Fifteen Trillion In The Hole And Counting

Everybody knew we were going to have to increase our debt, you can’t solve a problem this big overnight or turn around this much government spending on a dime. However, the inexplicable and incredibly shameful reality is, the Washington criminal enterprise gang that is Congress and Obama still haven’t cut anything yet. In fact, they’re still increasing spending.

Debt Clock Strikes $15 Trillion

With the deadline on the Super Committee looming, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday the U.S. national debt crept over the $15 trillion threshold this week, providing a fresh reminder of the unsustainable amount of borrowing on the government’s bloated balance sheet.

See also:
Federal debt tops $15 trillion
National debt crosses $15 trillion mark
U.S. debt passes $15 trillion milestone… and it just keeps getting worse
National Debt Hits $15 Trillion Mark as Super Committee Flounders
US debt hits £15 trillion as cut-off looms
The $15 Trillion Super Circus
Deficit committee locked in budget stalemate
At $15 trillion in debt
GOP pounces as national debt tops $15 trillion
IN HIS OWN WORDS: Republicans SLAM Obama For Allowing The National Debt To Break $15 Trillion
U.S. National Debt Clock

Th primary obstacle to getting our fiscal house in order is that Democrats flatly refuse to cut anything. They’re bizarre notion of “cutting spending” is to cut the rate of future spending increases. How insane is that? It’s a grim milestone and if Democrats don’t accept the obvious financial reality, and soon, our creditors and the markets will force draconian austerity on all of us. This isn’t Greece, is this Greece?

/vote Republican in 2012, adult swim, get the Democrat children out of the pool

Running On Empty

Actually, we’re running beyond empty now. The United States can’t legally borrow any more money until Congress acts to raise the debt ceiling.

US government hits debt ceiling, lighting 11-week fuse

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner informed Congress on Monday that the United States has reached its legal debt limit, setting off a ticking time bomb that could explode in less than three months if lawmakers can’t bridge differences and allow more government borrowing.

In hitting the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling – the limit on how much the government can borrow – the Obama administration on Monday began temporarily halting payments to the retirement and federal pension accounts of federal workers and started borrowing from those funds, to be restored later.

Geithner sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., warning that the government can move money around for about 11 weeks but if a new debt ceiling isn’t agreed to by Aug. 2, the U.S. government could effectively default on its obligations to its creditors. He warned of “catastrophic economic consequences for citizens” unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.

An increase of about $2 trillion is expected, enough to get the issue past the 2012 elections before Congress would have to lift it again.

Republicans who control the House of Representatives vow to link raising the debt ceiling to cuts in government spending of at least equal measure. In a combative statement Monday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, upped the ante.

“As I have said numerous times, there will be no debt limit increase without serious budget reforms and significant spending cuts, cuts that are greater than any increase in the debt limit.” Boehner has called previously for $2 trillion in spending cuts as part of any deal to raise the debt ceiling.

See also:
US hits $14 trillion debt limit
US Hits Debt Ceiling, But Treasury Market Rules Out Default For Now
Deja Vu, But No Disaster: U.S. Government Hits Debt Ceiling
U.S. Hits Debt Limit, Sky Doesn’t Fall
U.S. hit debt limit today
Treasury Tapping Federal Retirement Accounts to Stave Off Default
Turbo Tim Raids Pension Plans
With Debt Limit Maxed Out, Lawmakers Hold Firm On Remedy
Rep. Jordan: U.S. won’t default if debt ceiling isn’t raised
U.S. National Debt Clock

Well, we hit the debt ceiling and, despite all the Democrat Chicken Little hysteria, the Sun didn’t explode, the seas didn’t boil, and the markets didn’t plunge thousands of points. Go figure.

/all I can say is that the Republicans had better stand firm and hold their ground this time and hold out for concrete, verifiable spending cuts that at least equal the amount of any debt limit increase

A Line In The Sand?

Does he mean it this time or will he cave to the out of control spending Democrats yet again?

