Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
GOP Fiscally Responsible Only with a Democrat in the White House
Republicans 2010: Elect us! We are the only true advocates of reducing federal spending and not raising the federal borrowing limit.
Republicans 2014: Elect us! The Republican-led House will enforce austerity measures against this free-spending President!
Republicans 2016: Elect us! We will be the voice of mounting public disgust against an irresponsible fiscal policy that has doubled the national debt in eight years!
Ahh, the halcyon days of Conservatism.
Last year the U.S borrowed $519 billion. Granted, this was a continuation of budgets created under Obama. This year, with the GOP running the whole danged show, the US will almost double it’s borrowing to just under a trillion dollars ($955 billion). The $4 trillion (plus) budget was reported by a breathless CNN:
The colossal bill, which lawmakers have been negotiating for months, is a game-changing piece of legislation, clearing the decks for Congress in dealing with major spending issues as well as doling out disaster relief money and hiking the debt ceiling which was set to be reached next month.
Trump tweeted that the bill, which gives the Pentagon an additional $165 billion, was a “big victory” for the US military. But he said Hill Republicans were “forced to increase spending” in order to attract Democratic votes.
So, this Republican President with a Republican House and Republican Senate increased the budget by the tune of $300 billion. It also allowed for no debt ceiling limit until March 2019. I’ll repeat that one: No debt ceiling limit!
Jennifer Grossman of the Atlas Society states:
This is like a credit card company agreeing to postpone the repossession of all that stuff you “bought” on credit and giving you the green light to keep using your card, and racking up more debt, while they happily debit your ledger with outrageous interest charges every month — charges, and principal, that you’ll someday be legally liable to repay.
“We can ignore reality,” Ayn Rand once famously observed, “but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.’”
Here is the hard reality: In just over a half a decade, all government revenues will be entirely consumed by the costs of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest payments on our rapidly ballooning debt. Despite this glaring threat to our fiscal health, no one in Washington seems to be doing anything about it. In fact, they seem to be only adding to the problem, as the recent budget deal demonstrates.
Mr. McConnell, you obviously know the fiscal constraints that happen when interest rates increase, as they will. Mr. McConnell, why did you allow Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to get everything he wanted?
The original budget proposal showed fiscal responsibility by committing to cut spending. Trump even included his promise to end federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But the GOP establishment types that go along to get along forgot everything they promised on the campaign trail. In a whirlwind couple of days negotiating, Republicans sided with liberals. They sided with growing government bigger. They sided with the media. They sided with bankrupting not just our kids and grandkids, but ourselves.
There were 67 House Republicans who broke with leadership and voted against the budget deal. Most of whom are in the Freedom Caucus; Jim Jordan and this group should each be rewarded by being re-elected. All others who voted for this monstrosity double-crossed those who elected them. They cannot be trusted.
From a 30,000-foot overview, it appears “Conservative, Inc” only used the power of the purse to win elections and fight a Democrat President to appease their base. Now they have power, they showed a lack of courage in making tough choices. They showed a total disregard for those who voted for them to decrease the debt and reduce deficits. They did exactly what they campaigned against.
Conservative voters who voted for fiscal responsibility have no home.
Published in General
Mick Mulvaney on Fox News Sunday the other night tried to explain how it would all work out . . . something about the departments don’t really have to spend all the money that they are budgeted (relying on the current dept. heads to pull in the reins). He also is banking on the growing economy. In other words, it’s all pie in the sky. I don’t know if there really is a Republican party anymore; if there is, I don’t think it’s in Congress.
Thanks for answering my questions. I’m not entirely sure I understand most of what you said. But I’ll tell you this: I bought some property about four years ago for $74k, and I have it on the market for $130k. I think I’ll end up getting in the mid to high 120s for it. And I’m paying all my debt way down, doing some much needed repairs to the house, and socking away about 6 months of expenses. I should have all that done by the end of this year. I feel like maybe I’ll have it done just in time….if not a little too late.
Susan, I watched Mulvaney last night. Without getting into his justifications and totally incomprehensible explanation, if you’ve followed him you know underneath his talking points, he was seething. He was unexpectedly forced into this disaster within a 48-hour window.
After they deftly swatted Chancy (hey, think I’ll ™ that) over the government shutdown, the GOP was in a great position to get a great budget that would please most advocates of reducing government spending. Instead they threw away all the political capital won over the past few weeks.
Democrats will never be happy with half a loaf and yet the GOP p.o.’d the conservative base. For what?
Lose/Lose.
Michael nails it again! I reckon more people will see his latest cartoon than watched the Olympics.
Historically, in modern times, I think the most fiscally conservative is when there is a Democrat President and a Republican Congress. The worse is when there is a Democrat President and Congress.
Clinton was going hard Left Obama style (ie: Hillarycare) before Gingrich shocked the world and took back Congress. Dick Morris smartly had Clinton tack to the center and we had growth, balanced budgets, welfare reform and a relatively benign recession in 2000.
