Republican Budget proposal is out

[Jimmy Higgins]

2015 Republican Budget Proposal

It slices, it dices, balances the budget (don't laugh!) by 2024!

Yup, they say a picture is worth 1000 words.

2015 Budget Charts

Well, that seems to tell me that Republicans are desperately poor at making charts and are trying way too hard to make it appear that the Democrats are going to crush the nation in debt.

So, how do they balance the budget?

We stop spending money we don’t have.

I'm loving it already! Just stop spending money we don't have.

Why is it more difficult to balance the budget this year than in years past? Sure, the first thing that comes to mind is Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid spending increases over the years, which are forecasted to continue going up.

The economic-growth forecast has deteriorated, making the hurdle for balancing the budget that much higher.

Oh... so it is economic growth that is the problem, not the increased spending due to all that Mandatory Spending stuff. But if the economic growth is bad, how did you manage to balance the budget then?

This is important because it demonstrates the importance of economic growth to balancing the budget.

Oh, you just pretended there would be growth.

Isn’t your budget in balance only because you use “dynamic” scoring?

The Congressional Budget Office has a long history of analyzing the positive effects of deficit reduction on the economy and its effect the budget. For example, the budget resolution passed in 1997, which resulted in the first balanced budget in 39 years, included CBO’s estimate of the macroeconomic benefits of reducing deficits. CBO-estimated additional deficit reduction from these benefits was incorporated into the budget. Building on this long history, this year’s budget incorporates CBO’s estimate of the macroeconomic effects of reducing the deficit as called for in the budget. Similarly the President’s macroeconomic forecast assumes the enactment of his proposed policies.

Let me paraphrase that for you. *ahem* Yes.

Does the House Republican budget slash key investments?

No,the House Republican budget strengthens key investments—like defense and Medicare—by cutting waste and making much-needed reforms.

The military is an investment? And how is privatizing Medicare investing in it? Sounds more like giving up.

It cuts spending by ending cronyism and overreach, which have weakened confidence in the federal government and the economy.

George W. Bush and the Republicans did a great job of that last time! Eliminated deficient spending by making Federal departments more efficient and ending cronyism. How many more times will a Government Representative have the balls to say this?

Why are you making such draconian cuts?

On the current path, the federal government will spend roughly $48 trillion over the next ten years. By contrast, this budget will spend nearly $43 trillion.


On the current path, from fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2024, spending will grow, on average, by 5.2 percent a year. Under our budget, spending will grow, on average, by 3.5 percent a year.


Nearly $43 trillion is enough. Increasing spending by 3.5 percent instead of 5.2 percent is hardly draconian.

Great point... but isn't Social Security and Medicare spending going to increase at higher rates and reducing the 5.2 to 3.5 would involving slashing Discretionary spending?

...

I could go on, but their Q&A is so full of shit, I'm running out of patience. I've seen William Craig Lane apologetics that was sounder.

Q: But why the large cuts in Medicaid spending?
A: Look! A squirrel!

 

[ksen]

We stop spending money we don’t have.

Uh, have you guys ever thought about raising revenues?

But if you don't want to spend money we don't have then I can assume there are no tax cuts in your budget Mr. Ryan?

 

[James Brown]

How do they know how much debt we'll have in 2041? Did they just make numbers up?

I think they just made numbers up.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Of course they made the numbers up.

I also like how government spending has a negative impact on the economy.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Of course they made the numbers up.

I also like how government spending has a negative impact on the economy.

When you reduce revenue, you revenue goes up!

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Any budget that promises to balance at a later date is not promising anything. What a joke.

And people say Republicans want smaller government...

 

[ksen]

Well, they say they're for smaller government. Everyone else knows they're full of shit.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Any budget that promises to balance at a later date is not promising anything. What a joke.
And people say Republicans want smaller government...

Those people are The Republicans. They are the ones saying it.

And they do want smaller government. It is just that Social Security, Medicare costs continue to rise as people retire. The Republicans want to starve the Fed Government so that the Corporations can take over like in the good ole days of the early 1900's. They have no intention of balancing the budget, but making the Federal Government incapable of ruling.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Republicans aren't the only ones saying it. There are other people pretending to believe the lie other than Republicans.

There is no such thing as a balanced budget plan. Either the budget is balanced, or it isn't. Future congresses are not bound by the decisions of the present congress, and if someone did try to say "but the plan of XXXX year said you'd cut spending now" they would laugh while saying conditions have changed. If they can stop laughing long enough to say that.

 

[bilby]

Republicans aren't the only ones saying it. There are other people pretending to believe the lie other than Republicans.

There is no such thing as a balanced budget plan. Either the budget is balanced, or it isn't. Future congresses are not bound by the decisions of the present congress, and if someone did try to say "but the plan of XXXX year said you'd cut spending now" they would laugh while saying conditions have changed. If they can stop laughing long enough to say that.

This is how it always works with the political right. You start off by telling the electorate how disastrous it all is when the other lot are in power (It doesn't matter if there is no disaster, the voters are not going to know any better):

Then once you are elected, you slowly drift away from your promise to bring the budget back in balance. After all, nobody gets to vote for you again for several years, so they can't kick you out once it becomes clear that you were lying all along:

If the conservatives* here can bring off this scam, when our economy was the best performer in the OECD under the last government, then just think how much easier it is to carry it off in the UK or USA, where there is some actual truth to the claim that there is too much government debt.







*The Australian conservatives call themselves the Liberal Party, in an apparent attempt to confuse Americans in retaliation for your bizarre use of red for the right-wing, and blue for the left

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Republicans aren't the only ones saying it.

They are the ones screaming it from the tops of their lungs... atop the village atop of a hill with zombie Reagan.

There are other people pretending to believe the lie other than Republicans.

???

There is no such thing as a balanced budget plan. Either the budget is balanced, or it isn't. Future congresses are not bound by the decisions of the present congress, and if someone did try to say "but the plan of XXXX year said you'd cut spending now" they would laugh while saying conditions have changed. If they can stop laughing long enough to say that.

Yes and no. The reality is that their plan isn't even balanced. They just claim it.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Republicans aren't the only ones saying it. There are other people pretending to believe the lie other than Republicans.

There is no such thing as a balanced budget plan. Either the budget is balanced, or it isn't. Future congresses are not bound by the decisions of the present congress, and if someone did try to say "but the plan of XXXX year said you'd cut spending now" they would laugh while saying conditions have changed. If they can stop laughing long enough to say that.

This is how it always works with the political right. You start off by telling the electorate how disastrous it all is when the other lot are in power (It doesn't matter if there is no disaster, the voters are not going to know any better):

That is how it also always works with the political left.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This is how it always works with the political right. You start off by telling the electorate how disastrous it all is when the other lot are in power (It doesn't matter if there is no disaster, the voters are not going to know any better):

That is how it also always works with the political left.

I know, I know... the Democrats were all about how bad the economy was in '08, but it was actually chugging along beautifully!