Boehner says ‘trillions’ in cuts loom on debt vote

The top Republican in Congress wants trillions of dollars in spending cuts as part of must-pass legislation permitting the government to continue to borrow to fund its operations and meet obligations to investors.

House Speaker John Boehner, in a speech prepared for delivery Monday night, says it would be irresponsible to raise the so-called debt limit beyond its $14.3 trillion cap without a major effort to curb the spiraling deficit. He says the cuts should be larger than the amount of the permitted increase in the debt.

See also:
John Boehner’s tough talk on debt limit: a departure from history
Wonkbook: Boehner’s debt-ceiling demands
Boehner: Spending cuts should be greater than debt limit increase
Boehner really isn’t asking for that much to raise debt ceiling
Wall Street Takes Boehner Debt-Limit Speech In Stride
Speaker Boehner: Tax hikes are ‘off the table’
Speaker Boehner: Tax Hikes Are ‘Off The Table’
Republicans Rule Out Tax Increases in Battle With Democrats Over Debt Cap
John Boehner’s debt pitch has risks for GOP
Boehner’s debt-limit speech: Reactions from the Hill
Democrats and Republicans Spar Over US Debt Ceiling
Boehner reiterates GOP’s ransom demands
Obama aide: Boehner shouldn’t hold debt limit ‘hostage’ to spending cuts

So, have Boehner and the Republicans finally grown a spine? They talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? They’re on the right side of fiscal reality and American public opinion in this all the marbles battle for the country’s very economic survival. The stakes for our future literally couldn’t be any higher.

/hopefully, they won’t chicken out again, the last time they promised to stand their ground on spending cuts, it ended in a humiliating disaster for Republicans

Do We Have Your Attention Now?

This is a clear warning shot across this country’s economic bow and definitely not a good development.

U.S. Warned on Debt Load

A blunt warning Monday from a credit rating firm about the U.S. government’s mounting debt pushed stock markets lower and intensified political divisions in Washington about how best to tackle growing deficits.

Both the Obama administration and House Republicans scrambled to gain leverage from Standard & Poor’s changing its outlook on U.S. Treasury securities to “negative” from “stable.”

S&P didn’t lower its top-notch AAA-bond rating for U.S. government Treasury securities, and their prices initially fell but later rebounded amid optimism that the report could serve as a catalyst to force both sides in Washington to compromise.

See also:
US faces credit downgrade if debt not cut
UPDATE 3-White House, Congress under pressure from S&P move
S&P’s warning to Uncle Sam
Stocks sink after S&P downgrades US outlook
S&P Downgrade Of U.S. Debt Says Nothing New
Outlook change stokes political battle over US debt
JP Morgan’s Comments on the SP Downgrade…. “fiscal issues are serious”
Analysis: Obama plays down S&P outlook change
White House calls S&P downgrade political judgment
House Dems insist S&P warning means Congress should raise debt ceiling, no strings attached

Boy, all I can say is that Obama and Congress had better get off their asses and do something substantial to get our national debt problem under control. And they need to do it soon.

/and if you think we have serious fiscal problems now, just wait and see what happens if we ever lose our AAA rating, it will not be pretty

What Was The [Expletive Deleted] Point?

First they promised to cut $100 billion, then said what they really meant was that they’d hold out indefinitely for $60 billion, then they totally caved in to the Democrats, compromising on $38 billion, and in the end all we got was a lousy $352 million in cuts. What a gyp, shame on the spineless Republicans.

Budget deal: CBO analysis shows initial spending cuts less than expected

A federal budget compromise that was hailed as historic for proposing to cut about $38 billion would reduce federal spending by only $352 million this fiscal year, less than 1 percent of the bill’s advertised amount, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Although that analysis dampened enthusiasm for the deal among many Republicans on Thursday, the House and the Senate approved the measure with bipartisan support. President Obama is expected to sign the bill Friday, officially ending the prospect of a government shutdown.

