Open Container: Mike Lee's Massive Budget Cuts

Posted // October 26,2010 at 13:21 - That's so easy, Crimson Red. When you can tell me what 50,000 troops are still doing in Germany, I'll let you keep your defense spending intact. Look at a friggin' budget pie chart someday and see that social entitlements are a sliver and defense is half the pie. And when you or anyone else can detail just how many jobs were created in 2001 and 2003 by Bush tax cut recipients, we can talk about the wisdom of letting tax cuts expire and the rich go from 36% back to Clinton-era levels of a whole 39%, resulting in billions of dollars gone from the treasury.

 

Posted // October 25,2010 at 10:41 - Up front I will state that I consider myself a conservative Republican. I think it only fair that you know up front that my views are certainly slanted toward the right. BlackMamba you rant and rave as if President Obama has handled the economy perfectly. It is true that President Bush made mistakes during his presidency concerning the economy and those mistakes have been compounded under Obama's leadership. Do you really think the 2nd stimulus package passed once Obama assumed leadership helped our economy? What did all the banks do with the monies they received? They were supposed to have used it to "ease up the credit crunch." Do you think that happened? Try and obtain a significant loan today and you will discover the true story. Do you really think it financially wise and prudent to pass the MASSIVE health care overall at the price of increased taxes during our current economic state? How does that help the economy? Do you really think allowing current tax breaks to expire will help the economy? If you believe that allowing tax breaks to expire, essentially granting a tax increase, will help the economy then you obviously do not own a business. Increased taxes very simply means increased prices to cover the taxes OR downsizing in order to have funds to pay the tax. Do you really think that appointing 40 czsars has helped our economy? If true then show me and others the economic success of these appointments? How do businesses survive in a down economy? They cut expenses and very carefully control spending. Immediate freeze in ALL government salaries and benefits. Freeze the military funding...in the world we live in today we can't afford to cut back in our miliary funding BUT we can't afford to increase it. Hold steady on Social Security and Medicare funds. Eliminate newly created czar positions and related staff. Even though I actually believe NASA is a huge benefit to our society I think it is time to cut its funding. All other non-essential government spending will need to cut back their budgets. Why should the Federal Government be allowed to increase spending during this economic trial? Next you complain about the State of Utah and our finances and as you imply our "lack" of education funding. I guess you would much rather be like California. Oh yea, let me think about it their government is basically bankrupt...good idea. Let's increase spending and move a very fiscally strong Utah government to one that is now controlled by bankers because of our loans and eventually poor credit. Come on BlackMamba be brave and share your ideas for controlling our federal government. It just dawned on me that there is a flaw in my thinking. You and obviously others just might believe that bigger government is the key to success. You and others just might believe that someone sitting behind a desk in Washington D.C. can make better choices for you than you can do for yourself. You and others just might be happy to eventually grow our government to the point that 60% of all you earn goes right into taxes. Good luck with that thought process. I for one want to have a little more control of my life instead of handing it over to the government bit by bit. What would you do to control spending? Tell us your cuts and controls because your political party certainly doesn't have display any fiscal spending controls.

 

Posted // October 25,2010 at 09:00 - Ok, screw the banal, beige talking points, uvbogden. Just EXACTLY what "hard choices" are you talking about having to make? None of you plastic-fantastic conservatives want to talk details in an election final week. Not that you explained your cardboard-sign philsophy all along. "Gee, we just have to cut the size of government, but if we actually tell you precisely what it is we're talking about, you won't elect us, so it's a secret...for now." Ok, uvbogden, go for it. Tell us what programs you're wanting to cut. I'll just bet that none of them sound like "defense," do they? Let me see, oh, wait, I know! With America ranked 22 or 23 worldwide in student science and math scores, let's cut the Dept of Education and grant programs for student tuition!The states can handle it like we do in Utah, DEAD LAST in the nation!Herbert cuts $10 million for education and pays out $13 million for a highly-suspect failed 1-15 road building bid. Or, let's do away with "entitlement programs"! It's mostly poor, evil, illegal immigrants that use them, right? Just don't explain to most of our elderly base that it really means them, too. They haven't figured out that entitlements mean their scared Social Security and Medicare. Oh, and that unfunded prescription Medicare benefit that Bush foisted on us and it contributed to the "size" and expense of big, bad government. Enjoy the elections, uvbogden. The Republicans and their ugly cousins, the Tea Party, are going to be center stage now. I'm going to enjoy the next two years before Obama is re-elected in a landslide in 2012.