This'n'That; April Fourteenth #2; The 'Windbag-in-Chief'

For This Cong. 'Boner' "Played Dead?!?"
owe-bama’s Speech on Reducing the Budget
April 13, 2011

George Washington University;
NOT "barackingham Palace"
[More than usual, "Clown Prince" owe-bama is proving out an unstoppable windbag.  I've taken the liberty of removing the worthless blather and still leave a bit of substance in the opportunity!]
THE "CLOWN PRINCE:" Thank you very much. (Applause.) Please have a seat. Please have a seat, everyone.


I want to give a special thanks to [Blah, blah....]
We've got a lot of distinguished guests here -- a couple of people [Blah, blah....]    
What we've been debating here in Washington over the last few weeks will affect the lives of the students here and families all across America in potentially profound ways. This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page; it's about more than just cutting and spending. It's about the kind of future that we want. It's about the kind of country that we believe in. And that's what I want to spend some time talking about today.
From our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America's wealth and prosperity. More than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy skepticism of too much government.  But there's always been another thread running through our history -– a belief that we're all connected, and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves.
ANALYSIS:  During the referenced budget debates, the "Clown Prince" was 'missing in action,' either at the golf course or on a South American vacation.  mr owe-bama left his lackys to relay his desires in the bugetary process.  As for the President Lincoln quote, owe-bama may have repeated it correctly--a 'first' for him--but it flies in the face of the precepts of the first Tea Party in 1773; less government is more liberty!  Rare is the government program that benefitted the masses, was self-sustaining and was not instituted to reward supporters and contributors.
    And so we've built a strong military to keep us secure, and public schools and universities to educate our citizens. We've laid down railroads and highways to facilitate travel and commerce. We've supported the work of scientists and researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, and led to countless new jobs and entire new industries. Each of us has benefitted from these investments, and we're a more prosperous country as a result.  Part of this American belief that we're all connected also expresses itself in a conviction that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security and dignity. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard times or bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff may strike any one of us. "There but for the grace of God go I," we say to ourselves. And so we contribute to programs like Medicare and Social Security, which guarantee us health care and a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; and Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, those with disabilities. We're a better country because of these commitments. I'll go further. We would not be a great country without those commitments.
ANALYSIS:  The "Clown Prince" sided with continuing to murder unborn babies over continuing the pay and allowances of America's military forces!!  That is the 'most telling' action of this presidency-for that alone, "owe-bama" must be relegated to the 'ash-heap of history!!'  The federal government over several administrations; over all parties, has put the growth of government, the growth of the dependency class and the circumvention of the Constitution above liberties and security for all Americans!  There has, seemingly-year after year, been other programs added to tempt more and more Americans onto the public dole.  This rush into dependency has made the entire country the worse for it, destroying self-esteem, destroying the work ethic; destroying the will to strive for 'the American dream!'
    With the exception of the military, everything the federal government does or has done, would have been cheaper and more successful with private industry and research facilities 'running the show.'  The government--at any level--does not, by it's very nature, have to 'show a profit' and therein lies the kerfuffle!!  The only way any governmental agency can give money to an individual or class of people is to take money from another individual or class of people, hence, the reduction of the dependency class would have benefits for all that far out-weigh the pain of being forced to "work-for-a-livin'!!" 
    Now, for much of the last century, our nation found a way to afford these investments and priorities with the taxes paid by its citizens. As a country that values fairness, wealthier individuals have traditionally borne a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. Everybody pays, but the wealthier have borne a little more. This is not because we begrudge those who've done well -– we rightly celebrate their success. Instead, it's a basic reflection of our belief that those who've benefited most from our way of life can afford to give back a little bit more. Moreover, this belief hasn't hindered the success of those at the top of the income scale. They continue to do better and better with each passing year.  Now, at certain times -– particularly during war or recession -– our nation has had to borrow money to pay for some of our priorities. And as most families understand, a little credit card debt isn't going to hurt if it's temporary.  But as far back as the 1980s, America started amassing debt at more alarming levels, and our leaders began to realize that a larger challenge was on the horizon. They knew that eventually, the Baby Boom generation would retire, which meant a much bigger portion of our citizens would be relying on programs like Medicare, Social Security, and possibly Medicaid. Like parents with young children who know they have to start saving for the college years, America had to start borrowing less and saving more to prepare for the retirement of an entire generation.