The findings from the budget office warned that the deal may never come close to delivering on its promises. The analysis found that $13 billion to $18 billion of the cuts involve money that existed only on paper and was unlikely to ever be tapped.

See also:
U.S. Budget Analysis Shows Smaller Savings
CBO Says Budget Deal Will Cut Spending by Only $352 Million This Year
Forget $38B: Budget only cuts $352 million this year
Deal Approved but Debate Continues Over Actual Extent of Spending Cuts
Budget cuts too small for many conservatives
Spending cuts fall short of $38 billion: CBO
How Washington Turned $38 Billion Into $352 Million
CBO: 2011 Budget Cuts Far Less Than Promised
Editorial: Washington’s $38 Bil In ‘Cuts’ Are Bogus

This is insane, the United States is $14 trillion in debt, the world bond markets could decide to cut up our national credit card at any given moment, the laws of mathematics dictate that the American economy will completely collapse by 2037, and these congressional buffoons spent the entire last month arguing over cutting $352 million?

The 2012 elections can’t come fast enough. We need to start with a new President and Republicans taking control of the Senate and keeping control of the House. It’s apparent that one party rule, with a party that’s serious about restoring fiscal sanity (and that ain’t the Democrats), is going to be required to stop this country from careening off the cliff of financial ruin.

/and, if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to get us some new Republicans starting in 2014

The Path To Prosperity

Adult swim, Democrats out of the pool!

Republicans embrace Rep. Ryan’s government budget plan for 2012

House Republicans announced a far-reaching vision for a leaner federal government on Tuesday, presenting a 2012 budget blueprint that would privatize Medicare for future retirees, cut spending on Medicaid and other domestic programs, and offer sharply lower tax rates to corporations and the wealthy.

The proposal represents the most comprehensive philosophical statement by resurgent Republicans since they claimed control of the House in last fall’s midterm elections. It promises to define the party heading into the 2012 presidential election and to shape the policy debate in Washington as both parties grapple with a soaring national debt.

Drafted by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the proposal aims to eventually shrink federal spending, measured against the economy, to its lowest level since 1949. Ryan said the plan would create jobs, promote growth, and rebuild an economy ravaged by recession and “relentless government spending, taxing and borrowing.”

Read the budget proposal:

The Path to Prosperity

See also:
House Republicans unveil ‘Path to Prosperity’ budget cuts
U.S. Republicans present budget plan with massive cuts
Proposal Transforms Role of Government
The CBO scores Paul Ryan
The Ryan Resolution
GOP budget proposal would cut feds, extend pay freeze
Ryan Rides To The Rescue With Realistic Budget Plan
Editorial: Ryan’s Budget Plan Gets The Job Done
The GOP Path to Prosperity

Right on cue, the Democrats are already squealing like stuck pigs being electrocuted in an acid bath. Children will die, senior citizens will be forced to eat cat food! Brace yourself, because the cynical and deceitful doomsday din will only get louder. Gird yourself for the 2012 elections, Republicans need to oust Obama, take the Senate, and hold the House in order to wrangle this country back onto the road to fiscal sanity. The Democrats’ irresponsible and ruinous spending gravy train must be brought to an end, the status quo is unsustainable and not an option. Vote Republican to save this country’s future from the economic abyss.

/the Path to Prosperity won’t be painless, but it has to be taken, the other road leads the United States down the third world drain

Bogus Obama Math Busted

It’s bad enough that Obama had the gall to release a farcically irresponsible 2012 budget that kicks the fiscal sanity can down the road and shoves the United States well down the path to third world status, but then he and his clown posse minions have the further, cynical audacity to lie about it to the American public.

CBO: W. House Lowballs Debt

The president’s budget plan would double the debt over 10 years to $20.8 tril, the CBO estimated, $2.3 tril more than the White House had projected. Interest on the debt would top 18% of federal revenue in 2018, a level that Moody’s has said could trigger a downgrade of America’s AAA rating.

