By Mario Rizzo
The Wall Street Journal print edition has a headline today: Budget Freeze is Proposed. At first I thought it was going to be about some Republican plan. But the first sentence said: “President Obama intends to propose a three-year freeze in spending …” What? Did The Onion take over the WSJ? Is it April Fools Day?
Then the sentence continues, the freeze will be “in spending that accounts for one-sixth of the federal budget — a move that is meant to quell rising concern over the deficit but whose practical impact will be muted.” We further read that, if enacted and (by implication) not violated over the next three years it will save $250 billion over the next decade.
What? A three-year freeze saves $250 billion over a decade ? First, of all, that is just $25 billion per year. Second, it depends on whether, after the freeze is over, the next Administration decides to make up for the years of no growth.
Where will the savings come from? Social Security and Medicare are untouched (presumably also Medicaid as the states are going nuts over their shortfalls here). The savings will come vaguely from the Departments of Housing and Urban Development. Justice, Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services — areas that Obama requested a 7.3% increase in spending last year.
He thinks Americans are fools. Yes, many of them are. But not enough of them for this new policy.
Read the rest here.
Speaking of Saturday Night Live, Al Franken is probably just as confused. After all he wrote the book: Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them): A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Then he got elected to the senate. Now this turn of events. Reality upside down for the deluded senator.
ReplyDeleteHow ironic.