ANALYSIS:  If 'fairness' were the primary object--which, in government, it is not--a 'flat' tax would more readily achieve the objective.  Every individual, no matter his station in life, would pay the same percentage of his earnings, no matter the source.  To borrow in the case of war or recession does not give a government carte blanche to continue borrowing far beyond it's ability to repay those borrowings. The only way to meet the bugetary challenges of the future is to curtail spending immediately, severely.
    To meet this challenge, our leaders came together three times during the 1990s to reduce our nation's deficit -- three times. They forged historic agreements that required tough decisions made by the first President Bush, then made by President Clinton, by Democratic Congresses and by a Republican Congress. All three agreements asked for shared responsibility and shared sacrifice. But they largely protected the middle class; they largely protected our commitment to seniors; they protected our key investments in our future.  As a result of these bipartisan efforts, America's finances were in great shape by the year 2000. We went from deficit to surplus. America was actually on track to becoming completely debt free, and we were prepared for the retirement of the Baby Boomers.  But after Democrats and Republicans committed to fiscal discipline during the 1990s, we lost our way in the decade that followed. We increased spending dramatically for two wars and an expensive prescription drug program -– but we didn't pay for any of this new spending. Instead, we made the problem worse with trillions of dollars in unpaid-for tax cuts -– tax cuts that went to every millionaire and billionaire in the country; tax cuts that will force us to borrow an average of $500 billion every year over the next decade.
ANALYSIS:  Each of those 'three times,' the socialists in the Congress 'howled like raging babboons;' many pet give-away projects were necessarily cut back, furthering the angst of many in the ruling class, socialist or no!  During the '00 decade, America was involved in wars on several fronts; Iraq, on drugs, on terrorism, on illegal immigration, etc.  While he likes to think he's alone; "Clown Prince" owe-bama is not the first; not the only, president to have multi-front wars!!  He is alone, though, in that he's most prominent in his belief that throwing someone else's money at a problem solves it. owe-bama is again-alone in one statistic:  he's thrown away the most money!!  The administration seems too inept to see the actual problem; most of their time is spent blaming the problems on someone else; some previous administration.  Someone--wiser than owe-bama--said: "When you find yourself in a hole, 'STOP DIGGING!!'  Has he, did he, will he, heed that advice?!?  He hasn't, he didn't, he won't!! He doesn't know how; his shadow cabinet of czars only serve to gain control of the American liberties one-at-a-time, and to separate Americans from as much of their wealth as possible; never to stop socialist spending.  For someone who's never had a 'real' job in his privileged life, it's conceivable that he has no understanding of the concepts of 'profit-and-loss' or 'earned income.' 
[Correction: owe-bama worked in a 'Baskin-Robbins' Ice cream Store ONCE,  for half-a-day!!] 
    To give you an idea of how much damage this caused to our nation's checkbook, consider this: In the last decade, if we had simply found a way to pay for the tax cuts and the prescription drug benefit, our deficit would currently be at low historical levels in the coming years.  But that's not what happened. And so, by the time I took office, we once again found ourselves deeply in debt and unprepared for a Baby Boom retirement that is now starting to take place. When I took office, our projected deficit, annually, was more than $1 trillion. On top of that, we faced a terrible financial crisis and a recession that, like most recessions, led us to temporarily borrow even more.  In this case, we took a series of emergency steps that saved millions of jobs, kept credit flowing, and provided working families extra money in their pocket. It was absolutely the right thing to do, but these steps were expensive, and added to our deficits in the short term.  So that's how our fiscal challenge was created. That's how we got here. And now that our economic recovery is gaining strength, Democrats and Republicans must come together and restore the fiscal responsibility that served us so well in the 1990s. We have to live within our means. We have to reduce our deficit, and we have to get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt. And we have to do it in a way that protects the recovery, protects the investments we need to grow, create jobs, and helps us win the future.  Now, before I get into how we can achieve this goal, some of you might be wondering, "Why is this so important? Why does this matter to me?"
ANALYSIS:  Within days of ascendency to his presidency, owe-bama crashed into the brick wall of  'The Peter Principle!'  The principle states: "In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."  Sadly, "Clown Prince" owe-bama found his level in the Presidency of The United States!!!  '....live within our means....' is but a mere phrase to owe-bama; he's never had to!  When he ran out of 'means,' he had Billy Ayers write another book under the owe-bama moniker!!  Quite clearly, the "Clown Prince" was not up to the task of running--at that time--the most powerful country on the planet!!  Soros' 'Selection-for-Election' was clearly a very poor choice for the American people; clearly, the best choice for someone who intended on pulling every string involved in running the nation!  When 'Team Sorobama' claimed their power the nation was in peril-the middle eastern wars we were insnared in; the shrinking economy.  The nation's problems should have been dealt with, but they fit perfectly within the framework of George Soros' domination of 'Team Sorobama!!'   Soros saw a dupe in owe-bama; one he could foist his "Bretton Woods, Trilateral Commission" thought processes upon; a compliant dolt!         