Read the Congressional Budget Office report:

Preliminary Analysis of the President’s Budget for 2012

See also:

Report says Obama budget underestimates deficit
CBO Claims Obama Budget Underestimates Future Deficits by $2 Trillion
CBO: Obama budget underestimates deficits by $2.3 trillion over upcoming decade
CBO: Obama understates deficits by $2.3 trillion
Obama Budget Underestimates Deficits by $2 Trillion
CBO: Obama FY12 Budget Would Result In $9.5T In Deficits Over Next Decade
CBO: Obama policies would require deficits of $9.5 trillion through 2021
CBO: Obama budget worse than projected on 10-year deficit
Congressional Budget Office projects higher Obama deficits
CBO Analysis: Obama’s 2012 Budget Increases Deficit
US budget to worsen deficits: CBO
UPDATE 2-Obama budget would worsen deficits – CBO report
Oooops! CBO says Obama’s budget understates deficits
To Bull[expletive deleted] . . . And Beyond!

Paul Ryan and the Republicans will soon unveil their 2012 budget which will address the looming entitlements disaster, make the hard choices, and put America back on the road to fiscal solvency. And, of course, Obama and the Democrats, in control of the Presidency and the Senate, will fight tooth and nail to sabotage and undermine any attempt to walk America back from the edge of the financial abyss which they seem hell bent on flinging us into.

/I can’t emphasize just how important the 2012 elections are, without a new President and Republican control of the Senate, the United States economy will continue to recklessly stagger towards economic collapse under Obama’s crushing, unsustainable debt load

,

Obama Sets Another New Record

And it’s not a good one.

U.S. posts record monthly budget deficit

The U.S. government posted a budget deficit of $222.5 billion in February, the largest monthly deficit on record, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

The government spent about $333 billion in the month and took in about $110 billion. February is typically a deficit month.

Year-to-date, the deficit is $641.2 billion, according to Treasury.

And just how bad is Obama’s out of control spending?

Big government doesn’t come cheaply. According to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) figures released Monday, the budget deficit for February hit a staggering $223 billion – meaning the Obama administration added more in debt last month than was borrowed in all of 2007.

Yep, that’s right, Obama added more to the national debt, money that we don’t have, in a single month, than George Bush added in the entire year of 2007. What’s wrong with this picture?

See also:
U.S. Runs $222.5 Billion Deficit in February; Highest for Any Month
U.S. Budget Deficit Expanded to Monthly Record $222.5 Billion in February
U.S. Posts Record Monthly Budget Deficit In February
February budget deficit highest ever for any month
Budget deficit hits record $222.5 billion in February
US budget deficit hits record in February
U.S. federal gov’t monthly budget deficit rises to record high in February
US Trade & Budget Deficits Get Worse
Deficit this month more than all of 2007
Obama Is Setting Records but Not in a Good Way

Everybody knows exactly what has to be done, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security need to be reformed back into solvency. It’s going to be painful and unpopular and the longer we wait to do what’s necessary, the more painful and unpopular the reforms are going to be. Unfortunately, no one seems to want to take the lead on this issue and get the job done, least of all Obama, who’s supposed to be leading this country. Obama is nothing more than a narcissistic political opportunist, more concerned with getting reelected than he is concerned with doing what’s right for the American people and the country.

Hopefully, when they release their 2012 budget proposal, the Republicans will step up to the plate as patriotic adults, negative political repercussions be damned, and include entitlement reform that will start to bring this country back on to the path to fiscal sanity.

/because someone has to do the right thing for America, a concept lost on Obama and the Democrats

To Bull[expletive deleted] . . . And Beyond!

The budget Obama released today is a joke, a farce, a massive, steaming pile of bull[expletive deleted]. It’s hard to believe they wasted even more taxpayer money having it printed. It’s a non-serious document from a non-serious politician. It’s painfully obvious that Obama cares more about getting reelected than he does about the country he’s supposed to be leading.

