Well color me surprised - Supercommittee fails to reach agreement

[AmbulanceDriver]

As said in the title, the supercommittee put in charge of cutting $1.2 Trillion in debt over the next ten years failed to reach an agreement.

Granted, that's just a drop in the bucket of the deficit, but of course, they couldn't even get *THAT* figured out.

http://www.nationaljournal.com//supercommittee/super-committee-fails-to-reach-deficit-agreement-20111121

Dunno whether to go drown my sorrows or just 

Oh, and mods, the language filter needs tweaking....  Politician doesn't get censored....

[Ron]

Even the "draconian" cuts now set to go into effect are a lie.

the triggering of automatic spending cuts if the supercommittee’s required deficit trims don’t materialize — will barely slow the spending train. Between 2013 and 2021, the federal budget is expected to grow by another $1.7 trillion. And if the sequester trigger is pulled? By another $1.6 trillion . If that’s “brutal,’’ I’m Katy Perry.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2011/11/20/kicking-our-spending-habit/blhI4zdnOIq0rnfy06sOqM/story.html

 

[Perd Hapley]

Rick Perry could recommend two entire departments of the executive branch to cut in the seconds before his well-publicized gaffe. This bunch of yahoos comes up with nothing, after two and a half months.

[Monkeyleg]

I wonder what they'll cut when we reach Greece-level financial breakdown?

[makattak]

I wonder what they'll cut when we reach Greece-level financial breakdown?

Education. FBI. CIA. Military. National Parks.

What they won't cut: EPA. IRS. FDA. SEC. Agriculture. Commerce. Health and Human Services. Social Security. Medicare. Medicaid.

They'll cut the most useful and/or most visible things and keep the harmful things.

[longeyes]

If they really wanted to solve the problem, they could, by means as simple (if obtuse) as plenary budget freezes and across-the-board cuts along with the elimination of baseline budgeting.  Obviously many in power don't want the political pain and others prefer to ride this nag to the glue factory for their own motives.  Right now the sane and rational Americans do not have the political will or the clout to do what is necessary to stop the lunacy.

As for the "Super-Committee," which was a Constitutional contusion from the outset, it was never intended to succeed.  Obama requires a failed Congress to play autocrat-to-the-rescue.

[HankB]

Gee, the "supercommittee" failed - who could have seen this coming? 

When he was running for office in the last election, John Boehner mentioned on several occasions that they should start by setting the entire budget back to 2008 levels and go from there.

Since the election . . . nada.

So, did Boehner mean what he campaigned on, or do we need to start looking for a new Speaker?

[Perd Hapley]

  Obama requires a failed Congress to play autocrat-to-the-rescue.

Yes, of course.

So, did Boehner mean what he campaigned on, or do we need to start looking for a new Speaker?

When did we stop looking? 

[gunsmith]

it seems as if the people are in a deep coma, the super committee was already forgotten as was the threatened gov't shut down.

[KD5NRH]

They'll cut the most useful and/or most visible things and keep the harmful things.

This; it's why cities that can't pass a tax increase lay off cops and firefighters instead of park planners or file clerks.

[Jamie B]

Oh, and mods, the language filter needs tweaking....  Politician doesn't get censored....

Neither does *expletive deleted*bag - there must be a correlation.....

[Jamie B]

This; it's why cities that can't pass a tax increase lay off cops and firefighters instead of park planners or file clerks.

Yea, and the schools - "It's for the children!"

'Course, they neglected thinking about 'the children' when they were pissing their budgets away...

[Jim147]

it seems as if the people are in a deep coma, the super committee was already forgotten as was the threatened gov't shut down.

Yes they had DWTS and Black (that's racist) Friday to forget about it. If they even knew about a stupor commitee.

jim

[Jamie B]

Yes they had DWTS and Black (that's racist) Friday to forget about it. If they even knew about a stupor commitee.

jim

Black Friday is not racist - you do know the meaning, don't you?

[Ron]

"the only way to encourage more spending without increasing personal debt is to let people keep more of what they earn in the first place, and to make sure that they are not being overcharged for necessities like fuel and energy"

Interesting article out of the UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8918038/A-daring-idea-to-fix-the-economy-try-doing-less.html

[HankB]

Rick Perry could recommend two entire departments of the executive branch to cut in the seconds before his well-publicized gaffe. This bunch of yahoos comes up with nothing, after two and a half months.

If the yahoos had been successful in achieving the goal, then the projected national debt in 10 years would be a mere 23.8 trillion . . . instead of the 25 trillion we'll get as a result of their failure.

Whoop-de-do.

If Boehner were serious about setting the budget back to 2008 levels, we'd save about $900,000,000,000 in one year - that's about how much Obama & Co. have jacked up annual Federal spending since then. (Note that this would be about 3/4 of the supercommittee's TEN year goal - in ONE year!)

[longeyes]

Yes they had DWTS and Black (that's racist) Friday to forget about it. If they even knew about a stupor commitee.

jim

Attention zombie shoppers!

[Perd Hapley]

Black Friday is not racist - you do know the meaning, don't you?

I'd guess he was joking.

[Jim147]

Yes I was joking. With the current social/political climate we live in the term "That's racist" is used as much or more the "It's Bush's fault."

jim

[longeyes]

If the yahoos had been successful in achieving the goal, then the projected national debt in 10 years would be a mere 23.8 trillion . . . instead of the 25 trillion we'll get as a result of their failure.

Whoop-de-do.

If Boehner were serious about setting the budget back to 2008 levels, we'd save about $900,000,000,000 in one year - that's about how much Obama & Co. have jacked up annual Federal spending since then. (Note that this would be about 3/4 of the supercommittee's TEN year goal - in ONE year!)

This.

None of it is serious.

But we'd better be because we will be the ones suffering for it.

[AZRedhawk44]

If the yahoos had been successful in achieving the goal, then the projected national debt in 10 years would be a mere 23.8 trillion . . . instead of the 25 trillion we'll get as a result of their failure.

Whoop-de-do.

If Boehner were serious about setting the budget back to 2008 levels, we'd save about $900,000,000,000 in one year - that's about how much Obama & Co. have jacked up annual Federal spending since then. (Note that this would be about 3/4 of the supercommittee's TEN year goal - in ONE year!)

These arseholes need to stop playing shell games with supposed "10 year budgets."

No Congress has the power to compel future Congresses to spending plans.  Otherwise, there's no reason to have elections in 2/4/6/8 years if we lock in 10 year spending plans.

This is all smoke and mirrors for the American public.

The only reason they are talking about 10 year budgets is to multiply the amount of cuts they are proposing by 10-fold, while talking about annual deficit amounts in this year's budget.  I keep hearing the nooz talk about 1.5 trillion annual budgets, and 1.2 trillion spending cuts over the next 10 years, in the same sentence. 

I'm tired of the lies.

[longeyes]

That's right.  What they don't talk about is where the total deficit will be by 2020 and what that will mean.