    Well, here's why. Even after our economy recovers, our government will still be on track to spend more money than it takes in throughout this decade and beyond. That means we'll have to keep borrowing more from countries like China. That means more of your tax dollars each year will go towards paying off the interest on all the loans that we keep taking out. By the end of this decade, the interest that we owe on our debt could rise to nearly $1 trillion. Think about that. That's the interest -- just the interest payments.  Then, as the Baby Boomers start to retire in greater numbers and health care costs continue to rise, the situation will get even worse. By 2025, the amount of taxes we currently pay will only be enough to finance our health care programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- Social Security, and the interest we owe on our debt. That's it. Every other national priority -– education, transportation, even our national security -– will have to be paid for with borrowed money.
Now, ultimately, all this rising debt will cost us jobs and damage our economy. It will prevent us from making the investments we need to win the future. We won't be able to afford good schools, new research, or the repair of roads -– all the things that create new jobs and businesses here in America. Businesses will be less likely to invest and open shop in a country that seems unwilling or unable to balance its books. And if our creditors start worrying that we may be unable to pay back our debts, that could drive up interest rates for everybody who borrows money -– making it harder for businesses to expand and hire, or families to take out a mortgage.  Here's the good news: That doesn't have to be our future. That doesn't have to be the country that we leave our children. We can solve this problem. We came together as Democrats and Republicans to meet this challenge before; we can do it again.
ANALYSIS:    We all know that spending legislation originates in the House of Representatives.  Since the Rutherford B. Hayes presidency (1877-1881) there have been sixteen republicRAT presidents; eleven democRAT (owe-bamacRAT) presidents. Excepting the republicRAT presidents: William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge, the republicRAT presidents did not control nor have the support of their Houses of Representatives.  owe-bama and Soros had the support and party affiliation of the House of Representatives during the entirety of his reign until January, 2011!!  Therein lies another in a long line of 'kerfuffles!!'  When socialist meets socialist on the political battlefield-bad things happen!!   Cram-downs of monumental proportions happen-I give you owe-bamaKare as the prime example....'nuff said!!                       
    But that starts by being honest about what's causing our deficit. You see, most Americans tend to dislike government spending in the abstract, but like the stuff that it buys. Most of us, regardless of party affiliation, believe that we should have a strong military and a strong defense. Most Americans believe we should invest in education and medical research. Most Americans think we should protect commitments like Social Security and Medicare. And without even looking at a poll, my finely honed political instincts tell me that almost nobody believes they should be paying higher taxes. (Laughter.)
So because all this spending is popular with both Republicans and Democrats alike, and because nobody wants to pay higher taxes, politicians are often eager to feed the impression that solving the problem is just a matter of eliminating waste and abuse. You'll hear that phrase a lot. "We just need to eliminate waste and abuse." The implication is that tackling the deficit issue won't require tough choices. Or politicians suggest that we can somehow close our entire deficit by eliminating things like foreign aid, even though foreign aid makes up about 1 percent of our entire federal budget.  So here's the truth. Around two-thirds of our budget -- two-thirds -- is spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and national security. Two-thirds. Programs like unemployment insurance, student loans, veterans' benefits, and tax credits for working families take up another 20 percent. What's left, after interest on the debt, is just 12 percent for everything else. That's 12 percent for all of our national priorities -- education, clean energy, medical research, transportation, our national parks, food safety, keeping our air and water clean -- you name it -- all of that accounts for 12 percent of our budget. Now, up till now, the debate here in Washington, the cuts proposed by a lot of folks in Washington, have focused exclusively on that 12 percent. But cuts to that 12 percent alone won't solve the problem. So any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table, and take on excess spending wherever it exists in the budget.