Obama Budget Doubles National Debt to $26.3 Trillion in 10 Years

If the federal budget released by President Barack Obama today is implemented, it will double the national debt over the next 10 years. The current national debt is $13.56 trillion (end of FY 2010). By the end of 2021, that debt would rise to $26.3 trillion under the White House budget.

The figures reflect the effects of Obama’s fiscal year 2012 budget priorities, particularly a federal deficit that never falls below $500 billion in any year between 2010 and 2021.

Read it and weep for the future of America:

THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012

See also:
Boehner, GOP pan Obama budget as ‘spending the future’
McConnell: Obama budget ‘unserious’ and ‘irresponsible’
Democratic senators slow to embrace Obama’s budget
Business community blasts Obama’s budget proposal
Obama Budget 2012: Harsh Reactions to the President’s Latest Budget Proposal
Obama budget small down payment on very big debt
Obama’s budget shies away from tough choices
Rejected Tax Increases Make a Return in Obama Administration Budget Plan
Obama Budget Doubles National Debt to $26.3 Trillion in 10 Years
Obama’s budget is more political guide than spending plan
Deficit Would Stay High for Years to Come
Big Role for Tax Increases Fuels Criticism From Business Groups
GOP Denounces Absence of Entitlements Overhaul
Notably Absent from Obama’s Budget: Deficit Commission Recommendations
In his new budget, Obama kicks the can one more time
Despite promise to fix hole in budget, Obama fails to address huge deficits
‘Debt on Arrival’
“Debt On Arrival”: GOP’s Ryan Rips Obama’s Budget, Says “It’d Be Better If We Did Nothing”
Obama’s Pathetic Budget
Editorial: Obama’s Gutless Budget Proposal

Of course, we’ll default on our national debt long before it ever reaches $26 trillion. Welcome to the Third World.

/hello, are their any adults with a spine in Washington?

How Do You “Invest” When You’re Broke?

Hey Obama, what part of “we don’t have any money” don’t you understand?

CBO: Federal deficit to hit $1.5T this year

Last month’s bipartisan tax cuts and spending deal has deepened the federal deficit dramatically this year, putting the government on track for a nearly $1.5 trillion shortfall — the largest in history — the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

The sobering check on the country’s finances was announced a day after President Obama‘s address to Congress and underscored the country’s tenuous fiscal standing, which could doom many of Mr. Obama‘s initiatives to boost government spending on education, roads and other infrastructure.

The CBO did say the economy appears to be improving, albeit slowly, from a deep recession that drove the unemployment rate to more than 10 percent. The rate is still above 9 percent, despite efforts by Mr. Obama and Congress to pump money into the economy.

“It’s been a slow recovery by the standards of our past. The labor market in particular has been coming back slowly; income has been coming back slowly,” said CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf.

Social Security Will Post Shortfall This Year, CBO Says

Social Security will post a $45 billion shortfall in fiscal 2011 and will pay out more in benefits than it accepts in payroll taxes through at least 2021 without legislative changes, the Congressional Budget office said on Wednesday.

See also:
The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011 to 2021
CBO projects record-high $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year
As deficits, debt soar, Obama, Congress fail to confront them
Deficit Outlook Darkens
CBO forecast: frightening fodder for both parties
It’s official: The debt is ballooning. Now can we think clearly?
Social Security to Run Deficits for Foreseeable Future, CBO Says
Social Security fund now seen to be empty by 2037
Social Security to Operate in the Red for the Next 10+ Years: CBO
Social Security to run permanent deficits, says CBO
CBO: Social Security Will Run Permanent Deficits
A Roadmap for America’s Future

I swear, Is Paul Ryan the only adult in Washington? When are these moron politicians going pay attention, grow some spines, and start taking this fiscal crisis seriously. Every day that goes by, we dig ourselves deeper into the national debt hole and it becomes ever so much more difficult and painful to try and climb out of our self inflicted, bottomless deficit pit.

/we’d better just forget about pie in the sky choo choo trains and go straight to the required austerity budget measures