Poseidon Adventure
President Obama unveiled his fiscal 2011 budget today. It calls for $3.83 trillion in government spending. Let that figure sink in for a moment.
If you're having some difficulty wrapping your arms around it, perhaps a little perspective might help. It is roughly $1 trillion more than was spent in fiscal 2008. Are you aware of any business that can endure, over a three year period, a greater than 35% rise in expenditures coupled with no/little corresponding increase in revenue? That's no way to run a Dairy Queen, let alone the United States government.
Our captain (and his predecessor) has already steered the ship of state into an enormous iceberg of debt. The question is, will we follow Gene Hackman, or a misguided band of irrational, panicked people to safe passage off the Poseidon?
If the President was truly serious about reigning in out-of-control spending, freezing non-entitlement, non-security discretionary outlays for three years would not be the solution. That piece of the pie represents only about 17% of the budget, and would lead to a meager $15 billion reduction in year one—less than four tenths of one percent.
Instead, why not rollback to fiscal 2008 spending levels?. In fiscal 2008, just two short years ago, the federal government spent about $2.9 trillion—upwards of $1 trillion less than is called for in the President's new budget. Would that really be so undoable? It's not like we're talking about spending levels from 20, or 10, or even 5 years ago.
We were still funding two wars back then, and more recently have already spent hundreds of billions of dollars on "stimulus." So, there's no need to accept the argument that another trillion dollars is necessary. GDP is back in the black, and the world financial system is on more solid footing (for the moment). The markets and economies of the world would boom if they thought we were taking the difficult steps necessary to get our economic house in order. And, businesses would finally have the impetus to hire.
Advice to President Obama: Have Larry Summers do some deep breathing exercises and swim back to fiscal 2008 where the spending level was a heck of a lot safer. That's the path to our fiscal salvation.
Shelley Winters would be awfully proud.
If you're having some difficulty wrapping your arms around it, perhaps a little perspective might help. It is roughly $1 trillion more than was spent in fiscal 2008. Are you aware of any business that can endure, over a three year period, a greater than 35% rise in expenditures coupled with no/little corresponding increase in revenue? That's no way to run a Dairy Queen, let alone the United States government.
Our captain (and his predecessor) has already steered the ship of state into an enormous iceberg of debt. The question is, will we follow Gene Hackman, or a misguided band of irrational, panicked people to safe passage off the Poseidon?
If the President was truly serious about reigning in out-of-control spending, freezing non-entitlement, non-security discretionary outlays for three years would not be the solution. That piece of the pie represents only about 17% of the budget, and would lead to a meager $15 billion reduction in year one—less than four tenths of one percent.
Instead, why not rollback to fiscal 2008 spending levels?. In fiscal 2008, just two short years ago, the federal government spent about $2.9 trillion—upwards of $1 trillion less than is called for in the President's new budget. Would that really be so undoable? It's not like we're talking about spending levels from 20, or 10, or even 5 years ago.
We were still funding two wars back then, and more recently have already spent hundreds of billions of dollars on "stimulus." So, there's no need to accept the argument that another trillion dollars is necessary. GDP is back in the black, and the world financial system is on more solid footing (for the moment). The markets and economies of the world would boom if they thought we were taking the difficult steps necessary to get our economic house in order. And, businesses would finally have the impetus to hire.
Advice to President Obama: Have Larry Summers do some deep breathing exercises and swim back to fiscal 2008 where the spending level was a heck of a lot safer. That's the path to our fiscal salvation.
Shelley Winters would be awfully proud.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that Bush did not include the cost of the wars in the budget. They were off budget items. I thought that was a central issue during the campaign??
Reply to this
That is correct...and why I quoted the actual expenditure number versus the budgeted figure.
Reply to this
BRILLIANT!!! Only one problem, it really seems that our "nonidealogue" president is doing everything he can to destroy our free market system, and replace it with a socialist nanny state a la western Europe. I think his plan is to allow our economy to be beaten down to its knees, and blame it on the evil profit minded capitalists. I mean really, if you were actually trying to implode the free market system, what more would you do? Just rack up massive debt, put a super squeeze on capital available to start business and create jobs, limit available credit to entrepreneurs, and watch it all fall down. Then ride in on the white horse of gov't, and promise all Les Miserables that you created that you will provide for them. All the time, blaming it on the greedy bankers, oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, or any villain du jour.
Your solution makes perfect sense, which is why it would never be considered...On the other hand, I could use a 35 hour work week
Reply to this
It is a crime that you do not run for office...I'd volunteer to be your campaign manager!
Reply to this
Is the Presto dog catcher office in play?
Reply to this