No one will ever have the stomach until it’s too late. But it’s already too late.
Time to gas this debt balloon up to max pressure and see what happens.
Just don’t pop it with tacts… or tax, er tic tacs.
“That will be 4 dollars and 15 cents tax. “. “Tacks? I thought I just rolled them on!”
Second this motion, except that I seldom listen to podcasts, sometimes even when I would like to.
This charge against the GOP can be overstated though.
First, we are all federalists, right?
So, take a look at states and cities (yes not very numerous) under one-party GOP control. Any difference from Democratic control on taxes, regulations and spending?
At the federal level the GOP is the less fiscally insane party.
If there is no debt limit set by Congress, then Congress is no longer in charge of raising revenue. What a time we live in when Congress can transfer a power to the Executive without passing a constitutional amendment.
So, what you’re saying is the Repubs only appear to be fiscally responsible with a Dem in the White House. I agree.
It’s like the wimp kid who’s picked on by the bully at school. He’ll talk big about, “I’m going to show him (the bully) I’m not afraid. I’m gonna hit him in the face!” But he only says it when the bully is not around.
Likewise, our Republican Congressmen and Senators talked big while Obama was the Prez, but when it came time to vote on a straight repeal of Obamacare with Trump in office? It was as if the bully Obama was standing right there, looking over their shoulders. No, even with Bush and a GOP majority, the Repubs have not shown they can balance the budget.
If the Repubs had any intestinal fortitude left, they would pass a rule that any budget surplus coming in because of the new tax breaks would go towards paying off the debt.
But that ain’t gonna hap’n, cap’n . . .
I am insanely angry about this.
You got it. Most elected Republicans are like the guy who lives in a dry county and preaches against the evils of liquor. When he goes to the big city, though, the cops will find him staggering down the street naked. Then he’ll barf in the police car.
Hey, it was just that one time.
End the Federal Reserve. If we don’t have the money for this and that and the other thing, we don’t get it.
JFK already put that Executive Order on the books. Now enforce it.
People think that is crazy talk. It isn’t.
Ive heard that for years, as a Kennedy Conspiracy, but I have never seen any evidence of it? Is there a link to it?
The problem is that there is no political base for NOT. Everything the government attempts to do, there is nobody who has an interest to constantly be the party of NOT. The government closest to the issue – or the people, are the best able to handle a problem.
OSHA, state issue close it. Every work place is some place inside a state. The states can more effectively handle it.
Dept of Ag, state issue close it. Every farm is a place inside a state.
Dept of Ed, state issue close it. Every school is a place inside a state. As a matter of fact, you can look at the adaption of public education in 1870, and public literacy and chart how the greater the public school spending, the lower the literacy rates.
BINGO
The only thing that restrains government graft, dependency, welfare, rent seeking, bad government actuarial science, utopian central planning etc. is a punishing bond market that results from a central bank that simply backs up the financial system in a punitive way. Natural interest rates. Free market interest rates in other words, which we haven’t had for many decades.
Why do people talk about UBI, redistribution, and inequality? Democrat and RINO Keynesianism, that’s why.
Personally I think that conservatives ragging on welfare queens makes zero sense, until we get rid of this stupidity. I’ve had to bite my tongue on another thread because nobody gets this.
Do you want to understand reality? Listen to this. And this. And this.
Leave the welfare queens alone. Almost everyone is some version of a Keynesian welfare queen.
If you want more, listen to this guy’s interviews in order on that site.
I’ll believe the GOP is serious about spending restraint when they get rid of baseline budgeting.
It’s the new thing. All the cool kidz are doing it.
I have voiced the same sentiment for years. But after seeing this last display of cowardice, I no longer care whether someone is killed by a bullet or knife wound. Either way, they are still dead.
Catching up on the news of the day. It appears Trump is ‘open’ to raising the gas tax to cover the $1.5Trillion infrastructure bill?
At least he never said ‘read my lips’.
How in less than a week has this all happened?
So as far as I can see, the Fed does two things, and really only two things. 1. Monitor and adjust interest rates and 2. Print money on their back office printing press.
There would still have to be a way to determine interest rates, study metrics and control the money supply. If not the Fed, who/what would do this?
And how would ‘ending the Fed’ impact on the economy?
Agreed. If my kids’ college charged $40k a year, then said they were going to raise the cost 20% to $48k, but after an outcry by parents only raised it 10% to $44k, using baseline budgeting, they can claim they “cut” tuition.
The craziest thing is how the Left has owned the propaganda messaging on this. In the example above, Democrats would accuse parents of hating educators because they forced the school to incur “draconian cuts”. Or as Nancy would say “Teachers will DIE!”.
They think we are stupid. Unfortunately, many people are and accept the lies as truth.
A lot of us oldies are hearing impaired and unable to understand electronic voices. A bummer when we’d like to know what was said.