounds THIS way,

'Barack Obama will ask Congress to freeze spending for some HOMELAND programs for three years beginning in 2011, administration officials said Monday. Separately, Obama unveiled plans to help a middle class "under assault" pay its bills, save for retirement and care for kids and aging parents.

The spending freeze would apply to a relatively small portion of the federal budget, affecting a $477 billion pot of money available for HOMELAND agencies whose budgets are approved by Congress each year. Some of those HOMELAND agencies could get increases, others would have to face cuts; such HOMELAND programs got an almost 10 percent increase this year. The federal budget total was $3.5 trillion.'

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

13. Stupidest move ever by a Dem since Vietnam. Seriously...hooking up with Monica was smarter than this

I am really taken aback

[Dinger]

15. **DUzy**

Astute observation my friend.