Daily Archives: 2013/11/05

Government Shutdown

         WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BUDGET BATTLE AND THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

Do we really know which individuals, or groups, are responsible for the debt ceiling battle, the government shutdown and all the ugliness that has erupted? Who should the American people hold accountable?

Under the Constitution of the United States, the House of Representatives holds the purse strings and is charged with submitting a budget for each fiscal year, and there is a debt ceiling which is, supposedly, not to be exceeded. The budget proposed by the House is sent to the Senate where that body adds its demands for funding, then the budget goes before a joint conference committee for resolution. Both Houses vote on the finished product and once it is passed they forward it to the President for veto or signature. At least that’s how things are SUPPOSED to work.

In reality the budget forwarded by the House is loaded with pork barrel spending by the Senate and by both Houses during reconciliation. Thus the politicians can reward themselves and their cronies, and powerful voting blocs in each state get more funding. The longer members of Congress serve, the more powerful they become and the more pork they bring home, keeping their constituents happy and voting for them. So they keep playing the same old game, year after year.

Other methods of increased spending include supplemental spending resolutions and adding a desired unfunded program or project and cost as a rider on a completely unrelated bill. Everyone turns a blind eye to such shenanigans, and yet again the taxpayers are looted.

The President usually also presents a budget, making clear where his priorities lie. This President’s budgets have been rejected every year since he took office. NO ONE IN EITHER PARTY HAS EVER VOTED FOR HIS BUDGETS. Under this President the game has changed and there is a method to his madness. He prefers to have no limits on his power and with no budget he can unconstitutionally keep spending. That means that every time we reach the debt ceiling another battle erupts. And the cowards in the House of Representatives never have the courage to close the purse.

The passing of the fiscal budget is a CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT, so both Houses appear to have evaded their duties. However, the House has regularly forwarded budgets to the Senate where ONE MAN, the odious Senate President, Harry Reid, has pronounced them DOA. Does he then negotiate with the House or attempt to resolve the issue? Not Slimy Harry. He throws the proposed budget someplace (a drawer, a garbage can? Who knows?). He then “forgets” that budget, everyone happily keeps spending, and the government faces another shut down and a trillion dollar addition to the “debt ceiling” to allow even more spending. As the old children’s song says, “The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round. . .”

And so, with no budgetary restraints, the Senate President and the President of the United States have proceeded to rape the Treasury and the citizens of this country, and each year increase their power exponentially. They now think they are so powerful there’s nothing that can be done to stop them and they can take whatever they want. You can always tell who the bad guys are. . . They are the ones who don’t care what happens to ANYONE but themselves and THEY DON’T CARE IF YOU KNOW IT.

There are words, dishonorable, oath breakers, liars and sinners come to mind, for those who have no conscience. The word that truly fits, though, is PSYCHOPATH. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear have now been shown President Barack Obama and Senator Harry Reid for who and what they truly are. 

THEY BOTH SHOULD BE IMPEACHED, NO MATTER WHAT THE PAIN MAY BE TO THE NATION. 

As for the cowards in the House and the abettors in the Senate, perhaps they need to be turned out to pasture as soon as possible.

We have let badness stand too long and now have but two choices, fight for freedom or allow evil to stand. Will the people be willing to bear that pain? Which choice will you and I make?

God will not hold us guiltless if we quit.

AFTER THE CAVE-IN BY HOUSE REPUBLICANS:

Now here we are, a trillion dollars more in debt and a few months to try and settle a new budget, which, by design, will never happen. And a new budget and debt ceiling loom. Add Obamacare to this mix and try to guess the debt ceiling next time. What’s a few trillion between thieves?

The always kind and thoughtful Harry Reid says that Ted Cruz is a laughing-stock. Methinks Harry forgot to look in the mirror this morning.

McDUCK

A PENNY HERE A PENNY THERE IS ENOUGH TO MAKE A MILLIONAIRE.    Uncle Scrooge McDuck

Everyone loved Donald Duck and his rascally nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Uncle Scrooge, being a Scotsduck, could be nothing but parsimonious, but he was kind of lovable, too.

The first time I saw a Donald Duck comic book, Donald and his nephews were visiting Uncle Scrooge at McDuck Mansion and he took them to his treasure room where they stood on his boundless expanse of gold coins and jewels while Scrooge dived into the piles as though he were swimming in them. I was just a little girl and was enthralled by enough money to swim in, and then Scrooge informed the boys that, “A penny here a penny there is enough to make a millionaire.” It sounded good to me, but I knew my mom and dad saved pennies, dimes and quarters in an orange carnival glass on their dresser and we sure weren’t millionaires. I’ve never been quite sure why they didn’t save nickels, too, but they never did. Maybe dad saved nickels for buying coffee with his friends. Yes, that was what a cup of coffee cost then.

My older brother read the same comic book and immediately came to the conclusion that Donald and the boys were dumb and should just take whatever money they wanted and Scrooge would never know the difference. (Bilbo Baggins might tell him a thing or two about dragons, though.)

My brother’s take on the matter horrified me. Good people, like good ducks, would never, ever take what did not belong to them. I’m still absolutely certain that Uncle Scrooge earned his riches righteously, and that Donald and his nephews were absolutely trustworthy and honest.

Sometimes when I think about my parents savings being mere pennies at times, I marvel at how honest they were. It’s funny to think about now, but my father would go to the grocery store and check off the items on the tape when he and mom would put the groceries away. If there was a discrepancy on either side, even if it was only a penny, he would return to the store and either pay them or ask for a refund. The clerks never questioned his veracity.

What a legacy of savings and absolute honesty I was given. If you are honest, also be grateful, if you are not, best to at least think about what you do to yourself.