Starving the Beast

[Godwynn]

Does anyone else find this to be complete political BS?

I am all for spending cuts, but this is just trickery, and an effort to pass problems onto the future, while receiving votes today.

Wikipedia on Starving the Beast.

What should be done to curtail government spending? Should there be an amendment to the constitution that spending increases cannot exceed the RGDP growth rate?

 

[skadistic]

Line Item veto would be the best way to curtail over spending.

 

[JohnRM]

Yeah, that strategy is just cover for overspending in order to peak the amount of interest paid to the Federal Reserve.

 

[downtown]

Spending itself isnt so much the problem....its that we're locked into massive entitlement programs, and a lot of our spending is inefficient. We dont get very much bang for our government buck.

 

[The Yankee]

Unfortunately, the line item was ruled unconstitutional, IIRC. Of course, a couple years back, there was a push to put some kind of it back in, since politics are what they are, a Republican Congress and a Republican President were in charge.

Still, if the President could strike lines through some of these bills and make such items very public, maybe it'd work at least a little.

And I agree that Starving the Beast is just setting us up for future disasters. Sounds like an effort to run away from management and responsibility.

 

[JohnRM]

Spending itself isnt so much the problem....its that we're locked into massive entitlement programs, and a lot of our spending is inefficient. We dont get very much bang for our government buck.

The problem is exactly what I said it is, and that is that roughly 15 percent of the Federal Budget goes to "pay down" the national debt, which is never actually paid down, only increased, year after year, prompting further increases in the total amount of spending going towards paying it "down" each and every year. We pay roughly $250 Billion dollars per year to a private banking corporation to loan us the US Dollar. Thank you Congress for abandoning your sole duty to print US currency (at NO fee whatsoever other than cost of production).

 

[The Yankee]

That money only really handles the finance charges on the government credit card. Much like paying the minimum on your personal card and going out and using it more the following month.

 

[drachasor]

Line Item veto would be the best way to curtail over spending.

I think it is better to focus on ways to improve/fix our democracy rather than get line item veto and hope EVERY President we ever get uses it wisely. We have a country of laws, not men.

Can you imagine the horrors our current president could legally do if he got Line Item Veto?

 

[Elrohir]

To fix the mess we're in, you need to establish concrete goals that must be met - for example, if the budget deficit for this year is $200 billion, then the goal is to cut it by $50 billion by next year, and eliminate it in four years time. That's very simplified, but basically that is what you have to do - say "Without raising taxes, you need to reduce the deficit by this much by next year". And you can make it so that if they don't meet those goals, then Congress cannot debate any other subject until they do, and the members of Congress will receive no pay, nor will Congress be allowed to leave session for a vacation until Congress makes the necessary budget cuts.

Furthermore, no loans by the federal government should be taken out except to cover the deficit that is allowed within the guidelines. (IE, next year they could borrow $150 billion, but he year after they could only borrow $100 billion, and so forth) Any other exception over a billion dollars should require a 2/3 majority vote in both houses of Congress, as well as the President's signature. (3/4 should be necessary to override his veto on this issue)

Of course, none of what I said above will happen, so this is all academic. Politicians love their pork too much.

 

[skadistic]

I think it is better to focus on ways to improve/fix our democracy rather than get line item veto and hope EVERY President we ever get uses it wisely. We have a country of laws, not men.

Can you imagine the horrors our current president could legally do if he got Line Item Veto?

I can imagine the pork that would be cut out like bridges to no where with the line item veto.

 

[crabapple]

yeah it seems the debt is destined to keep rising forever, what will happen in the end? total economic breakdown?

 

[JohnRM]

yeah it seems the debt is destined to keep rising forever, what will happen in the end? total economic breakdown?

In a few years or so, the people pulling the strings will pull the string that causes an economic crisis involving the collapse of the worth of the dollar, paving the way for the acceptance, by the American people, of the North American Union and the 'Amero', to replace our currencies throughout the continent.

 

[drachasor]

I can imagine the pork that would be cut out like bridges to no where with the line item veto.

Are you unfamiliar with Bush's signing statements? Imagine him having the power to make them reality.

 

[Godwynn]

yeah it seems the debt is destined to keep rising forever, what will happen in the end? total economic breakdown?

I doubt it. The federal government can simply raise taxes to pay the interest payments, or issue more bonds (accelerating the vicious cycle).

 

[The Yankee]

To fix the mess we're in, you need to establish concrete goals that must be met - for example, if the budget deficit for this year is $200 billion, then the goal is to cut it by $50 billion by next year, and eliminate it in four years time. That's very simplified, but basically that is what you have to do - say "Without raising taxes, you need to reduce the deficit by this much by next year". And you can make it so that if they don't meet those goals, then Congress cannot debate any other subject until they do, and the members of Congress will receive no pay, nor will Congress be allowed to leave session for a vacation until Congress makes the necessary budget cuts.

Furthermore, no loans by the federal government should be taken out except to cover the deficit that is allowed within the guidelines. (IE, next year they could borrow $150 billion, but he year after they could only borrow $100 billion, and so forth) Any other exception over a billion dollars should require a 2/3 majority vote in both houses of Congress, as well as the President's signature. (3/4 should be necessary to override his veto on this issue)

Of course, none of what I said above will happen, so this is all academic. Politicians love their pork too much.

Well that'd never work unless you set in a budget for the military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else so they wouldn't have to keep going back to Congress asking for "supplementals."

You see, they love saying how they cut the deficit in each budget, but it's all for naught once they come back for more in the middle of the year. Not just on the wars, but for other items.

 

[crabapple]

I doubt it. The federal government can simply raise taxes to pay the interest payments, or issue more bonds (accelerating the vicious cycle).

exactly, in the end, it have to come to and end, unless a politican makes up a plan to reduce, and actually succeeds, and the ones comes after continue to do so, but its higher chance to win the lottery

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

We gave the government a credit card and we pay the bills. What do you expect?

I have always wanted a constitutional amendment that mandated that the federal government must have a balanced budget except in times of War. This would also remove the ability of the president to make war without a declaration of war from congress.

 

[The Yankee]

I think putting in such an amendment would limit the government's options to stimulate the economy during down times. However, politicians being politicians, the economy somehow always needs stimulating and once they're in there, might as well take a bit for themselves while they're at it.

 

[cubsfan6506]

This has more political fall backs than the democrats are weak on terror.

 

[Godwynn]

exactly, in the end, it have to come to and end, unless a politican makes up a plan to reduce, and actually succeeds, and the ones comes after continue to do so, but its higher chance to win the lottery

The government will raise taxes before it defaults on its loans.