Austerity, er sequestration

[Boltlady]

Virginia is one of the states that is heavily affected by sequestration. Every day on the local news, with wringing hands, there are more announcements about what will be taken away because of it.

Since it started of course, there have been reports that we plan on giving Egypt $450 million, Pakistan $63 million, and $50 million for new TSA uniforms that will cost $1,000 ea. There's not much doubt in my mind that we're giving away much more. AIPAC is doing it's dance to try to insure that Israel will continue to get it's $billions.

Is this kind of thing OK with you folks? If so, how much will we have to do without before you say enough is enough?

They can call it by any name they want to, but the reality is that it's the same sort of austerity that people in other countries have been demonstrating against in vast numbers. Will that happen here as we lose more and more of our services, while giving away the money that would cover them, and making sure that our 1% keeps getting even richer?

 

[GordonGecko]

Fine, cut off aid to Egypt.

But don't complain later when they get that same aid from the Chinese or Russians and we see another "control of the Suez" moment pop up.

And the same folks who complain about foreign aid to Egypt....will call you an "anti-Semite" for denying it to Israel.

So there's really not much way to win on it since everybody has their favorite target for support or denial of support.

Plus it's a small part of the budget...despite St. Ron of Paul trying to make it into some massive budget outlay. He was just too scared to go after the BIG money....Defense or Social Security and Medicare, because he knew it would be political suicide. He was as cynical as any other politician.

 

[Queen Titania]

Virginia is one of the states that is heavily affected by sequestration. Every day on the local news, with wringing hands, there are more announcements about what will be taken away because of it.

Since it started of course, there have been reports that we plan on giving Egypt $450 million, Pakistan $63 million, and $50 million for new TSA uniforms that will cost $1,000 ea. There's not much doubt in my mind that we're giving away much more. AIPAC is doing it's dance to try to insure that Israel will continue to get it's $billions.

Is this kind of thing OK with you folks? If so, how much will we have to do without before you say enough is enough?

They can call it by any name they want to, but the reality is that it's the same sort of austerity that people in other countries have been demonstrating against in vast numbers. Will that happen here as we lose more and more of our services, while giving away the money that would cover them, and making sure that our 1% keeps getting even richer?

BoltLady you and I know that 'Aid' is not 'Aid' at all. It is a con.

 

[Boltlady]

Fine, cut off aid to Egypt.

But don't complain later when they get that same aid from the Chinese or Russians and we see another "control of the Suez" moment pop up.

And the same folks who complain about foreign aid to Egypt....will call you an "anti-Semite" for denying it to Israel.

So there's really not much way to win on it since everybody has their favorite target for support or denial of support.

Plus it's a small part of the budget...despite St. Ron of Paul trying to make it into some massive budget outlay. He was just too scared to go after the BIG money....Defense or Social Security and Medicare, because he knew it would be political suicide. He was as cynical as any other politician.

As a moderator isn't there some sort of requirement that you have facts straight before you make blatant statements? You so thoroughly enjoy referring to Ron Paul, and you said that he was scared to go after the big money in defense, social security and medicare. The truth is that he has been one of the biggest proponents of cutting the defense budget waaaay back to a reasonable amount. As for the other 2, he made his positions very clear.

As for some calling me an anti-semite for proposing that we cut the 'foreign aid' to Israel, I get called that all of the time anyway because I criticize Israel. At least you can be forgiven for not knowing that the money that we send to Israel is illegal anyway. The Symington Act from either 1984 or '86 states that we cannot provide any country with military aid that has nuclear weapons and refuses to be a part of the NPT. The gov't neglects to tell folks about that.

As for the money sent to Eqypt and elsewhere, perhaps China or Russia would not have to borrow any money they might send like we do.

 

[Boltlady]

Oops, I got the year wrong for the Symington Amendment. Seems it was 1976.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/31/idUS216212+31-Mar-2009+PRN20090331

 

[as seen on tv]

the demonstrations in foreign countries (notably greece) are because the government tried to nationalize everything from airlines to restaurants to cruise ships to garbage collection to even "registered tourist site guides"

predictably, the public payrolls ballooned to a nearly 50% share of all employed people, then imploded when overly generous wages, benefits, overstaffing/featherbedding, and vacation programs caused debt to spiral out of control.

the same fate awaits any government - national or state level - that wants to keep increasing public sector employment with unrealistic levels of staffing and compensation as a way to ensure its perpetual re-election. default eventually ensues, and people experience a condensed period of economic pain and suffering as inefficient, doomed operations are corrected or ended. under market based economies, private sector employers either reform or fail at gradual, ongoing rate - not all at once. when a government attempts to "prevent" unemployment and buy its perpetual re-election by nationalizing jobs and companies, the predictable result is that all the pain happens more or less at once.

please google "the fall of the soviet union"; "poland"; "cuba"; "venezuela"; "north korea"; etc if you are confused concernign the documented effects of governments to become the employer of first and last resort.

 

[GordonGecko]

As a moderator isn't there some sort of requirement that you have facts straight before you make blatant statements?

What is a "blatant statement"?

That foreign aid is a small outlay of the budget?

That there are those who are hypocritical on it....i.e. the Right who want it cut for everybody BUT Israel?

That they use demogoguery if someone suggests it for Israel? (a statement you later agreed with)

Or is it my swipe at the Beloved One. Well, I'm sorry, but "blatently"....Ron Paul was a phoney. His M.O. was to attack spending bills.....but still make sure that the Texas 14th District still got their cut of the pork....make sure the bill would pass....and then vote against it. Claiming both that he "voted against wasteful spending"....AND not touching the sacred cows of the folks whose votes he needed every 2 years to run for re-election.

Or his phoney bids for the GOP Presidential Nomination....which became clearly phoney, especially last year when he OF ALL THE CANDIDATES....when herefused to criticize Mitt Romney during the Primary debates. Why?.....so that it wouldn't reflect badly on his Son, when Rand had to do his obligatory endorsment of Romney so that he could "stay in good" with the Republican National Committee....for HIS run in 2016.

I blatantly declare....that I think the Paul family are a bunch of fakes. And I'll stick to that.

 

[GordonGecko]

the demonstrations in foreign countries (notably greece) are because the government tried to nationalize everything from airlines to restaurants to cruise ships to garbage collection to even "registered tourist site guides"

predictably, the public payrolls ballooned to a nearly 50% share of all employed people, then imploded when overly generous wages, benefits, overstaffing/featherbedding, and vacation programs caused debt to spiral out of control.

the same fate awaits any government - national or state level - that wants to keep increasing public sector employment with unrealistic levels of staffing and compensation as a way to ensure its perpetual re-election. default eventually ensues, and people experience a condensed period of economic pain and suffering as inefficient, doomed operations are corrected or ended. under market based economies, private sector employers either reform or fail at gradual, ongoing rate - not all at once. when a government attempts to "prevent" unemployment and buy its perpetual re-election by nationalizing jobs and companies, the predictable result is that all the pain happens more or less at once.

please google "the fall of the soviet union"; "poland"; "cuba"; "venezuela"; "north korea"; etc if you are confused concernign the documented effects of governments to become the employer of first and last resort.

BL...want an example of what I was talking about at first?

Look at how ASOT has no problem with the socialism of ISRAEL....and us supporting that.

 

[SW48]

I guess the tough question that no one has an answer to is if spending money or giving it to a place like Egypt is a small amount when considering what could happen with a war.

But I'd say that is a good place to cut and let the chips fall where they may.

Keeping the region safe though is trade off. We do all still like to drive our cars.