ANALYSIS:  '....What's causing our deficit.' a strange string of words for the "Clown Prince" to use-unless he's ready to admit he's and his fellow-owebamacRATs are the primary causes of this out-of-control spending....Gott'cha!!!  You thought owe-bama, Soros and the rest of the owe-bamacRATs were ready to admit wrong-doing, didn'ja?!?  Ha!!  Fat chance a'that!!  That two-thirds of the budget referred to is called mandatory or non-discretionary spending.  Mandatory spending is authorized by law; spending levels are determined by the numbers of people recruited to sign up for give-away benefits, not the whims of politicians.  Spending on both sides of the equation is woefully out-of-control!!  Both discretionary and non-discretionary spending must be brought under control.  America must return to by-gone eras, sofar as spending is concerned.  The days must be gone that 46% of Americans pay confiscatory taxes so that 54% of Americans can sit on their dead asses, watching the big screen we provide for them; using the drugs our money buys!!  When I was growing up--in the 1950s and early 1960s--most Americans lived within their means; credit cards were unheard of; the numbers on the public dole could be counted on one hand-people WORKED FOR A LIVING!!  Not everyone had everything they wanted; the vast majority had everything they NEEDED; very few had everything.  What happened to the era where people paid for what they wanted?!?  My parents did not provide me with a college education; I earned it by my service in the Air Force and the Army!!  My children were not provided a college education; two earned it with military service; the rest worked-sometimes two and three part-time jobs, EACH.  Out of seven kids, only one elected to not attend college and he's 'up the food chain' with a major entertainment/amusement conglomerate.  The rest are made up with a deputy US Marshall; a city detective and four nurses.  See welfareRATs-it can be done; you can do it; get off yer dead-ass an' on yer dyin' feet!!  Rather than be a drag on the economy-be a contributor!!
    The mentioned 12% are nicey-nice things, not necessities!! 
Education-stop throwing money at failed programs; at the teachers' unions.  
Clean energy-stop throwing money at un-selfsustainable industries; stop mandating their use.
Medical research-Take it out of the public stranglehold; private industry has proven to be the better innovator.
Transportation-This translates to 'high-speed rail;' a concept Americans have never--and will never--embrace.  Save our money, reduce your spending!! 
All the rest--as they say in the auto industry--are optional at extra cost!!  If they're hot on the fascists' list, deal with them after you get the spending OF MY MONEY under control!!
    Immediately is the time to deal with the non-discretionary spending--and don't use the excuse "they're required by law!!"  Change the law; tighten the requirements for application.  I've got grandchildren that can understand this concept!!                    
    A serious plan doesn't require us to balance our budget overnight –- in fact, economists think that with the economy just starting to grow again, we need a phased-in approach –- but it does require tough decisions and support from our leaders in both parties now. Above all, it will require us to choose a vision of the America we want to see five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road.  Now, to their credit, one vision has been presented and championed by Republicans in the House of Representatives and embraced by several of their party's presidential candidates. It's a plan that aims to reduce our deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, and one that addresses the challenge of Medicare and Medicaid in the years after that.  These are both worthy goals. They're worthy goals for us to achieve. But the way this plan achieves those goals would lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we've known certainly in my lifetime. In fact, I think it would be fundamentally different than what we've known throughout our history.  A 70 percent cut in clean energy. A 25 percent cut in education. A 30 percent cut in transportation. Cuts in college Pell Grants that will grow to more than $1,000 per year. That's the proposal. These aren't the kind of cuts you make when you're trying to get rid of some waste or find extra savings in the budget. These aren't the kinds of cuts that the Fiscal Commission proposed. These are the kinds of cuts that tell us we can't afford the America that I believe in and I think you believe in.  I believe it paints a vision of our future that is deeply pessimistic. It's a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can't afford to fix them. If there are bright young Americans who have the drive and the will but not the money to go to college, we can't afford to send them.
ANALYSIS:  The economy 'starting to grow again?!?'  owe-bama lives in 'barackingham Palace' where everything is provided; where the residents are insulated from the public perception of everything; where a quarter-million dollars would be required if either adult 'walked to the Stop'n'Shop!!!'  Neither adult has a clue; he-never worked a day in his life for a paycheck that wasn't provided by a government grant; she-her last employment was a $300++k 'no-show' job.  How does either of these two conditions qualify one to read a budget--let alone write one?!?!   owe-bama's jaded view of the economic world wants everyone to have the benefits he has; provided as his are; by the fruits of someone else's labor!!  The new generations are accustomed to having everything handed to them, without regard to the source of the funding; again, much like the "Clown Prince!!" Sorry, folks!!  I get so depressed writing about the owe-bama/Soros desire for the "Bretton Woods, Trilateral Commission" style destruction of the America you and I know and used to be proud of.  I'm not so sure I'll be able to fulfill my desire to publish an analysis of the remainder of the "Clown Prince's" blatherisms.
Til Nex'Time....