Friday, April 15, 2011

How $40 billion in Cuts is really only $352 million

I take back the laudatory things I said about the budget deal that avoided a government shut down. Various believable and trusted sources have analyzed the spendnig cuts and the $40 billion in cuts was really only about $352 Million. We were had.  We were scammed. I am forgiving of those who voted for the deal, however.  Last minute budget crunching to beat a deadline can result in not being sure what you really voted for.  They had to vote for it to know what was in it. They fooled you this time; don't be fooled again.

Those who voted against the final deal, since real cuts were only amounted to $352 million, were right.  There is another chance to get real cuts and that is in the vote raising the debt limit. Get some real cuts next time. Republicans must take a stand for real cuts.  Real solutions beyond one-time cuts will require that everything be on the table, including entitlements and military spending. For a long-term solution, Congress needs to pass the Corker Cap Bill.

Here is an analysis of what really passed from the Patriot Post. Other sources verify the correctness of this analysis. Read this and be disgusted as am I.

"The details of the agreement reached late Friday night just ahead of a deadline for a partial government shutdown reveal a lot of one-time savings and cuts that officially 'score' as cuts to pay for spending elsewhere, but often have little to no actual impact on the deficit."
First, the $40 billion deal included $12 billion in cuts from previous continuing resolutions, bringing the total to just $28 billion. Another $6.2 billion was merely unspent census money. Some $10 billion came from appropriations accounts used for earmarks that Republicans had already agreed to ban. More than 50 federal programs were cut, but the grand total for that was a pathetic $1 billion in savings. Four of Obama's "czars" were also cut, but the catch is that all four had already either resigned or moved to other job titles.
The cuts were thus minuscule to begin with; before long, they became virtually non-existent. The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis and it's not pretty -- the grand total in actual cuts is just $352 million. The government burns through that in about two hours. According to The Washington Post:

Stumble Upon Toolbar
My Zimbio
Top Stories

No comments:

Post a Comment