Stimulus 2

[Aliantha]

Hang on a sec. I thought merc was part of the clique?

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Hang on a sec. I thought merc was part of the clique?

Nah, he doesn't even have a Commander Cody Decoder Ring, never mind know the handshake.

[Aliantha]

Yeah but he does have a jumping jack back pack. That's gotta count for something!

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Aliantha
double fucking bitch

When your user title reaches the next level, Merc will have to give you a Group coin. Hang in there!

[Aliantha]

I've no idea what a group coin is.

[sexobon]

There are published traditions regarding the Group coin among men. There is; also, an unpublished qualification for which women can receive it.

[Aliantha]

Right. Well I don't think I'll be needing one of mercs coins. I have enough of my own.

[classicman]

OBAMA: "Everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything."

THE FACTS: Obama did not spell out exactly how he would pay for the measures contained in his nearly $450 billion American Jobs Act but said he would send his proposed specifics in a week to the new congressional supercommittee charged with finding budget savings. White House aides suggested that new deficit spending in the near term to try to promote job creation would be paid for in the future — the "out years," in legislative jargon — but they did not specify what would be cut or what revenues they would use.

Essentially, the jobs plan is an IOU from a president and lawmakers who may not even be in office down the road when the bills come due. Today's Congress cannot bind a later one for future spending. A future Congress could simply reverse it.

Currently, roughly all federal taxes and other revenues are consumed in spending on various federal benefit programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' benefits, food stamps, farm subsidies and other social-assistance programs and payments on the national debt. Pretty much everything else is done on credit with borrowed money.

So there is no guarantee that programs that clearly will increase annual deficits in the near term will be paid for in the long term.
___
OBAMA: "Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans, including many who sit here tonight."

THE FACTS: Obama's proposed cut in the Social Security payroll tax does seem likely to garner significant GOP support. But Obama proposes paying for the plan in part with tax increases that have already generated stiff Republican opposition.

For instance, Obama makes a pitch anew to end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which he has defined as couples earning over $250,000 a year or individuals over $200,000 a year. Republicans have adamantly blocked what they view as new taxes. As recently as last month, House Republicans refused to go along with any deal to raise the government's borrowing authority that included new revenues, or taxes.
___
OBAMA: "It will not add to the deficit."

THE FACTS: It's hard to see how the program would not raise the deficit over the next year or two because most of the envisioned spending cuts and tax increases are designed to come later rather than now, when they could jeopardize the fragile recovery. Deficits are calculated for individual years. The accumulation of years of deficit spending has produced a national debt headed toward $15 trillion. Perhaps Obama meant to say that, in the long run, his hoped-for programs would not further increase the national debt, not annual deficits.
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OBAMA: "The American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away."

THE FACTS: Not all of the president's major proposals are likely to yield quick job growth if adopted. One is to set up a national infrastructure bank to raise private capital for roads, rail, bridges, airports and waterways. Even supporters of such a bank doubt it could have much impact on jobs in the next two years because it takes time to set up. The idea is likely to run into opposition from some Republicans who say such a bank would give the federal government too much power. They'd rather divide money among existing state infrastructure banks.

link

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Pico, I think everyone has a right to their own opinions. Even glatt. I was just surprised that he would say such a thing. Normally I consider him to be the voice of reason, not dismissal.

Despite admonitions, when the situation goes on long enough, the bozo bit will eventually be flipped.

[SamIam]

THE FACTS: Not all of the president's major proposals are likely to yield quick job growth if adopted. One is to set up a national infrastructure bank to raise private capital for roads, rail, bridges, airports and waterways. Even supporters of such a bank doubt it could have much impact on jobs in the next two years because it takes time to set up. The idea is likely to run into opposition from some Republicans who say such a bank would give the federal government too much power. They'd rather divide money among existing state infrastructure banks.

So if you can't throw up a bunch of structures overnight like a pack of gypsies, its not good enough? Also, how would a national infrastructure bank based on PRIVATE capital give the Feds too much power? I'm sure the 'pubs would much rather use state infrastructure banks because they probably have a bunch more public money and less government oversight, so the Right could waltz in with their fav game - Bank Collapse, Part II. It worked for 'em the first time around.

[classicman]

You're outta the clique for that one, young lady.

I'm sure the 'pubs would much rather use state infrastructure banks because they probably

get the money on the street much faster and more efficiently. Its a double edged sword. Pick your poison.

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by classicman

You're outta the clique for that one, young lady.


get the money on the street much faster and more efficiently. Its a double edged sword. Pick your poison.

True enough. I imagine the States would be like sharks in a feeding frenzy, trying to get the most Federal goodies. Who says the Feds would have less power? I can see them all, wheeling and dealing in the proverbial smoke filled room right now.

I don't know about the other States, but Colorado's structural budget is a joke. A few good avalanches and Interstate 70 will become a two lane dirt road.

Ninety percent of this plan is permanent cuts,” said Henry Sobanet, director of the Office of [Colorado] State Planning and Budgeting. Sobanet told reporters Tuesday that the governor’s proposal is based on a two-year plan to close a $1.3 billion structural budget gap, and the revised budget proposal should cover a little less than half of the gap.

Sobanet explained the gap has been financed with one-time money and cash transfers. “We’ve used our savings account to pay for ongoing expenses, and now it’s gone,” he said.

The structural gap is equivalent to the growth in K-12 and Medicaid over the past decade, he noted, while General Fund revenues in the same period have grown by just 0.64 percent, or about $481 million.

The Feds will call the tune to which the States will dance, given the current sad state of affairs.

And I thought our clique celebrated diversity, considering the political leanings of its members.

[HungLikeJesus]

I'm sure TABOR is mixed up in there somewhere, SIA.

[TheMercenary]

FACT CHECK: Obama's jobs plan paid for? Seems not
By CALVIN WOODWARD and TOM RAUM
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's promise Thursday that everything in his jobs plan will be paid for rests on highly iffy propositions.

It will only be paid for if a committee he can't control does his bidding, if Congress puts that into law and if leaders in the future - the ones who will feel the fiscal pinch of his proposals - don't roll it back.

Underscoring the gravity of the nation's high employment rate, Obama chose a joint session of Congress, normally reserved for a State of the Union speech, to lay out his proposals. But if the moment was extraordinary, the plan he presented was conventional Washington rhetoric in one respect: It employs sleight-of-hand accounting.

A look at some of Obama's claims and how they compare with the facts:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...09-09-04-41-51

[Griff]

Wait. That was a valid criticism from a credible source. You feeling alright?