Category: Federal Budget

USA on Slavery’s Slippery Sloap

The average life of a democracy is 200 years.  Our country has outlived its expiration date largely because it is a democratic republic with a constitution that guarantees our citizens certain inalienable rights and a government with three co-equal branches, each with checks on the other two.

We are  now seeing those basic rights eroded by an aggressive Supreme Court.  We also are seeing those checks and balances upset by an equally aggressive president and a Congress that is reluctant to use the power at its disposal.

Furthermore, the financial stability of this nation has been undermined by our elected representatives who have learned that the best way to stay in office is by spending our money and doing favors for their supporters.

As a result, our economy is at a near standstill and we are mired in debt.  China is bullying us, but we owe so much to that communist country there is really nothing we can do about it.  This has to stop before it is too late because, as the Bible says, “The borrower is the slave to the lender.”

Just how far have we fallen down slavery’s slippery slope?   Continue reading “USA on Slavery’s Slippery Sloap” →

10 Predictions for the New Congress

Despite, thousands of letters, emails and phone calls, John Boehner was re-elected speaker of the House of Representatives but it wasn’t an overwhelming show of support.  Twenty-five brave Republican congressmen (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/01/06/here-are-the-republicans-who-voted-against-john-boehner-for-speaker/ ) withstood pressure from within the conference and were willing to suffer retaliation in order to cast a vote for someone else or simply vote “present.”  It was the largest number of congressmen to vote against a sitting speaker from their own party in 100 years.

Boehner ran up the white flag of surrender shortly after the election.  It’s going to be a long, disappointing two years.  That said, here are my predictions for the new Congress, predictions that I hope and pray will not come true.   Continue reading “10 Predictions for the New Congress” →

Ring in the New Year by Ringing out the old Budget

The time has come to put away the holiday decorations and prepare for the new year.  It’s also time to deal with an old piece of business, the 2015 CRomnibus budget deal that was rammed down our throats at the 11th hour by an unholy trinity: John Boehner, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

The  1600+-page CRomnibus was passed much like ObamaCare, cloaked in secrecy until hours before the vote.   Lawmakers were urged to “pass it” before they could” find out what was in it.”

The time has come to take a cold, hard look at this pig in a poke.   Continue reading “Ring in the New Year by Ringing out the old Budget” →

If I were King for a Day

I have mixed emotions this time of year.  I love the holidays but I hate what our elected representatives do to us in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It’s the most dangerous time of the year.

While we are absorbed with the holidays, they are absorbed with seeing how much of our money they can spend or how many of their pet projects they can sneak through before they tiptoe out of town.

The Repubican-led House and the Democrat-controlled Senate are expected come together in a great kumbaya moment in the next few days to pass an omnibus (ominous is more like it) appropriation bill hashed out between congressional leaders behind closed doors.

It was released late Tuesday evening giving members only 48 hours to wade through the 1600 plus pages before the voting begins.  Although a few details have been publicized, it would take days to fully digest all the gory details.  It is wordy and purposefully difficult to understand, enough to challenge the most proficient Evelyn Wood’s graduate.  Continue reading “If I were King for a Day” →

“D-Day” for Republicans

“D-Day” is a military term used to denote the beginning of a combat mission.

There is a new D-Day coming.  Let’s call it “Decision Day for the United States.  It falls on December 11.  That is the day the GOP must decide if it will accept the mandate it was given by the American people to lead or if it will run up the white flag of surrender to an unpopular but stubborn president.

If you have been paying attention, then you know that this is the day the government runs out of money.  The timing is awful, two weeks before Christmas when most people are busy with the holidays and have checked out politically.

This timing is no accident.  The price of liberty really is eternal vigilance.  There can be no liberty without the ability to control a fair portion of what we earn which is slowly slipping away with each passing tax increase.  And don’t kid yourself, if we don’t get the nation’s spending under control, more hefty tax increases are coming.  It’s just a matter of time. Continue reading ““D-Day” for Republicans” →

Three Land Mines for Republicans

Now that Republicans have won the election war, the real work begins:  the cleanup.  As with any war, this is the tedious part.  In these next two years there are no more glorious battles to be won, just a lot of grunt work.  As with any war, dealing with the aftermath is difficult.  It requires  hard work, focus, commitment and, make no mistake, it is dangerous.

One of the biggest obstacles is land mines.  These are not real land mines that can physically kill you but if the GOP doesn’t disarm them, they can kill the party’s chance for a victory in 2016.

The three biggest land mines standing between Republicans and victory in 2016 are:

The bad news? GOP’s same Spineless Leaders

So you think the fact that Republicans now control both houses of Congress there will be a rollback of Obama’s unpopular policies?  Guess again.

If you hit the snooze button for another two years, there will be a lot of whining and gnashing of teeth, but nothing important will get done.  Obamacare will still be the law of the land.  We will still be spending more than we take in and our immigration laws will still be a joke.

But wait a minute.  Isn’t this why the electorate gave the Republicans control of Congress?  What about the millions that were spent on the ads Repubican candidates were running touting these very things?  Aren’t these the very issues this election was supposed to be all about? Continue reading “The bad news? GOP’s same Spineless Leaders” →

The Kitchen Gestapo

The verdict is in:  Michelle Obama’s school lunch program is about as popular and cost-effective as her husband’s “unAffordable Care Act”  and much more wasteful.

Doubtful?  Just look in the garbage cans at your local public school cafeteria.  A new report from the General Accounting Office confirms that the new standards for the school lunch championed by the first lady have not only been a nightmare for officials responsible for planning the menus and sourcing the food, but they have resulted in higher costs and much more waste.

In short:  students won’t eat the food.  Contrary to the popular belief perpetrated by liberals promoting the nanny state, hunger is not a problem in the United States.  Those who have spent time in third world countries where it is will tell you that hungry children will eat anything that is put before them. Continue reading “The Kitchen Gestapo” →

The Super Bowl vs State of the Union

Two topics dominate the news this week:  the Super Bowl and the president’s annual State of the Union address.

The Super Bowl is expected to draw some 111 million viewers; The State of the Union address was viewed by some 30 million.  The Super Bowl has no real impact on our lives while the state of our union is of upmost important to every citizen.  So why the disparity?

It’s simple:  The Super Bowl means something to the teams involved and to their respective fans.  There will be an end result:  a winner and a loser.  The State of the Union address and the response from the Republican Party, which controls the House of Representatives, is mere rhetoric, empty words.  To borrow from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, they are full of “sound and furry, signifying nothing.” Continue reading “The Super Bowl vs State of the Union” →

Paul Ryan’s Tax on Travelers

The assertion by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and his Senate counterpart, Patty Murray, that their budget compromise does not raise taxes is tantamount to Barack Obama’s pledge, “If you like your (insurance) plan, you can keep it.”

All of the above knew their statements to be bald-faced lies right from the get-go!

The difference is it took most people more than two years to figure out Obama’s charade, while most airline passengers already know the Ryan-Murray line won’t fly. Continue reading “Paul Ryan’s Tax on Travelers” →