Here is a great article from The Patriot Post -
Fixing the Deficit Will Take More Than Tinker Toys
Playing at deficit cutting
A great threat to our nation assumed ocean temperature this week with Osama bin Laden's death and disposal, but a larger threat looms -- the national debt. Underneath the (deserved) hoopla surrounding OBL's demise, Congress and the White House were still, as Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) put it, "tinkering around the edges" of federal spending as the nation nears its debt ceiling. We know it may come as a shock to some, but it's going to take a lot more than just tinkering to fix it.
The Treasury Department released a new estimate this week on just how long the government could postpone raising the debt ceiling. Apparently, Treasury thinks it can cook the books until Aug. 2, or almost a full month longer than previously thought. The ceiling is currently at $14.294 trillion, and that will be reached on May 16. Treasury estimates that, at current spending rates, the U.S. government will need a $1.5 trillion increase just to make it through one year. But if the ceiling can be raised every time it's reached without changes to spending patterns, then there is essentially no limit.
That's where Congress is hung up. Republicans are pushing -- if not nearly hard enough -- for spending reform before they agree to vote for a debt-ceiling increase. A deal is in the works to cut spending and put in place supposedly strict deficit targets in order to win GOP votes. The Wall Street Journal reports, however, "The deal would defer contentious decisions about Medicare, Medicaid and taxes until after the 2012 elections." How convenient. The Journal explains, "If such an agreement were reached, it would allow both sides to assure financial markets and the public of their commitment to reducing the deficit and then use next year's campaign to lay out their competing visions for the future of major government programs." In other words, kick the can down the road. Again.
The Senate's so-called "Gang of Six" is also working on a compromise. Republicans Saxby Chambliss (GA), Tom Coburn (OK) and Mike Crapo (ID), and Democrats Mark Warner (VA), Dick Durbin (IL) and Kent Conrad (ND) are having trouble compromising on numerous issues, however, from entitlements to revenue. Meanwhile, Conrad has (finally) introduced, at least to Democrats, a Senate budget resolution. It was due April 15, the same day House Republicans adopted Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal for fairly drastic cuts and reforms. Notably, despite controlling both houses of Congress, Democrats failed to pass a budget at all last year.
Unfortunately, with Democrats still in control of the Senate and the White House, Ryan's 10-year budget proposal is likely dead on arrival, as are any other serious proposed cuts. In particular, Ryan's plan to reform Medicare and Medicaid has Democrats screaming about cruel Republicans victimizing seniors and the poor. Democrats have the easy job of scaring people about losing benefits. Republicans must explain why such measures are necessary.
Without reforming the now-four major entitlements -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and ObamaCare -- there is little hope for truly reining in federal spending. And before some of you write to tell us that Social Security is not an entitlement because you paid in and are entitled to your money, let's remember that current workers are paying for current retirees. There is no trust fund, and payroll taxes are just that -- taxes. The big three now consume 40 percent of the federal budget and, frankly, we will have to make hard choices that not everyone will like. Either that, or the nation will go bankrupt.
I love the Patriot Post for their Right on work! They make it easy to read and easy to follow! I think more people should quit trying to complicate everything and just keep it simple. The economy isn't as hard to understand as the politicians make it out to be. Just keep reading The Patriot Post and it will help make life easier. And that's the All Right Idea!